Temporary worker placement checklist for agencies: registration to the end of the assignment

Placing a temp is the job a temp desk repeats most, and each placement carries its own paperwork: a Key Information Document, accepted client terms, a right to work check, a pay rate that survives the costs on top of it, and a clock that starts on the first day. This list follows one worker from registration to the end of the assignment. It is written for an employment business in England, Wales or Scotland that pays temps through its own payroll, with extra steps for contractors and umbrella companies. Use one list for each new assignment, and tick a step that does not apply once somebody has decided it does not.

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Temp placement checklist for agencies

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When the worker registers

Give the Key Information Document before the worker agrees terms Check the document names the Fair Work Agency as the enforcement contact Check the pay example adds up, line by line, to the net figure Worker paid through an umbrella company: use the longer document with both rates Agree terms with the worker after the document is given, and file both dates Charge the worker nothing for finding them work

Before you put the worker forward

Check the client's acceptance of your terms is on file before the worker's details go over Check those terms offer an extended period of hire as the alternative to a transfer fee Record the vacancy facts: hirer, start date, likely length, position, location, hours, risks and qualifications Price the booking from the full hourly cost, not from the pay rate Check the pay rate against the National Living Wage Contractor with their own company: ask the client for its status determination before the start Worker paid by an umbrella company: check its VAT and Companies House records and a real payslip

Before the first shift

Do the right to work check before the first day, using the check that fits the document File the copy or the online result with the date of the check and who did it Time-limited permission: diary the follow-up check before the end date Ask the hirer for the pay and conditions of a comparable direct recruit Tell the worker about day-one rights: shared facilities and the hirer's vacancies

While the assignment runs

Start the 12-week count on the first day and record the reason for every break Pay the worker for every hour worked, whether or not the client has paid you Worker off sick: pay statutory sick pay from the first day Pay, deductions or payer changed: issue a revised Key Information Document within five business days Before week twelve: confirm the new pay rate with the hirer and re-price the charge rate

When the assignment ends or the client keeps the worker

Write the regulation 10 window on the file: the later of 8 weeks after the end and 14 weeks after the start Client wants to keep the worker: ask it to choose in writing between extended hire and the fee Worker returns after a gap: check whether the gap was more than six weeks Keep the assignment records for at least 12 months after your last work-finding service

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A working list, not a certificate and not advice: the rule behind each step, with its source, is set out below.

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When the worker registers

Give the Key Information Document before the worker agrees terms. Regulation 13A requires it before terms are agreed, as a separate document of no more than two sides of A4 with a worked pay example. A page inside the contract or the registration pack does not count. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A. The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Check the document names the Fair Work Agency as the enforcement contact. Since 7 April 2026 the document must give contact details for the enforcement officers appointed under the Employment Rights Act 2025. One that still names the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is out of date. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A, as amended on 7 April 2026 by SI 2026/302. The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Check the pay example adds up, line by line, to the net figure. The regulation asks for an example of one pay period, item by item. In our template 37.5 hours at £13.50 is £506.25 gross and £412.95 net after income tax, National Insurance and pension. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A(3)(d); our worked example. The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Worker paid through an umbrella company: use the longer document with both rates. Where someone else employs or pays the worker, paragraph (6) replaces the ten details with fifteen, including the rate paid to the intermediary, the rate paid to the worker and an explanation of the difference. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A(6). The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Agree terms with the worker after the document is given, and file both dates. The file must show the date the document was given, and that date has to be before the date terms were agreed. The pay rate in it must be a figure or a stated minimum, never left to be confirmed. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A. The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Charge the worker nothing for finding them work. Charging a work-seeker a fee for finding work is prohibited outside entertainment and modelling, and terms must be agreed with the work-seeker before any work-finding services are provided. Source: GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

Before you put the worker forward

Check the client's acceptance of your terms is on file before the worker's details go over. Regulation 17 was removed on 8 May 2016, so no regulation makes a hirer sign terms. A signature or a timestamped click is the strongest proof, then a reply email saying agreed; terms on a website the client was never shown are worth nothing. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003; regulation 17 omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510. The working is in Recruitment agency terms of business.

Check those terms offer an extended period of hire as the alternative to a transfer fee. Regulation 10 allows a transfer fee only if the terms gave the hirer that choice. Without it no fee is chargeable at all, whatever the dates. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10; GOV.UK transfer fees page. The working is in Temp-to-perm transfer fees.

Record the vacancy facts: hirer, start date, likely length, position, location, hours, risks and qualifications. GOV.UK's list of what to collect before anyone is put forward includes the hirer's identity, the nature of its business, the start date and likely length, the position, the location, the hours, any health and safety risks and the qualifications needed. Source: GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

Price the booking from the full hourly cost, not from the pay rate. A temp paid £13.50 an hour for 37.5 hours costs £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 £19.50 charge rate the margin is £2.13. Source: GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027; our worked example. The working is in Temp margin calculator.

Check the pay rate against the National Living Wage. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026. Each £1 added to the pay rate adds about £1.32 to the hourly cost in our example, so settle the pay rate before the charge rate is agreed. Source: GOV.UK rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. The working is in Temp margin calculator.

