Working through a recruitment agency
Finding work through a recruitment agency can be a great way to find new opportunities or undertake work in a flexible manner. On this page we’ll detail what the process may look like, the information you may need to provide and what your rights are.
A recruitment agency can find you, as a work-seeker, temporary or permanent work.
A recruitment agency will operate as an Employment Business when providing you with temporary work. An Employment Business is an organisation which engages a work-seeker under a contract, who then works under the supervision of someone else, for example being placed on assignment with another company. Whereas the recruitment agency will operate as an Employment Agency when finding work-seekers permanent opportunities. This is often called ‘permanent employment’ because once you, as the work-seeker have been hired, you will be an employee of the company who has hired you and no longer be engaged by the agency.
There are multiple ways to engage with a recruitment agency; this could include contacting them through their website, calling or visiting their offices or responding to a job advertisement or social media post. You may also be introduced to a recruitment agency via the company you wish to work for. In any case, there will be a number of steps to go through prior to being placed into either a temporary or permanent role.
The first step will be advising the agency what type of work you are looking for (i.e. temporary or permanent) and providing your information to the agency which may also include the agency completing an interview with you.
Permanent work:
This is when the agency will begin setting up interviews and/or assessments for you with prospective employers – this could be on a face-to-face or virtual basis, which may involve more than one person interviewing you (otherwise known as a panel).
To facilitate these interviews, the agency will likely ask you for:
- Name and contact details
- Date of birth
- Right to work documentation or share code
- National Insurance Number
- CV
- Previous work history including employment, voluntary and education
- Education, qualifications, professional qualifications, and membership information
- Any additional information and/or documentation as required to complete any enhanced checks or requirements from their client.
If you are successful, the agency should then provide you with written confirmation of:
- who the employer is
- the start date
- the job title
- the minimum rate of pay or salary
- the notice period you would need to give to the employer should you wish to end your employment.
At this point, your relationship with the agency will end and you will be employed on a permanent basis with the hirer.
Temporary work
If it is temporary work, then the agency must provide you with a Key Information Document (KID) at the beginning of your engagement. This document outlines your relationship with your agency and any intermediary or umbrella company used in your engagement. It contains key information about the engagement, including pay details, holiday entitlement and other benefits.
For more information on KIDs please click on the UK government resource here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-a-key-information-document-for-agency-workers-guidance-for-employment-businesses
A recruitment agency may ask you for:
- Name and contact details
- Date of birth
- Emergency contact and next of kin details
- Right to work documentation or share code
- National Insurance Number
- Bank details (to be able to pay you for the work you have done)
- CV
- Previous work history including employment, voluntary and education
- Education, qualifications, professional qualifications, and membership information
- Any additional information and/or documentation as required to complete any enhanced checks, or requirements of their client
In addition to the above you may also be required to provide the following if you are working as a Limited Company Contractor (LCC) / Personal Service Company (PSC):
- Name of limited company
- Certificate of incorporation
- VAT certificate (if applicable)
- Certificate of Insurance(s) – professional indemnity, public liability and employer’s liability (if applicable)
- Statement or letter issued by bank confirming bank account
The information you provide will be reviewed by the agency to determine your suitability for the work that they offer. This stage may also include background vetting checks if required, such as a criminal record disclosure check, adverse media check, or driving licence checks. It is not unusual to be asked to pay for the criminal record disclosure check and the agency should put this in writing to you. If you are asked to pay, please check our additional information here: https://www.gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role
If additional security vetting is required, you may need to complete additional documentation.
How will I get paid?
At this stage your agency should confirm how you will be engaged and paid, and they should confirm the terms of this engagement. There are a number of ways you could be engaged through an agency, and your agency will advise you of the options available to you.
Potential routes of temporary work via a recruitment agency:
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – this is where you are paid directly by the recruitment agency. This means tax and National Insurance contributions are usually automatically deducted.
Umbrella Company – this is where you work through an Umbrella Company which is an alternative to setting up your own limited company business. There is no legal definition of an Umbrella Company but for the purpose of the information provided here, an Umbrella Company is essentially an overarching employer who provides you with a payroll service. The Umbrella Company acts as your employer, and as the intermediary between you and your recruitment agency. A recruitment agency cannot make you use an Umbrella Company, but it may also be the only way that they pay workers. They also do not have to offer you any other methods of engagement such as PAYE or LCC/PSC. On the other hand, they do not have to offer the option of working through an Umbrella Company or have to accept your preferred Umbrella Company either.
For more information on working through an Umbrella Company please click here: Working through an umbrella company
Limited Company Contractor (LCC)/Personal Services Company (PSC) – this is where you work through your own limited company, and your limited company will be hired to do the work (either directly or via an intermediary like an agency/umbrella company), and then you, as an employee of the limited company, will carry out the work on behalf of your limited company.
As an LCC/PSC, the recruitment agency will need to do the same checks as are required on a PAYE worker, on any individuals that you will be supplying to do the work (including yourself). You will also be required to provide the following:
- Name of limited company
- Proof the company is incorporated
- Evidence of VAT registration (if applicable)
- Certificate of Insurance(s) – professional indemnity, public liability and employer’s liability (if applicable)
- Evidence of company bank account
Starting your temporary assignment
Once you have determined how you will work through your agency and prior to commencement of your first assignment, your agency should provide you with the following information about the work, in writing:
- Client Name
- Client Business Type
- Start Date of Assignment
- End Date of Assignment (if one is known)
- Job Title and description of the work you will be doing
- Where you will be working
- Hours of Work
- Health & Safety Information (any specific information that may affect you undertaking the role and what steps they have taken to prevent or control such risks)
- Relevant experience, training, qualifications (which the hirer considers are necessary, or which are required by law, or by any professional body, for a work-seeker to possess in order to work in the position)
- Minimum Pay Rate (to include both shift and overtime rates)
- Any expenses that you may incur and if they will be reimbursed
- Any Other Benefits
- Notice Period to end the assignment
The agency may not know when the assignment will end, so it is not unusual for the agency to advise you that it will be “ongoing”. This means that it could be a long-term assignment with no set end date, but there is no guarantee of this.
The notice period to end any assignment should be set out in your terms and conditions/contract with the agency and/or on the assignment information. This will tell you how much notice you, the agency or the hirer must give to end the current assignment.
This is separate to the notice period you will need to provide to end your terms and conditions/contract with the agency.
You will undertake the work as outlined in the assignment document, under the direction, supervision and control of the hirer. This may be different if you are working through your own Limited Company/Personal Services Company and your agency will explain this if it is applicable.
You will be paid for the hours worked as set out in your terms and conditions/contract and/or assignment information – this could be weekly, monthly, or as otherwise agreed. The amount paid will depend on the hours submitted on your timesheet/clocking-in system and these will normally be checked with the hirer to confirm accuracy.
Temporary-to-permanent work
In some instances, the hirer may decide that they want to employ you directly after a period of working with them on a temporary assignment via an agency. At this point, if you agree you would like to be employed by the hirer on a permanent basis, the hirer will agree with the agency a date on which you will move to the hirer on a permanent basis. Your terms and conditions/contract with the agency will end on your last working day through them, and prior to your start date with the hirer the hirer should provide you with their own terms and conditions/contract of employment.
Do you have concerns?
If you have concerns around your pay, or your rights while working for a recruitment agency, you should first contact the recruitment agency (or your umbrella company if working via an umbrella) to try and resolve any issues.
If you cannot get a resolution, you should report your issue to JobsAware so we can advise you where to go. Some key places that we may advise you to go to are: