Key facts
Recruitment agencies: 56 checked facts and figures, with sources
Each entry is the fact one of our guides rests on: a rule, a date, a price or a figure we worked out, with where it came from. Quote any of them; a link to the guide lets your reader check the working.
Fees, terms and rebates
Two temps do the same 40-hour week at £13 an hour (£520). For a temp aged 21 or over the agency pays 15% on the £424 above the £96 weekly threshold, which is £63.60 a week, £1.59 an hour and £763.20 over a 12-week assignment. For a temp under 21 the rate is 0% up to £967 a week, so the cost is £0. On 20 such under-21 temps for 12 weeks the difference is £15,264, and it ends for each one when they turn 21.
Source: GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (employer Class 1 National Insurance 15%; secondary threshold £96 a week, £417 a month, £5,000 a year; upper secondary threshold for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25 £967 a week, £4,189 a month, £50,270 a year, with 0% between the two thresholds). Read 9 October 2026.
The 21-and-over rate rose from £12.21 to £12.71 (4.1%) and the 18-to-20 rate from £10.00 to £10.85 (8.5%). For 100 temps on 37.5 hours at the 21-and-over rate, the 50p rise adds £1,875 a week to pay and £281.25 of employer National Insurance, £2,156.25 in all, or £112,125 over 52 weeks, before any change to the charge rate.
Source: GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (rates from April 2026 and April 2025, apprentice rule); GOV.UK, Your rights as an agency worker: pay (entitlement to the minimum wage for all hours worked); GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (15% employer rate, £96 weekly secondary threshold). All read 6 October 2026.
A VAT-registered recruitment agency charges 20% on a permanent fee and on the whole of a temp's hourly charge, wages included; registration is compulsory once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in 12 months, which three full-time temps billed at £19.50 an hour reach with the 42nd weekly invoice and a perm desk reaches with its 14th fee of £6,840.
Source: GOV.UK, HMRC "Supply of staff and staff bureaux (VAT Notice 700/34)"; "Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57)" (updated 13 August 2026); HMRC VAT Taxable Person Manual VTAXPER67050 (updated 23 February 2026); GOV.UK "VAT rates", "VAT thresholds", "Register for VAT", "VAT Flat Rate Scheme" and "VAT Cash Accounting Scheme"; each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. Arithmetic is ours. Not tax advice.
An unpaid £8,208 recruitment invoice due on 17 August 2026 had earned £118.90 of statutory interest by 1 October 2026 (45 days at 11.75%, which is 8% over the 3.75% Bank Rate in force on 30 June 2026) plus a fixed £70, and the court fee to claim the £8,396.90 total is £455.
Source: GOV.UK "Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery" (three pages) and "Make a court claim for money: court fees"; Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 sections 4 and 5A and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Rate of Interest) (No. 3) Order 2002 on legislation.gov.uk; Bank of England Bank Rate table (3.75% since 18 December 2025); all read 2026-10-01. Letter wording and the day counts between steps are ours. Not legal advice.
We wrote this list of 24 steps in 6 stages from the rules set out in 8 of our guides and the official pages each step names. Eleven of the 24 steps fall after the offer is accepted: four around the start date and the invoice, three if the invoice is paid late and four during the rebate period. No law sets the fee or the rebate; only the accepted terms do, which is why the first step is proof of acceptance.
Source: Conduct Regulations 2003; regulation 17 omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510; our terms of business guide; the period is contract, not statute; GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026; ICO, audit outcomes for AI recruitment tools, November 2024; OpenAI, How your data is used to improve model performance; our interview confirmation template; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 19; Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide; our right to work guide for agencies; our terms of business guide; our fee and rebate calculator; our late payment guide for recruitment fees; GOV.UK, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, read 1 October 2026; Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; GOV.UK, Late commercial payments; GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: court fees, read 1 October 2026; our fee and rebate calculator; rebate scales are trade practice, not statute; GOV.UK overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003, read 1 October 2026; each step names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.
Fee disputes turn on three definitions (introduction, engagement, introduction period) and one fact (acceptance); the template clauses about confidentiality and liability caps almost never decide anything, and since regulation 17 of the Conduct Regulations was removed on 8 May 2016 no regulation makes a hirer sign terms, so terms sent after the first CV leave the agency arguing for a fee nobody agreed to.
Source: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 reg 10, and the note on legislation.gov.uk that reg 17 was omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510 (read 2026-10-01); Trove, "Disputed perm fees and rebate clauses" (13 July 2026) for the rebate pattern; UK Business Forums thread "Recruitment agency fees (and other T&Cs)" (26 replies) for the dispute patterns owners describe. Not legal advice; a solicitor should draft the actual terms.
On a £38,000 salary at 18% the fee is £6,840 (£8,208 with VAT); a candidate who leaves in week 6 under a 100/50/25 scale earns a £3,420 rebate, and a temp whose assignment ended on 11 September 2026 can still attract a transfer fee if the client offers the job before 6 November 2026, eight weeks after the end.
Source: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 reg 10 as set out on GOV.UK "Employment agencies and businesses: fees to hiring companies (transfer fees)", read 2026-10-01; rebate scales are trade practice (Trove, 13 July 2026: "commonly 8 to 12 weeks" on a sliding scale), not statute. Tested in headless Edge 2026-10-01.
A temp paid £13.50 an hour for 37.5 hours costs the agency £17.37 an hour once 12.07% holiday pay, 15% employer National Insurance above £96 a week and a 3% pension contribution are added. At a charge rate of £19.50 the margin is £2.13 an hour, 10.9% of the charge rate, though the charge rate is 44.4% above the pay rate.
Source: GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (employer National Insurance 15% above £96 a week; National Living Wage £12.71 from 1 April 2026); DWP written statement of 18 December 2025 (qualifying earnings lower limit £6,240); GOV.UK holiday pay guidance (12.07% for irregular-hours workers); all read 2026-10-01. Our arithmetic is checked by hand; the test record is in tests/talentwright/tools-check.txt.
AWR, right to work and the Conduct Regulations
The young worker cap is 8 hours a day and 40 a week. Five rotas tested: 5 x 8 = 40 passes; 5 x 8.5 = 42.5 fails by 2.5 hours a week and 0.5 a day; 4 x 10 = 40 passes the week but fails the day by 2 hours; 6 x 6.5 = 39 passes both; 6 x 7 = 42 fails the week by 2. Two clients added together: 5 x 5 = 25 hours at one plus 2 x 8 = 16 at the other makes 41, one hour over although neither client alone is over. A 3-hour and a 2-hour shift for different clients on one day total 5 hours, which is more than 4.5, so a 30-minute break is owed. A rota that finishes Saturday 18:00 and restarts Monday 08:00 leaves 6 + 24 + 8 = 38 hours of rest, short of the 48-hour weekly rest and above the 36-hour floor.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833): regulation 2 (a "young worker" has attained the age of 15 but not 18, and is past compulsory school age), regulation 5A (working time must not exceed 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week; hours with more than one employer are added together; the week starts at midnight between Sunday and Monday; the employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure the limits are met), regulation 10(2) (12 consecutive hours of daily rest, which may be interrupted for work split up over the day or of short duration), regulation 11(3) and (8) (48 hours of weekly rest in each seven-day period, which may be reduced for technical or organisational reasons but never below 36 consecutive hours) and regulation 12(4) and (5) (a break of at least 30 minutes, consecutive if possible, when daily working time is more than 4.5 hours, with hours for several employers added together). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/regulation/5A and /10, /11, /12, /2. I did not read the exceptions in regulation 27A, the rules on what counts as working time for a break, or GOV.UK's own young worker pages (the addresses I tried returned 404). The fetched text of regulation 5A shows no opt-out, but I did not check the rest of the regulations for one. Read 30 October 2026.
Over a 17-week reference period (119 days) the weekly hours that hit an average of 8 in 24 are 56 if every day is counted, or 48 if one rest day a week is taken out (102 days, 816 hours). Five patterns tested both ways. 3 x 12 hours, 36 a week: 612 hours, 5.14 and 6.00 a day. 4 x 12, 48 a week: 816 hours, 6.86 and 8.00. 5 x 10, 50 a week: 850 hours, 7.14 and 8.33. 6 x 9, 54 a week: 918 hours, 7.71 and 9.00. 5 x 11, 55 a week: 935 hours, 7.86 and 9.17. Only the first two pass on both counts; the last three pass only if rest days are not taken out.
Source: GOV.UK, "Night working hours" (https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours) and its sub-page "Health assessments" (https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours/health-assessments). A night worker regularly works at least 3 hours during the night period; night time is 11pm to 6am unless a different 7-hour period including midnight to 5am is agreed in writing. A night worker's average working time must not exceed 8 hours in any 24-hour period; regular overtime counts towards the average, occasional overtime does not, and workers cannot opt out. The average is usually calculated over 17 weeks, or up to 52 weeks by agreement such as a collective agreement. Workers on special-hazard or high-strain work must not exceed 8 hours in any 24-hour period, with a risk assessment. Employers must offer a free health assessment before a worker becomes a night worker and regular assessments afterwards; the worker does not have to accept; if a health professional confirms night work has affected health the employer must, where possible, offer other suitable work; confidential records are kept for 2 years, with the dates of any declined offers. Workers aged 16 and 17 generally cannot work between 10pm and 6am (contract can move this to 11pm to 7am) and not at all between midnight and 4am, with listed exceptions. I did not read the page on exceptions to the night work limits, the Working Time Regulations 1998 or any rule on how rest days enter the 17-week average, so the two counts below are bounds, not a legal ruling. Read 29 October 2026.
For a temp aged 21 or over on 40 hours at £12.71, minimum pay is £508.40 a week (40 x 12.71). The offset is £77.70 a week (7 x £11.10). Rent of £60 or £77.70 leaves the pay needed at £508.40. Rent of £110 exceeds the offset by £32.30, so gross pay must be £540.70 (£13.52 an hour). Rent of £140 exceeds it by £62.30, so £570.70 (£14.27 an hour). Rent of £180 exceeds it by £102.30, so £610.70 (£15.27 an hour). Over a 12-week placement the extra pay is £387.60 at £110 rent, £747.60 at £140 and £1,227.60 at £180.
Source: GOV.UK, "National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage: accommodation" (https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-accommodation) and "National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates" (https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates). From April 2026 the accommodation offset is £11.10 a day and £77.70 a week; only employer-provided accommodation counts; if the charge is at or below the offset it has no effect on pay; if it is above, the excess is deducted from the pay that counts; if accommodation is free, the offset is added to pay for minimum wage purposes. The rates page gives £12.71 for those aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20, £8 for under 18 and apprentices. I did not read the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, the pages on other deductions, or the Gangmasters rules on accommodation charges, so check them before you set a rent. Read 28 October 2026.
Five placed employees on an average of £1,150 a week (£13,800 over the 12 weeks before notice starts) are given notice on Monday 2 November 2026. With 3 months, 18 months, 2 years 5 months, 7 years 3 months and 15 years of service, the statutory minimum is 1, 1, 2, 7 and 12 weeks, which is £1,150, £1,150, £2,300, £8,050 and £13,800 of notice pay, £26,450 in all. Counting whole weeks from 2 November, the notices end on 9 November, 9 November, 16 November, 21 December 2026 and 25 January 2027. The 15-year employee costs 12 times what the 3-month employee costs.
Source: GOV.UK, "Redundancy: notice periods" (https://www.gov.uk/redundancy-your-rights/notice-periods). The page says you must be given a notice period before your employment ends, and sets the minimum at least one week for one month to 2 years of service, one week for each year of service from 2 to 12 years, and 12 weeks for 12 years or more. It says the contract may give more but never less, and that notice pay is based on average weekly earnings over the 12 weeks before the notice period starts. Employment can end without notice if the contract allows payment in lieu, which covers basic pay for the notice period plus contractual extras such as pension contributions. The page does not say what applies under one month of service, how a part year counts, or how to count the days. I did not read the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the redundancy pay calculator page. Read 27 October 2026.
Five temps start on Mondays, 7 September, 5 October, 2 November, 30 November and 14 December 2026, at a site shut for the week of 28 December. Facilities are open to all five on their first day. The 12th completed week ends on Sunday 29 November for the first (84 days after the start) and, with the shut week taken out, on Sundays 27 December, 31 January, 28 February and 14 March for the others; equal treatment begins on Monday 30 November 2026, then Mondays 4 January, 1 February, 1 March and 15 March 2027. Four of the five wait 91 days because of the shut week and one waits 84, so the closure adds 7 days to four start dates out of five.
Source: GOV.UK, "Your rights as an agency worker: Equal treatment" (https://www.gov.uk/agency-workers-your-rights/your-rights-as-a-temporary-agency-worker). From day one an agency worker has a worker's employment rights and the same access as permanent colleagues to shared facilities and services such as a canteen or food and drink machines, a workplace crèche or mother and baby room, and car parking or transport services. After 12 weeks the page lists equal pay with a permanent colleague doing the same job, automatic pension enrolment and paid annual leave. The count starts on the first day and need not be consecutive. Not counted but not resetting: a break of 6 weeks or less, sick or injury leave up to 28 weeks, annual leave, workplace closures such as Christmas or industrial action, and jury service up to 28 weeks. Counted: pregnancy leave and up to 26 weeks after childbirth, adoption leave, paternity leave. Reset: a new workplace, a break of more than 6 weeks at the same workplace, or a substantively different role. The page does not say how the Regulations treat a part week, and it says nothing about job vacancy information. I did not read the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 or the sub-page on what an agency must give a worker. Read 26 October 2026.
On a six-shift rota (Mon 14:00-22:30, Tue 06:00-14:30, Wed 06:00-14:30, Thu 06:00-16:00, Fri 14:00-22:00, Sat 14:00-22:00, Sun off) the gaps between shifts are 7h30, 15h30, 15h30, 22h, 16h and 32h to the next Monday 06:00. One gap fails the 11-hour test, Monday night to Tuesday, short by 3h30; the earliest compliant Tuesday start is 09:30. All six shifts run over 6 hours, so six 20-minute breaks are owed, 2 hours in the week. The on-site total is 51.5 hours (8.5 + 8.5 + 8.5 + 10 + 8 + 8); if all breaks are unpaid that is 49.5 hours of paid time, still above 48 for that single week.
Source: GOV.UK, "Rest breaks at work" (adults usually get three types of break: rest breaks at work, daily rest and weekly rest; one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break if working more than 6 hours a day, which need not be paid, depending on the contract; 11 hours' rest between working days; either an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week or an uninterrupted 48 hours each fortnight; enough breaks for monotonous work such as production-line work; domestic workers in a private home not entitled to rest breaks for health and safety reasons). The page lists young workers and exceptions only as headings and does not mention agency workers. I did not read the sub-pages on young workers or exceptions, nor the Working Time Regulations 1998 themselves, nor any guidance on who is responsible for rest between an agency's temp's assignments. Read 24 October 2026.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is the lower of £194.32 and 90% of average weekly earnings, and the cap bites at £215.91 a week (£194.32 divided by 0.9). Twelve weeks pay £1,393.20 at £129 average, £1,620.00 at £150, and £2,331.84 at £300 or £400. The £300 temp loses £1,268.16 against £3,600.00 on assignment, and the £400 temp £2,468.16 against £4,800.00. A stay earns one week per 7 full days: 6 days earn 0, 13 earn 1, 20 earn 2, 84 or more earn the 12-week maximum. For a birth on Monday 5 October 2026 with no maternity or paternity pay, the 26 weeks run from Sunday 5 April 2026 to Saturday 3 October 2026, and the 68 weeks (476 days) reach Monday 24 January 2028.
Source: GOV.UK, "Neonatal care pay and leave" (one week's leave for every 7 full and continuous days in neonatal care, up to 12 weeks; neonatal care starts in the first 28 days after birth), "Check if you're eligible" (leave: classed as an employee, any length of service, employed in England, Scotland or Wales; pay: continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the qualifying week, still employed until the week before the pay starts, average earnings of £129 a week over an 8-week period; baby born on or after 6 April 2025; at least 7 days in a row in neonatal care; qualifying week is the week just before the baby enters neonatal care unless maternity, paternity or adoption pay applies) and the employer guide "Neonatal care pay and leave" (pay of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; tax and National Insurance deducted; leave taken within 68 weeks of the date of birth; reclaiming or an advance if payments are unaffordable). None of the three pages mentions agency workers. I did not read the how-to-claim page, so notice rules are not covered, nor the statutory regulations, nor Northern Ireland. Read 23 October 2026.
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is the lower of £194.32 and 90% of average weekly earnings, and the cap bites at £215.91 a week (£194.32 divided by 0.9). Two weeks pay £232.20 at £129 average, £270.00 at £150, and £388.64 at £300 or £400. The £300 temp loses £211.36 against £600.00 on assignment. The £129 earnings test over 8 weeks is £1,032. For a death on Tuesday 10 November 2026, the relevant week ends Saturday 7 November 2026, the 26 weeks run from Sunday 10 May 2026, and the 56-week window closes on Tuesday 7 December 2027.
Source: GOV.UK, "Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay: What you're entitled to" (2 weeks' leave from the first day of employment per child; 2 weeks together, 2 separate weeks or one week; leave must finish within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth; pay of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; the page did not state a tax year) and "Check if you're eligible" (employee status for leave; for pay, continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the relevant week, which is the week ending Saturday immediately before the week of the death; still employed on the day of the death; average earnings of £129 a week over an 8-week period; correct notice, on a how-to-claim page that was not read; Northern Ireland rules differ for bereavements from 6 April 2026, not worked here; agency workers are not mentioned). Read 22 October 2026.
Statutory Adoption Pay is 90% of average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 and 90% for 33 weeks, 39 weeks in all. The cap bites at £215.91 a week (£194.32 divided by 0.9). A temp averaging £150 gets £135.00 for all 39 weeks (£5,265.00), one on £300 gets £1,620.00 plus £6,412.56 (£8,032.56), and one on £400 gets £2,160.00 plus £6,412.56 (£8,572.56). For a match in the week of Sunday 7 to Saturday 13 March 2027, 26 weeks counted back from the end of 13 March is 12 September 2026.
Source: GOV.UK, "Adoption pay and leave: Pay" (up to 39 weeks; 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks; £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks; the page did not state the tax year) and "Adoption pay and leave: Eligibility" (continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the week matched with a child; average earnings of at least £129 a week before tax; adequate notice and evidence, both on a separate how-to-claim page that was not read; the page does not address agency workers). Read 21 October 2026.
The 17-week limit is 816 hours (17 x 48). A temp doing 6 weeks of 55 hours and 11 weeks of 44 hours totals 814 hours, an average of 47.88, inside the limit. A temp doing 9 weeks of 60 hours and 8 weeks of 40 hours totals 860, an average of 50.59, which is 44 hours over; after 9 weeks of 60 hours the remaining 8 weeks would have had to average no more than 34.5 hours (276 / 8).
Source: GOV.UK, "Maximum weekly working hours" (cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks; can opt out; under 18s no more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week; exemptions listed; employer must keep some records, see Acas), and legislation.gov.uk, Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833) regulations 4, 5 and 36 (48 hours averaged over a 17-week reference period; employer must take all reasonable steps and keep up-to-date records of workers who have opted out; an opt-out agreement can be time-limited or indefinite and ends on at least 7 days' written notice unless it sets a longer notice, never more than 3 months; regulation 36 treats whoever pays an agency worker as the employer for these purposes). Read 20 October 2026.
At £2,500 for each uninsured day, a lapse of 14 days costs £35,000, 30 days £75,000, 90 days £225,000 and a full year of 365 days £912,500, plus £1,000 for not displaying the certificate. The £5 million minimum cover is 2,000 days of that daily fine (£5,000,000 / £2,500).
Source: GOV.UK, "Employers' liability insurance" (minimum cover £5 million; £2,500 for each day not properly insured; £1,000 for not displaying the certificate; cover from the moment you take on an employee; insurer must be authorised, checkable on the FCA register; exemptions for close family only and for staff based outside England, Scotland and Wales; the page says responsibilities differ for agency staff, freelancers and contractors and points to separate guidance) and HSE, "Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: a brief guide for employers" (HSE40) landing page (employers must insure against liability for injury or disease to their employees; the full guide is a download I did not read). Read 19 October 2026.
Statutory Paternity Pay is the lower of £194.32 and 90% of average weekly earnings, so the cap bites at £215.91 a week (£194.32 divided by 0.9). A temp averaging £150 gets £135.00, one on £129 gets £116.10, and one on £400 gets £194.32. For a baby due Monday 15 March 2027 the qualifying week is Sunday 29 November to Saturday 5 December 2026, so 26 weeks of continuous employment must be reached by 6 June 2026 at the latest.
Source: GOV.UK, "Paternity Pay and Leave: Pay" (statutory weekly rate £194.32, or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; the page did not state the tax year) and "Paternity Pay and Leave: Eligibility" (paternity leave from the first day of employment; paternity pay needs employment up to the date of birth, average earnings of at least £129 a week before tax, 26 weeks of continuous employment by the end of any day in the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the baby is due; the page does not address agency workers). Read 13 October 2026.
At £3,000 a month the deduction is £82.53 on Plan 5 (£3,000 minus £2,083, times 9%), £68.31 on Plan 1 (£2,241), £49.68 on Plan 2 (£2,448), £16.56 on Plan 4 (£2,816), and £75.00 on a postgraduate loan at 6% over £1,750. The largest and the smallest 9% deduction on the same pay are £65.97 apart.
Source: GOV.UK, "Repaying your student loan: what you pay" (thresholds Plan 1 £26,900 a year, £2,241 a month, £517 a week; Plan 2 £29,385, £2,448, £565; Plan 4 £33,795, £2,816, £649; Plan 5 £25,000, £2,083, £480; postgraduate £21,000, £1,750, £403; 9% and 6% over the threshold; assessed per job). The page did not state the tax year. Read 11 October 2026.
For a baby due in the week beginning Sunday 17 January 2027, the qualifying week is the week beginning Sunday 4 October 2026 (15 weeks earlier). A temp on £476.63 a week gets 90% (£428.97) for 6 weeks, £2,573.82, then £194.32 for 33 weeks, £6,412.56: £8,986.38 in total over 39 weeks, all of it paid by the agency through payroll.
Source: GOV.UK, Statutory Maternity Pay: how different employment types affect what you pay (agency workers: treated as employees for PAYE and Class 1 NICs, pay SMP if qualifying conditions are met; page dated 1 September 2017); GOV.UK, Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, Eligibility and proof of pregnancy (26 weeks by the qualifying week, the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, MATB1 within 21 days of the start date); GOV.UK, Maternity pay and leave: Pay (up to 39 weeks, 90% for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower). All read 8 October 2026.
A full-time temp on £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours earns £476.63 a week, so 80% (£381.30) is above the cap and SSP is £123.25 a week, or £24.65 for each day of a five-day week. Three days off now costs the agency £73.95 in SSP, where under the old three waiting days it cost nothing. A temp on 12 hours (£152.52 a week) gets 80%, £122.02, just under the cap.
Source: GOV.UK, Statutory Sick Pay: how different employment types affect what you pay (agency workers section; page updated 6 April 2026); GOV.UK, Statutory Sick Pay: What you'll get and Eligibility (£123.25 a week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, up to 28 weeks, linked periods 8 weeks apart); GOV.UK, Statutory Sick Pay employer guide (form SSP1 within 7 days); GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage rates from April 2026 (£12.71). All read 7 October 2026.
