A temp turns out to be unsuitable: when must a recruitment agency tell the client, and when must it pull the temp?

A consultant hears something about a worker already on site: a complaint from another client, a missing qualification, a message from a colleague. Is it the agency's job to tell the client, and how fast?

Short answer from the regulation. Yes, and quickly. Regulation 20 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 sets out what an agency or employment business must do before supply and what it must do once it learns something about the worker afterwards.

Before supply (paragraph 1)

You may not introduce or supply a worker unless you have:

• taken all steps that are reasonably practicable to make sure the worker and the client each know of any legal or professional-body requirements that must be met for the position; and
• made all enquiries that are reasonably practicable to be satisfied that it would not be detrimental to the interests of the worker or the client for that worker to do that job.

This sits beside regulation 19, which says you must first have confirmation of the worker's identity, their experience, training, qualifications and authorisation, and their willingness to do the job. Those checks are in our temporary worker placement checklist.

After supply: three triggers (paragraphs 2 to 4)

These apply to an employment business, that is, a temp supply.

Note the middle row. A doubt that falls short of proof still has to go to the client, on the same clock. Waiting until you are sure is not an option the text gives you.

After a permanent introduction (paragraphs 5 and 6)

For an agency (a permanent introduction), paragraph 5 says that if, after introducing someone, you learn something that indicates they are or may be unsuitable for the job they hold, you must tell the client without delay. Paragraph 6 limits this to 3 months from the date of introduction. If you hand the client a candidate on 6 October 2026, the duty lasts until 6 January 2027. The paragraph imposes a duty to inform; it does not say you must end anything. Our permanent placement checklist puts the introduction date in the file, which is the date this clock starts from.

How fast is "without delay"?

Paragraph 7 defines it: on the same day, or where that is not reasonably practicable, on the next business day.

Worked example. A consultant is told at 17:45 on Friday 9 October 2026. Same day is not reasonably practicable if the client's site is shut. The next business day is Monday 12 October, so the client must be told by the end of Monday. That is 3 calendar days (9, 10, 11 then 12) but one business day. Reading "next business day" as a weekend grace period is the error to avoid: Monday is the last moment, and a message sent at once is safer than one saved for the morning.

Steps for a desk

1. Write down the date and time you received the information, and who from. The file is evidence of the clock.
2. Ask whether it gives reasonable grounds (para 2) or only indicates a possible problem (para 3).
3. Tell the client the same day, in writing, whichever it is.
4. If para 2 applies, end the supply and tell the worker why. If para 3, record the enquiries you made and what you told the client.
5. Keep the record. Our guide on how long agencies must keep records covers the 12-month minimum stated by GOV.UK for Conduct Regulations records.

What we could not confirm

The regulation does not say what counts as "reasonable grounds" or a "business day". We did not find GOV.UK guidance specific to regulation 20, so we have no view on how the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate reads those words. The page records an amendment dated 6 April 2004 and no outstanding changes. Nothing here covers duties under data protection law about what you may say to a client about a worker, which needs separate checking before you send anything, nor employment-law risk if you end an engagement.

Where Overlyft fits

Overlyft can set up a Compliance Clerk for this: an assistant that logs every concern against the worker and placement record with a time stamp, works out the same-day and next-business-day deadline, drafts the notice to the client for a consultant to read and send, and shows the 3-month window on each permanent introduction. A person decides whether the information amounts to reasonable grounds.

This page is general information, not advice.