Contractor with their own company: ask the client for its status determination before the start. A medium or large client decides IR35 status and must give its status determination statement to the agency. If it says inside, the agency as fee-payer pays 15% employer National Insurance that cannot be deducted from the payment to the contractor's company. Source: GOV.UK, Fee-payer responsibilities under the off-payroll working rules. The working is in IR35 for recruitment agencies.

Worker paid by an umbrella company: check its VAT and Companies House records and a real payslip. Since 6 April 2026 the agency holding the client contract is jointly and severally liable for an umbrella company's unpaid PAYE. HMRC asks for checks that are regular, reasonable and proportionate, and names VAT registration, Companies House records and workers' payslips. Source: GOV.UK, Responsibilities for employment businesses working with umbrella companies. The working is in IR35 for recruitment agencies.

Before the first shift

Do the right to work check before the first day, using the check that fits the document. A British or Irish passport takes a manual or digital identity check. An eVisa, an EU passport or a time-limited visa takes the Home Office online check with a share code. A check done in week two gives no statutory excuse for week one. Source: Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

File the copy or the online result with the date of the check and who did it. Keep it for the whole of the engagement and two years after it ends. 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 employer's guide; GOV.UK, Penalties for employing illegal workers. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

Time-limited permission: diary the follow-up check before the end date. A British or Irish passport never needs a repeat check. Time-limited permission needs one before it ends, and for a student visa you also need the institution's term dates in writing: twenty hours a week in term time. Source: Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

Ask the hirer for the pay and conditions of a comparable direct recruit. After twelve qualifying weeks the worker is entitled to the same basic pay, overtime rates, holiday and rest breaks as a direct recruit doing the same job. The hirer's own pay information sets the rate, so ask at the start, not in week eleven. Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010, as summarised by Acas. The working is in Agency worker 12-week rule calculator.

Tell the worker about day-one rights: shared facilities and the hirer's vacancies. From the first day an agency worker has the same access as direct staff to the canteen, childcare, transport and other collective facilities, and to information about the hirer's vacancies. These rights do not wait for week twelve. Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010, as summarised by Acas. The working is in Agency worker 12-week rule calculator.

While the assignment runs

Start the 12-week count on the first day and record the reason for every break. A week counts if the worker does any work in it. A break of up to six weeks pauses the count, sickness or jury service pauses it for up to 28 weeks, and a break of more than six weeks for another reason starts it again. Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010, as summarised by Acas. The working is in Agency worker 12-week rule calculator.

Pay the worker for every hour worked, whether or not the client has paid you. GOV.UK states that an employment business must not withhold pay from a work-seeker because the hirer has not paid. Wages go out first and client invoices are paid later, so the cash has to be there. Source: GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

Worker off sick: pay statutory sick pay from the first day. Since 6 April 2026 statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of sickness, with no lower earnings limit, at 80% of earnings or the flat rate, whichever is lower. Sickness pauses the 12-week count as before. Source: Employment Rights Act 2025 and the government's implementation roadmap. The working is in Employment Rights Act 2025 dates for recruitment agencies.

Pay, deductions or payer changed: issue a revised Key Information Document within five business days. If any detail changes after terms are agreed, a revised document is due by the end of the fifth business day after the day of the change, and it must state the date the change takes effect. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A. The working is in Key Information Document for agency workers.

Before week twelve: confirm the new pay rate with the hirer and re-price the charge rate. After 12 qualifying weeks the worker is entitled to the same basic pay as a comparable direct recruit. If that means a higher pay rate, the charge rate has to move with it or the margin goes, because holiday pay, National Insurance and pension rise with it. Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010; our margin example. The working is in Temp margin calculator.

When the assignment ends or the client keeps the worker

Write the regulation 10 window on the file: the later of 8 weeks after the end and 14 weeks after the start. A transfer fee is chargeable only if the hirer takes the worker on before that date. A temp who started on 1 June 2026 and finished on 11 September 2026 is free to the client from 6 November 2026. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10; GOV.UK transfer fees page. The working is in Temp-to-perm transfer fees.

Client wants to keep the worker: ask it to choose in writing between extended hire and the fee. If the hirer takes the extension you supply the worker for the extended period at your normal margin, and at the end the hirer may engage the worker with no fee. The extension cannot be on worse terms than the original assignment. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10; GOV.UK transfer fees page. The working is in Temp-to-perm transfer fees.

Worker returns after a gap: check whether the gap was more than six weeks. A gap that runs from a Monday to the Sunday six weeks later is six weeks and one day, and the 12-week count resets. Count the days, not the weeks anyone quoted, and note the reason, because sickness and booked leave are treated differently. Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010, as summarised by Acas. The working is in Agency worker 12-week rule calculator.

Keep the assignment records for at least 12 months after your last work-finding service. Records of candidates and clients must be kept for at least 12 months after you create them and at least 12 months after you last provided work-finding services. Since 7 April 2026 the Fair Work Agency enforces the Conduct Regulations. Source: GOV.UK overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

How to use the list

Keep the finished list on the worker's file with the date of each tick. The dates matter more than the ticks: the Key Information Document has to be dated before the terms, the right to work check before the first shift, and the client's acceptance before the introduction. When an inspector, a client or the worker asks what was done, the file answers. Start a new list when the worker moves to a different hirer or a substantively different role, because the 12-week count starts again.

A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for recruitment agencies: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them.