Regulation 20 has two clocks. "Without delay" means the same day or, if that is not reasonably practicable, the next business day. A worry reaching a consultant at 17:45 on Friday 9 October 2026 therefore has to reach the client by the end of Monday 12 October at the latest (9 + 3 days), and across a weekend that is 3 calendar days but 1 business day. For a permanent introduction made on 6 October 2026 the 3-month tail in paragraph (6) runs to 6 January 2027. Our arithmetic from the regulation text; we did not check how "business day" is defined for this purpose.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 20 "Steps to be taken for the protection of the work-seeker and the hirer" (legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/3319/regulation/20), read 2026-10-06; regulation 19 (same site), read 2026-10-06; GOV.UK Conduct Regulations 2003 guidance landing page, last updated 22 June 2026 (the page lists documents on other regulations; we found no regulation 20 guidance there).
Regulation 27 puts seven checkable items on an advert that names a role and quotes pay: full business name, temporary or permanent, information about the position, the hirer's authority, and (because pay is quoted) the nature of the work, the location and the minimum experience; an advert with no pay figure needs four of them, and a generic talent-pool advert needs two. At 12 live adverts a week that is up to 84 checks, which is why we built the check as a list rather than a memory test.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 27 (Advertisements), read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK, Conduct Regulations 2003: guidance for employment agencies and employment businesses, overview, 'Advertising roles' section, read 5 October 2026.
A temp on £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours earns £476.63 a week and £57.53 of rolled-up holiday pay at 12.07%. If the hirer's own staff get 33 days a year on a five-day week (6.6 weeks), the matching rate after twelve qualifying weeks works out at 14.54% (6.6 divided by the 45.4 weeks left to work), or £69.29 a week, so staying on 12.07% leaves the worker £11.76 a week short of comparator holiday pay, £164.64 over weeks 13 to 26.
Source: Working Time Regulations 1998 regulation 16A and Agency Workers Regulations 2010 regulation 6(1), on legislation.gov.uk; Department for Business and Trade, Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 (GOV.UK); GOV.UK National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates from 1 April 2026; all read 3 October 2026. Our calculation. Not legal advice.
We wrote this questionnaire of 7 questions and 8 outcomes from the rules set out in 3 of our guides and the sources each outcome names. Five of the eight outcomes stop the fee or hold it back. No route asks more than four of the seven questions, and a transfer fee where the client passes the worker to a third party takes three, because the question about extended hire is skipped.
Source: Employment Agencies Act 1973, section 6, read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 2 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 26, read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 5(1), read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Providing non work-finding services, read 2 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulations 5(2) and 13, read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Providing non work-finding services, read 2 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulations 5 and 13, read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Providing non work-finding services, read 2 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10(1) and (7), read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fees to hiring companies (transfer fees), read 2 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10(4) to (7), read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10, read on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fees to hiring companies (transfer fees), read 2 October 2026; each outcome names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.
Free tool: Can my recruitment agency charge this fee? Seven questions on candidate and transfer fees
We wrote this questionnaire of 4 questions and 8 outcomes from the rules set out in 2 of our guides and the sources each outcome names. Three of the eight outcomes say no licence is needed, and all three still ask for a written note of why. Every one of the four parts an agency can play counts as supply: the choice of part changes the outcome only for an agency that already holds a licence.
Source: GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, What a gangmaster's licence is and who needs one (updated 17 June 2026), and Employment agencies and businesses: licences, read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraphs 2.13, 2.29 and 4.20 (updated 15 June 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraphs 4.15 and 4.29 to 4.36 (updated 15 June 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraphs 2.1 and 7.2 (updated 15 June 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, How to apply for or renew a gangmaster's licence (updated 28 September 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraphs 3.5, 5.5 and 7.2, and How to apply for or renew a gangmaster's licence (updated 28 September 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraphs 5.15, 5.16, 5.33 and 7.5 (updated 15 June 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, How to apply for or renew a gangmaster's licence (updated 28 September 2026), and Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence, paragraph 3.15, read 2 October 2026; each outcome names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.
Free tool: Do I need a gangmaster's licence for this supply? Four questions for a recruitment agency
Section 6 of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 makes it an offence for a recruitment agency to request or receive, directly or indirectly, any fee from a person for finding them work; other services such as CV writing or training may be charged for only if they are optional and the candidate can cancel without penalty on five business days' notice (ten for accommodation), and a tribunal can ban a person from running an agency for up to ten years.
Source: Employment Agencies Act 1973 sections 3A and 6, and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 regulations 5, 13 and 26 and Schedule 3, on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK "Employment agencies and businesses" and "Charge fees as an entertainment and modelling agency"; GOV.UK Fair Work Agency page; each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. The table of charges and the notice wording are ours. Not legal advice.
A gangmaster's licence from the Fair Work Agency costs £3,490 to apply for and £620 a year to renew where turnover in the regulated sectors is under £1 million, and that turnover includes the VAT charged to clients, so the band line sits at £833,333 of billing before VAT; for twelve packers billed at £19.50 an hour the first-year fee works out at 14.9p an hour.
Source: GOV.UK, Fair Work Agency, "How to apply for or renew a gangmaster's licence" (updated 28 September 2026) and its update history; "What a gangmaster's licence is and who needs one" (updated 17 June 2026); "Detailed guidance on who needs a gangmaster's licence" (updated 15 June 2026); "The Fair Work Agency licensing standards for gangmasters" (published 7 April 2026); each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. Arithmetic is ours. Not legal advice.
A worker who started on 6 July 2026 and had a three-week gap in August had ten qualifying weeks on 1 October, with equal treatment due from 19 October 2026; the same worker with a seven-week gap had one, because a break of more than six weeks starts the count again, and equal treatment moved to 21 December 2026.
Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010 regs 5 to 9 as summarised by Acas, the REC legal guide and Personnel Today's qualifying-period guide, read 2026-10-01; the Regulations themselves on legislation.gov.uk were not fetched in this pass. Tested in headless Edge 2026-10-01.
Three of the Act's changes land on an agency as the employer of its temps rather than on its clients: statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness with no lower earnings limit from 6 April 2026, enforcement by the Fair Work Agency from 7 April 2026, and the extension of the Conduct Regulations to umbrella companies in 2027, which makes every umbrella in the agency's supply chain a regulated employment business.
Source: Government implementation roadmap for the Employment Rights Act 2025 as summarised by Davidson Morris, Blake Morgan, Hill Dickinson, Littler and DLA Piper (read 2026-10-01); GOV.UK Employment Rights Act 2025 overview factsheet; REC government hub. Secondary sources: the roadmap document itself was not fetched in this pass, and dates marked "expected" are the government's stated intentions, not commencement orders; GOV.UK "Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update" (updated 25 September 2026), read 2026-10-01, for the October 2026 and January 2027 dates.
Regulation 29 of the Conduct Regulations makes an agency keep candidate and client records for at least one year from creation and one year from its last service to them; on one temp's file that closed on 30 September 2026 the earliest deletion dates run from 30 September 2027 for those records to 20 September 2032 for minimum wage records, and a Fair Work Agency inspector must be given records by the end of the second business day after asking.
Source: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 29 and Schedule 4, and Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9, on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK "Record keeping for employment agencies and businesses", "PAYE and payroll for employers: keeping records", "Check a job applicant's right to work", "Enforcing the minimum wage" (updated 6 January 2026) and "What this means for an intermediary" (updated 30 July 2026); ICO guidance on storage limitation; each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. Not legal advice.
A medium or large client decides IR35 status, but the agency that pays the contractor's company is the fee-payer; on an £8,000 monthly fee an inside decision costs the agency £1,137.45 in employer National Insurance (15% above £417) that cannot be deducted from the contractor, and since 6 April 2026 the agency holding the client contract is jointly and severally liable for an umbrella company's unpaid PAYE.
Source: GOV.UK "Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)" (updated 26 February 2026), "Fee-payer responsibilities under the off-payroll working rules" (updated 8 August 2024), "April 2021 changes to off-payroll working for clients" (updated 30 August 2024), "Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027", "Responsibilities for employment businesses working with umbrella companies" (updated 17 September 2025); HMRC Employment Status Manual ESM10006, ESM10006A, ESM2410, ESM2420 and ESM2430; HMRC policy paper on umbrella companies (21 July 2025); all read 2026-10-01. Not tax or legal advice.
A Key Information Document must be given before a temp agrees terms, must be a separate document of no more than two sides of A4 and must carry a worked pay example; since 7 April 2026 it has to give contact details for the enforcement officers appointed under the Employment Rights Act 2025, which means the Fair Work Agency, and a change to its details after terms are agreed needs a revised document within five business days.
Source: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 13A, as amended on 7 April 2026 by SI 2026/302, read on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK "Providing a 'Key information document' for agency workers" (updated 7 April 2026); GOV.UK Fair Work Agency page; GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 and "Workplace pensions: what you, your employer and the government pay"; all read 2026-10-01. The template wording is ours. Not legal advice.
We wrote ten questions from the rules set out in 10 of our guides; for 5 of the ten the answer that is in order is "no", so the check cannot be passed by ticking yes. The first asks: Does every client have signed or emailed acceptance of your terms on file before the first CV goes out? Regulation 17 of the Conduct Regulations was removed on 8 May 2016, so no regulation makes a hirer sign terms. Terms sent after the first CV leave the agency arguing for a fee nobody agreed to.
Source: Conduct Regulations 2003; regulation 17 omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10; Agency Workers Regulations 2010, regulation 7; Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A, as amended on 7 April 2026; Employment Rights Act 2025 and the government's implementation timetable; OpenAI, 'How your data is used to improve model performance', updated 13 March 2026; ICO, AI tools in recruitment audit outcomes report, November 2024; HMRC Employment Status Manual ESM2410 and guidance for employment businesses working with umbrella companies; Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; GOV.UK late commercial payments guide; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt.
A British or Irish passport takes a manual or IDVT check and never needs repeating; an eVisa, BRP, EU passport or time-limited visa takes the Home Office online check with a share code and the result page kept for two years after the engagement ends; and since 13 February 2024 a missed check can cost up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach and up to £60,000 for a repeat.
Source: Home Office "Right to work checks: an employer's guide" (edition dated 1 October 2026, PDF not read in this pass), GOV.UK "Penalties for employing illegal workers" (read 2026-10-01: up to £60,000 per worker, 5 years for knowing employment), penalty tiers from the February 2024 increase as widely reported; Conduct Regulations 2003 reg 19. Tested in headless Edge 2026-10-01.
Regulation 10 lets an agency charge a transfer fee only if its terms gave the hirer the choice of an extended period of hire instead, and only if the permanent hire comes before the later of eight weeks after the assignment ended and fourteen weeks after it started; a temp who started on 1 June 2026 and finished on 11 September 2026 is free to the client from 6 November 2026.
Source: GOV.UK "Employment agencies and businesses: fees to hiring companies (transfer fees)", read 2026-10-01; the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 reg 10 as amended. Not legal advice.
We wrote this list of 27 steps in 5 stages from the rules set out in 9 of our guides and the official pages each step names. Thirteen of the 27 steps come before the worker is put forward to a client: six at registration and seven before the introduction. The shortest period set in law in the list is the five business days allowed for a revised Key Information Document.
Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A, as amended on 7 April 2026 by SI 2026/302; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A(3)(d); our worked example; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A(6); GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026; Conduct Regulations 2003; regulation 17 omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510; Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10; GOV.UK transfer fees page; GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027; our worked example; GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027; GOV.UK, Fee-payer responsibilities under the off-payroll working rules; GOV.UK, Responsibilities for employment businesses working with umbrella companies; Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide; Home Office employer's guide; GOV.UK, Penalties for employing illegal workers; Agency Workers Regulations 2010, as summarised by Acas; Employment Rights Act 2025 and the government's implementation roadmap; Agency Workers Regulations 2010; our margin example; GOV.UK overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003, read 1 October 2026; each step names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.
