Recruitment agency job advert rules in the UK: the seven things Regulation 27 makes every advert prove

Most agency compliance advice is about temps and fees. The job advert is where a small agency is exposed every single day, because it is written fast, often by someone who joined last month, and posted to a board within minutes. The rule that governs it is short: regulation 27 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

This guide sets out what the regulation says, turns it into a check you can run in under a minute, and notes where it stops. It does not cover board prices, which are in our guide to job advert prices on Reed, Totaljobs and Indeed.

What regulation 27 says

The regulation has three paragraphs.

27(1): every advert. Every advertisement you issue must include "the full name of the agency or employment business", and for each position it advertises, whether the work is temporary or permanent. The wording on the temporary or permanent point was changed by amending regulations that came into force on 1 October 2010.

27(2): adverts for particular roles. You must not issue an advert about positions unless you hold two things: information about the specific positions the advert relates to, and authority from the hirer to find work-seekers for each of those positions (or authority from another agency or employment business that has that authority). GOV.UK's guidance puts it as written authority from the hirer, so keep the email or signed terms that gave it.

27(3): adverts that state a rate of pay. If the advert gives rates of pay, it must say the nature of the work, the location where the work-seeker would be required to work, and the minimum experience, training or qualifications needed to receive those rates.

GOV.UK adds an exception for generic adverts. If you post an advert for workers for no particular hirer, you do not need the hirer's authority or information about specific roles. A "we are always recruiting warehouse operatives" talent-pool advert is the usual example.

The seven checks

We counted the items regulation 27 asks of one advert. The result depends on what the advert says.

At 12 live adverts a week, all of the third kind, that is 84 checks a week if you do them honestly, one by one. Nobody does that from memory, which is the case for a fixed list at the point of posting.

A one-minute check before posting

1. Is the full name of the business in the advert itself, not only on the board's profile page? "Full name" means the legal or trading name, so "Acme Staffing Ltd" rather than "Acme".
2. Does each role say temporary or permanent? A "temp-to-perm" role needs a clear statement of which it is at the start.
3. Do you hold written details of the role from the hirer?
4. Do you hold the hirer's written authority to find people for it? Your terms of business are the usual home for that authority, and the order or vacancy email can carry it for a single role.
5. If a rate is quoted, does the advert say what the work is, where it is and the minimum experience or qualification for that rate?
6. Is the pay figure one you can pay? Our temp margin calculator shows what a quoted rate leaves after the employer costs.
7. Is the advert and your authority kept? GOV.UK says records under the Conduct Regulations are kept for at least 12 months, and our guide on how long agencies must keep records lists what goes in that file.

Where the risk really sits

The most common failure we would expect is paragraph 27(2), not 27(1). An advert for a role the client has not yet instructed you on, posted to catch candidates before the order arrives, has no authority behind it. The test is simple: could you show a document dated before the advert went live? If you cannot, take it down or get the authority first.

The second is 27(3) on a quoted rate. "£14 to £16 an hour" with no location or experience level is a breach on its face. Either add the three details or drop the figure. Note that GOV.UK's pay-rate guidance applies when you state rates; the regulation does not force you to quote pay at all.

I could not verify from the pages read what penalty attaches to a breach of regulation 27 or how often it is enforced, so this guide makes no claim on that. If a complaint arises, it would go to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate; check its current guidance before you reply to it.

Some adverts also touch other rules. A role supplying workers into agriculture, food processing or shellfish gathering may need a licence (see do I need a Gangmasters licence), and screening candidates who respond with automated tools brings in data protection duties (see AI CV screening and the ICO rules). Neither is part of regulation 27.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that reads each draft advert against the seven checks, flags a missing hirer authority or a pay figure without location and experience, and leaves the final decision to post with a consultant.

This is general information, not legal advice.