Temp to Perm EA Hires and the 14 Week Fee Rule
Converting a temporary Executive Assistant to a permanent employee is governed by the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, and the window is not open ended. An agency cannot charge a transfer fee after the later of eight weeks from the end of the assignment or fourteen weeks from its start. It must also offer you an extended period of hire as an alternative to paying a fee at all.
Most employers discover both facts in week ten, after the EA has become indispensable and the conversation has already started. By then the negotiating position has moved.
What the Regulations actually require
Two obligations sit on the agency rather than on you.
An alternative to the fee. The agency must offer an extended period of hire instead of a transfer fee. Keep the person on the temporary rate for an agreed further period and the fee falls away. Whether that is better value depends on the charge rate and how long the extension runs, which is a calculation rather than a principle.
A closing date on liability. No transfer fee can be charged once both limbs of the time test have expired. The test is the later of the two dates, not the earlier one, which is the part most often misread in either direction.
Take the agency’s own terms of business as the operative document rather than a summary on a website, including this one. The Regulations set the floor, and terms vary above it. Using a generalist agency for a PA search often means inheriting terms written for volume contract work rather than for business support, and the transfer clause is where that shows up.
The 12 week point is a different rule
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 are separate and frequently confused with the fee rules. After twelve calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer, a temporary worker gains equal basic pay and working conditions to a comparable permanent employee.
That means an EA on a temporary booking has two dates running at once. Week twelve changes what you pay. Week fourteen from the start of the assignment changes whether a fee can be charged. They are close together and they do different things.
| Date | Rule | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Week 12 from assignment start | Agency Workers Regulations 2010 | Equal basic pay and conditions to a comparable permanent employee |
| Week 14 from assignment start | Conduct Regulations 2003 | One limb of the transfer fee time test |
| Week 8 after assignment end | Conduct Regulations 2003 | The other limb, and the later of the two governs |
No published source quantifies the cost uplift at week twelve for London business support temps, so budget for parity rather than for a percentage. Any figure quoted to you for that uplift is an estimate dressed as data.
The cost gap between temp and permanent
Here is the comparison that decides most conversions, worked from published 2026/27 assumptions rather than quoted.
A temporary EA at £25 an hour carries £3.02 holiday accrual at 12.07%, £3.84 employer National Insurance at 15% above the £96 a week secondary threshold, and £0.64 pension at 3% of qualifying earnings. Total employment cost £32.50 an hour. At a 20% agency contribution the charge rate is £40.63 an hour. Over a 40 hour week and a 52 week year that is £84,510.
Now the permanent equivalent. Morgan McKinley’s 2026 London data puts an Executive Assistant with three to five years’ experience at £50,000 to £60,000. Take £55,000.
| Cost line | Annual |
|---|---|
| Salary | £55,000 |
| Employer NI at 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold | £7,500 |
| Pension at 3% of qualifying earnings, £6,240 to £50,270 | £1,321 |
| Total employer cost | £63,821 |
The temporary route costs £84,510 against £63,821 permanent, a gap of £20,689 or 32.4%. Flexibility costs about a third, and that is before any transfer fee.
That number is the honest case for converting rather than extending. It is also the honest case for not converting, if the business genuinely needs the ability to stop. Attracting the strongest EAs in the London market gets harder on a rolling temporary basis, because the best candidates read a refusal to commit as a signal about the role.
What the conversion evidence actually says
No independent UK statistic exists for business support temp to perm conversion rates. The figures in circulation, usually somewhere around 80%, are individual agencies’ self reported marketing claims with no published methodology, no sample size and no audit. Treat any conversion rate quoted to you as a sales figure rather than a benchmark.
What the market does show is intent. Live 2026 London postings advertised EA roles explicitly as temp to perm, including an EA to COO brief in Kensington at £25 to £30 an hour, and interim cover for a founder described as one to two months “whilst they go through the permanent recruitment process”. Reed carried 47 temporary Executive Assistant vacancies within ten miles of London in 2026.
Supply supports it too. The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs published on 8 October 2026 recorded temporary billings at 50.9 and staff availability rising at 57.2, which means more available candidates than at any point in roughly three years. Volume is not the constraint on a conversion. Fit assessment is, and that is precisely what a temporary period is for.
Agree five things at brief stage
One. The support level in writing. A temp EA supporting a team sits at £20 to £24 an hour in London. Supporting a founder sits at £25 to £30. Supporting a UHNW principal reaches £40 to £50. Rate disputes at conversion almost always trace back to an under specified brief.
Two. The transfer terms. Ask for the fee, the extended hire alternative and both time limbs in writing before the first day, not at the point you want to convert.
Three. The week twelve date, calendared. Not estimated.
Four. The permanent band you would actually pay. Business support salaries rose 3.8% in 2026 against a 2.2% all sector average (Hays, 2026), the highest increase of any function Hays tracked. A band set in early 2026 is not a 2027 band.
Five. The premium skills you are paying for. Robert Half’s 2026 guide ranks project management as the highest premium pay skill in business support. Language capability carries roughly 40% in London, with a fluent French EA covering a CFO priced at £33 to £38 an hour against a general market of £22 to £28. Price those at conversion or lose the person to someone who does.
Speed matters at the front of this process as much as the back. Specialist agencies filling PA roles in days rather than weeks are working from a referenced bench, and how London employers choose an EA agency usually comes down to whether that bench exists or the search starts from zero on the day you call.
Morgan Spencer handles EA and PA recruitment across London on temporary, temp to perm, fixed term and permanent terms, with transfer terms stated up front.
Frequently asked questions
When can an agency no longer charge a transfer fee?
Under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, no transfer fee can be charged after the later of eight weeks from the end of the assignment or fourteen weeks from its start. The agency must also offer an extended period of hire as an alternative to charging a fee.
What is the difference between the 12 week and 14 week rules?
They are separate regulations doing different things. Week twelve under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 gives the temporary worker equal basic pay and conditions to a comparable permanent employee. Week fourteen from assignment start is one limb of the transfer fee time test under the Conduct Regulations 2003.
Is it cheaper to convert a temp EA to permanent?
Usually yes on an annualised basis. A £25 an hour temporary EA charged at £40.63 costs £84,510 over a 40 hour, 52 week year. A £55,000 permanent EA costs the employer £63,821 including 15% National Insurance above the £5,000 threshold and 3% pension. The gap is £20,689, or 32.4%.
What percentage of temp EAs convert to permanent?
No independent UK statistic exists. The figures in circulation are individual agencies’ self reported marketing claims without published methodology or sample size. Live 2026 London postings do advertise EA roles explicitly as temp to perm, including an EA to COO brief in Kensington at £25 to £30 an hour.
How much does the week 12 parity point cost?
No published source quantifies the uplift for London business support temps at week twelve. Budget for parity with a comparable permanent employee’s basic pay and working conditions rather than for a percentage, and treat any quoted figure as an estimate.
What should a temp to perm EA brief specify?
The support level and principal seniority, the transfer terms with both time limbs in writing, the calendared week twelve date, the permanent salary band you would actually pay, and any premium skills. Robert Half’s 2026 guide ranks project management highest among premium pay skills in business support.
About the author
Kay Atkinson is Temporary & Contracts Division Director at Morgan Spencer and a highly respected London recruitment specialist with more than 25 years of experience recruiting temporary, contract and interim business support professionals.
Kay advises organisations across London on temporary workforce strategy, contractor hiring, market trends, salary benchmarking and flexible staffing solutions. Having successfully supported businesses through changing market conditions for over two decades, she brings extensive expertise across office support, administration, customer service, reception, HR, finance support and project-based contract recruitment.
Her in-depth knowledge of the London temporary and contract recruitment market enables businesses to secure high-quality talent quickly and effectively, while helping candidates access rewarding opportunities with leading organisations across the capital.
