Guides for people running a UK temp agency.
Short, sourced answers to the questions small UK temp and staffing agencies ask most: charge rates and margins, holiday pay and the 12.07% rule, the Agency Worker Regulations, working time, right to work, licence, CPC and DBS checks, and how to run the weekly ring round. Each guide shows the date it was last checked.
Starting an agency
How do you start a temp agency in the UK?Starting a UK temp agency: company set-up, HMRC, insurance, VAT, the Conduct Regulations, checks on temps and winning first clients. Sourced and dated.Do you need a licence to start a recruitment agency in the UK?No general licence is needed for a UK recruitment agency. Supplying farm, shellfish or food packing work needs a Fair Work Agency gangmaster's licence.Do I need to join the REC to run a recruitment agency?REC membership is voluntary. What the REC says members get, who can join, the compliance test every two years, and how fees work. Checked 26 October 2026.
Pay and margins
What margin should a temp agency make?There is no official typical margin for UK temp agencies. How to work out your true margin after holiday pay, employer NI and pension, with an example.How do you work out a charge rate for a temp?How a UK temp agency builds a charge rate: pay rate, 12.07% holiday pay, employer NI, pension, then the margin you need. Worked example with made-up rates.How much do temp agencies charge?How UK temp agencies price: an hourly charge rate covering pay, holiday, NI, pension and margin, plus VAT, and the rules on temp-to-perm fees.
Employer costs
Does a temp agency pay employer National Insurance?Yes: a UK agency supplying temps is usually the secondary contributor. 2026 to 2027 rates, the £96 threshold, under-21 relief and Employment Allowance.Do agency workers get a pension?Agency workers must be auto-enrolled if eligible, and the agency that pays them is usually the employer. 2026 to 2027 thresholds and the 3% minimum.Does a temp agency pay the apprenticeship levy?Only if its pay bill, temps included, is over £3 million a year. The 0.5% rate, the £15,000 allowance, connected companies, and how it is reported.
Holiday pay
Can agencies pay rolled-up holiday pay to agency workers?When an agency can pay holiday as 12.07% on top of each hour: who it applies to, the payslip rule and the key information document.What is 12.07% holiday pay?Where 12.07% comes from, who it applies to, how holiday accrues in hours each pay period, the rounding rule and the 28-day cap, with examples.Do agency workers get holiday pay?Yes. Agency workers get 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, usually paid by the agency. How it accrues, who pays, and what changes after 12 weeks.
Agency Worker Regulations
What is the Agency Worker Regulations 12-week rule?What the AWR 12-week rule gives agency workers, what counts as the same role and hirer, day-one rights and who is liable, from the 2010 regulations.What breaks the AWR 12-week clock?Which breaks pause the AWR 12-week clock, which count as worked, and which reset it to zero. From regulation 7 of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
Working time
How many days in a row can a temp work?UK law sets no fixed limit on consecutive days. It sets rest: 24 hours each week or 48 each fortnight, 11 hours a day, breaks over 6 hours. Drivers differ.Does the 48-hour week apply to agency workers?Agency workers cannot be made to average more than 48 hours a week over 17 weeks unless they opt out in writing. Who counts the hours, and drivers.
Contracts and rules
Can a temp agency charge a temp-to-perm fee?Yes, within regulation 10 of the Conduct Regulations 2003: the 14 and 8 week periods, the 42-day gap and the extended hire option for the client.What are the Conduct Regulations 2003?What the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 require of a UK temp agency, regulation by regulation, in plain English.What terms of business should a temp agency have?A checklist of client terms for a UK temp agency: rates, AWR, timesheets, payment, transfer fees, liability, and what the Conduct Regulations require.
Checks and compliance
How do you do right to work checks for agency workers?Right to work checks for UK temp agencies: the three methods, share codes, follow-up checks, records and the £45,000 and £60,000 civil penalty levels.Who does the right to work check: the agency or the client?In a standard temp supply the agency does the right to work check. When the client must check instead, and what changed on 1 October 2026.How do you check a driver's licence as an employer?Check a driving licence with a DVLA check code: consent, the 21-day code, categories B to DE, penalty points and endorsement codes. For UK agencies.How do you check a driver's CPC card?Check a Driver CPC card and training record: the 5-year deadline, 35 hours of periodic training, National vs International cards, and exemptions.How do you check an FLT licence?There is no legal forklift licence in the UK. How agencies check FLT training certificates, what HSE L117 expects, and who authorises the operator on site.Do agency care workers need a DBS check?Agency care workers giving personal care need an Enhanced DBS with the Adults' Barred List. Who requests it, the £41 fee, the Update Service and the law.
Running the desk
How do you find temp workers fast?How small temp agencies fill short-notice shifts: take the order properly, search your own bench by distance and days, ring the nearest free people first.How do temp agencies manage candidate availability?A practical method for tracking who is free: free, booked or off for each day, a usual week plus changes, a weekly ring round, and bookings that update it.How do you run a ring round at a temp agency?How to run the weekly availability ring round: who goes on the list, what to ask, what to record, and how to split it across the team without double calls.
Software
Is there a free recruitment CRM?Free recruitment CRMs checked on vendor pages: Zoho Recruit's free plan, HubSpot's free CRM, trials, and what free costs a temp agency.Do I need a CRM as a one-person agency?When a solo recruitment or temp agency should move from a spreadsheet to a CRM, what to look for, and what one seat costs. Honest signs, no invented stats.What software does a new temp agency need?The software stack for a new UK temp agency: CRM, payroll, accounts and invoicing, job boards and e-signature, and what Tempbench does not cover.
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