Screening, shortlists and scheduling
The ICO's one-month deadline runs to the same date in the next month, moves to the next working day if that falls on a weekend or bank holiday, and for a 31 October request ends on 30 November; worked on five received dates in 2026 and 2027, three of the five deadlines are not the date you would first guess, and a request received on Wednesday 25 November 2026 is not due until Tuesday 29 December 2026 because Christmas Day, the weekend and the substitute Boxing Day all intervene.
Source: ICO, "What should we consider when responding to a request?" (right of access guidance, last updated 8 December 2025) and "Subject access request Q and As for employers", both read on ico.org.uk 2026-10-06; GOV.UK "UK bank holidays" (England and Wales), read 2026-10-06. The ICO notes its employer Q and As are under review because of the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check the page before you rely on a detail. Dates and counts are ours. General information, not legal advice.
From 5 October 2026 an enhanced DBS check costs £41 (down from £49.50), a basic or standard check £20 (down from £21.50) and the Update Service £15 a year (down from £16); an agency running 40 enhanced checks a year saves £340 in DBS fees, and the two umbrella bodies we read on 1 October 2026 added £13.80 and £15.70 a check on top.
Source: GOV.UK news story "DBS reduces fees for checks and Update Service from 5 October 2026" (published 9 September 2026); GOV.UK "DBS checks guidance for employers" (updated 11 September 2026), "Check someone's criminal record as an employer", "DBS Update Service" and "Employment agencies and businesses"; Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 regulation 22 on legislation.gov.uk; uCheck and Care Check pricing pages; each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. Arithmetic is ours. Not legal advice.
The ICO's audit of AI recruitment tool providers (August 2023 to May 2024) produced almost 300 recommendations and found tools that inferred gender or ethnicity from names, let recruiters filter on protected characteristics, and skipped accuracy testing, and providers calling themselves processors when they decided how data was used; the agency buying the tool is the controller in most of those cases and carries the fine.
Source: ICO, "ICO intervention into AI recruitment tools leads to better data protection for job seekers" (6 November 2024) and the AI in recruitment outcomes report, as recorded in data/sectors/recruitment.json; ICO key data protection considerations blog; DLA Piper on the ICO's April 2026 report on automated decision-making in recruitment; all read 2026-10-01.
OpenAI's policy page, updated 13 March 2026, says conversations on its plans for individuals may be used to train its models unless the user opts out, and its business privacy page offers a data processing addendum only for ChatGPT Business, ChatGPT Enterprise and the API; so a CV pasted into a consultant's personal £20-a-month Plus account has left the agency with no data processing agreement covering it.
Source: OpenAI, "How your data is used to improve model performance" (updated 13 March 2026), the OpenAI help article of the same name, "Enterprise privacy at OpenAI" (updated 8 January 2026) and the ChatGPT pricing page, all read in a browser on 2026-10-01; ICO, "Thinking of using AI to assist recruitment? Our key data protection considerations" (6 November 2024), read 2026-10-01. Not legal advice.
A confirmed interview needs the same five facts in two emails (date and time, length, format and place, interviewer, what to prepare) and a file note; when the two emails are written separately, by hand, under time pressure, the facts drift, and the candidate turns up at ten for a half-past-ten slot.
Source: Our own drafting rules, written from recruiter admin pain points in data/sectors/recruitment.json (Firefish, Totaljobs survey as cited: 17.7 hours of admin per vacancy); no external source for the template wording. Tested in headless Edge 2026-10-01.
Running the agency
A temp on £520 a week costs the agency £63.60 a week in employer National Insurance (15% of the £424 above £96). £10,500 divided by £63.60 is 165.09 temp-weeks. Six temps at that pay use it up in week 28; over 52 weeks the agency pays £19,843.20 less £10,500, so £9,343.20.
Source: GOV.UK, Employment Allowance (claim-employment-allowance), eligibility page and Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, all read on 16 October 2026 (allowance up to £10,500 a tax year; employer rate 15%; secondary threshold £96 a week)
A worker with 12,000 business miles has an approved amount of £6,000: 10,000 at 55p is £5,500 and 2,000 at 25p is £500. Paid at a flat 40p, the agency pays £4,800, which is £1,200 under, so the worker can claim relief on that £1,200. Paid at a flat 60p, the agency pays £7,200, which is £1,200 over, and that £1,200 goes through payroll as pay. Paid at a flat 55p on all 12,000, the payment is £6,600, which is £600 over.
Source: GOV.UK, "Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage" (approved amounts: cars and vans 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles from 6 April 2026, 45p before, and 25p above; motorcycles 24p; bicycles 20p; the threshold applies across more than one vehicle in a year; anything above the approved amount is added to pay and taxed as normal and reported on form P11D; paying less needs no report and the employee can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the balance). Read 14 October 2026.
A 45-year-old consultant on £900 a week with 12 years' service started at 33, so 8 years count at one week and 4 at one and a half: 14 weeks, capped at £751 a week, is £10,514. A 24-year-old on £480 a week with 3 years' service who started at 21 has half a week for the year under 22 and one each for the next two: 2.5 weeks, £1,200. The maximum is 30 weeks at £751, which is £22,530.
Source: GOV.UK, "Redundancy pay" (half a week's pay for each full year under 22, one week for each full year aged 22 to under 41, one and a half weeks for each full year aged 41 or older; weekly pay capped at £751 and service at 20 years for redundancies on or after 6 April 2026; maximum £22,530). Read 10 October 2026.
For a temp desk supplying 8 workers at 37.5 hours a week at £13.00 an hour, weekly wages are 8 × 37.5 × £13.00 = £3,900. On weekly invoicing and 30-day terms the first invoice falls due 37 days after the first week starts (7 + 30), by which time five weekly pay runs have gone out: 5 × £3,900 = £19,500 paid and £0 received. Our arithmetic; the rates are an example, not a market figure.
Source: The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 15 (legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/3319/regulation/15); GOV.UK "Conduct Regulations 2003 guidance for employment agencies and employment businesses", overview page, section on withholding payment (page updated 22 June 2026). Read 2026-10-06. We did not check case law or any individual contract.
Full guide: The client has not paid: must a recruitment agency still pay the temp?
Section 12(4) lets a tribunal order repayment of unnotified deductions made in the 13 weeks before the claim, so an admin deduction of £2.50 a week taken from 60 temps and never shown on their payslips or standing statements is exposed to at most 13 × £2.50 × 60 = £1,950 of repayment.
Source: GOV.UK "Payslips" (read 2026-10-06; the page shows no update date in the text we received); Employment Rights Act 1996 section 8 and section 12 on legislation.gov.uk (read 2026-10-06). The GOV.UK Conduct Regulations guidance page we tried returned a 404, so we did not read it in this pass. Arithmetic is ours. Not legal advice.
The levy is 0.5% of annual pay bill with a £15,000 allowance, which is exactly zero at £3,000,000; at £15 an hour for 37.5 hours over 52 weeks a temp adds £29,250 to the pay bill, so 103 full-time temps on the agency's own PAYE (£3,012,750) is the first headcount to owe anything, and the levy then is £63.75 a year.
Source: GOV.UK "Pay Apprenticeship Levy" (updated 6 April 2026), including the sections on how to work out your levy and on agency workers, read 2026-10-05. Arithmetic is ours. Not tax advice.
At the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, a temp crosses the weekly lower earnings limit of £120 at 9.44 hours and the £192 auto-enrolment trigger at 15.11 hours, so a 15-hour week (£190.65) does not make an eligible jobholder and a 15.5-hour week (£197.01) does. A temp on 37.5 hours (£476.63) has £356.63 of qualifying earnings a week, which needs at least £28.53 in total contributions, £10.70 of it from the agency.
Source: The Pensions Regulator, earnings thresholds for 2026/2027; Pensions Regulator detailed guidance 1 (employer duties and defining the workforce, paragraphs 20 to 21), 3 (assessing the workforce) and 3a (postponement); GOV.UK National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates; all read 5 October 2026. Our calculation. Not legal advice.
The employment intermediary report for 6 July to 5 October 2026 is due at HMRC by 5 November 2026 and lists every worker an agency supplied and paid without operating PAYE; a late report brings an automatic £250 penalty, £500 for a second in 12 months and £1,000 for a third, so three missed quarters cost £1,750.
Source: GOV.UK "Employment intermediaries reporting requirements: what this means for an intermediary" (updated 30 July 2026), "How to use the employment intermediaries template", "Check if you're an employment intermediary" (updated 8 May 2026) and "Submit an employment intermediary report"; HMRC Employment Status Manual ESM2115 and ESM2190 (updated 16 September 2025); each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. The example agency and the email wording are ours. Not tax advice.
On the example hours for a small recruitment agency (37 office hours a week, 22 of them on six jobs a tool can prepare, a quarter of each kept for checking), 16.5 hours a week could be handed over: 45% of the total, costing £11,385 a year at £15 an hour over 46 weeks.
Source: Arithmetic on the hours entered; the checking share is our stated assumption and can be changed. Rules behind what stays with the consultant: ICO, AI tools in recruitment audit outcomes report, November 2024; Agency Workers Regulations 2010; Home Office right to work guidance
Most recruitment agencies in Great Britain need no licence; the two fixed fees on day one are £100 to incorporate online at Companies House and £52 for the ICO data protection fee (£47 by direct debit), £152 together, and the first temp adds employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million, with a fine of £2,500 for each day without it.
Source: GOV.UK "Employment agencies and businesses" and its licences page; GOV.UK overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003 (updated 22 June 2026); Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 regs 13A and 17 on legislation.gov.uk; Companies House fees (updated 25 September 2026); ICO data protection fee pages; GOV.UK "Employers' liability insurance" and "Register as an employer"; all read 2026-10-01. Not legal advice.
On 1 October 2026 Totaljobs listed a Pro job advert at £220 for 30 days with a first advert for new customers at £69, so ten adverts cost £2,049; Reed listed a Premium job credit at £89 plus VAT as a new customer offer; and Indeed's UK pricing page said agencies are ineligible for free accounts.
Source: Reed.co.uk recruiter pages (post a job, CV Search, recruitment agencies, new customer offer), Totaljobs recruiter pages (single job ads, post a job ad) and Indeed's UK pricing page, each read in a browser render on 2026-10-01. CV-Library's advertising page refused our reader and LinkedIn was not checked, so neither is priced here. Arithmetic is ours.
On 1 October 2026 three of the five CRMs we checked showed pound prices on their own pricing pages: Bullhorn (Starter £80 and Core £120 per user a month), Vincere (Core £95 per user for two to seven users) and Recruit CRM (Pro £75 per user, billed annually). For a six-consultant agency those come to between £5,400 and £8,640 a year before add-ons. Firefish and JobAdder publish no per-user price.
Source: bullhorn.com/uk/pricing, vincere.io/pricing, recruitcrm.io/pricing, firefishsoftware.com/pricing and jobadder.com, each read in a browser on 2026-10-01; Capterra reviews of Bullhorn and Recruit CRM for the complaints given in paraphrase; atspro.co.uk "How much does a recruitment CRM cost? UK pricing guide 2026" for the all-in range. An earlier version of this page used figures reported by comparison sites; they were replaced with the vendors' own the same day. Desk check only; check the live page before deciding.
Full guide: Recruitment CRM prices: who publishes them, and what a six-consultant agency pays a year
AEO Lookup editorial team
We write practical guides for people who run small UK firms, and we check every fact against its source on the date shown. Read how we review, or tell us if something has changed.