What are the Conduct Regulations 2003?
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 set the rules for UK recruitment agencies and temp agencies. They ban charging work-seekers fees, limit temp-to-perm fees, stop agencies withholding pay, and require a key information document, agreed written terms, and checks on the worker and the job before any supply.
Last checked 26 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Agency or employment business
The regulations use two terms. An employment agency finds people permanent jobs with a client, who employs them. An employment business supplies temps who work under the client's control but are engaged by the business. Most temp agencies are employment businesses, and many do both. Some rules apply to one, some to both (Regulations 2003).
The rules that matter most for a temp desk
| Regulation | What it requires |
|---|---|
| 6 | No detriment to a worker for leaving or taking work elsewhere, and no demand to name a future employer |
| 7 | Limits on supplying temps to replace workers taking part in industrial action |
| 10 | Transfer (temp-to-perm) fees only within set periods, with an extended hire option |
| 12 | No withholding pay because the client has not paid, has not signed a timesheet, or for anything in the agency's control |
| 13A | A key information document, before the worker agrees terms (for work-finding started on or after 6 April 2020) |
| 14 and 15 | Written terms agreed with the worker before finding them work, including pay, holiday and notice |
| 18 | Get enough information from the client: the role, hours, location, risks, qualifications, start and duration |
| 19 | Confirm the worker's identity, experience, qualifications and willingness before supplying |
| 21 | Pass the information on to the client and worker, in writing by the end of the third business day if given verbally |
| 26 | No fees to work-seekers for finding work, except in listed occupations |
| 29 | Keep records on work-seekers, hirers and other agencies |
What changed in 2016 and 2020
Regulation 17, which used to require an employment business to agree written terms with each hirer, was omitted from 8 May 2016 (reg 17). There is no longer a statutory list of what your client terms must contain, but a transfer fee can still only be enforced if it is in the contract on regulation 10 terms.
From 6 April 2020, employment businesses must give each new work-seeker a key information document before they agree terms: at most two sides of A4, setting out who pays them, pay rates, deductions, fees and holiday, with a worked example of pay (reg 13A).
Short bookings and repeat bookings
The information rules are lighter for short work. If a temp goes back to the same client in the same role within 5 business days and nothing has changed, you do not need to send it all again. For assignments of 5 consecutive business days or less, you can give the client the worker's name and written confirmation that the regulation 19 checks are done, and send the rest if the booking runs past five days (reg 21).
Who enforces them
The government set up the Fair Work Agency in April 2026 to bring workers' rights enforcement together (business.gov.uk, Fair Work Agency), and since 7 April 2026 regulation 13A refers to enforcement officers under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Workers can complain through the pay and work rights service. A breach can also make terms unenforceable and let clients or workers recover money.
Questions people ask
Do the Conduct Regulations apply to small agencies?
Yes. They apply to every employment agency and employment business in Great Britain, whatever its size, including a one-person agency. They apply from the first worker you supply. Labour providers in some sectors also need a gangmasters licence, which is now handled by the Fair Work Agency.
Do I still need written terms with my clients?
The specific duty to agree terms with hirers in regulation 17 was removed in 2016. But you still need a contract to charge a transfer fee under regulation 10, and written terms protect you on rates, payment and liability. Most agencies keep signed terms of business for every client.
Can I hold back a temp's pay until the client pays me?
No. Regulation 12 bars an employment business from withholding pay because the client has not paid, because the worker cannot produce a client-signed timesheet, or for anything within the agency's control. You can check the hours were worked by other means, but you must pay for work done.
What is a key information document?
A document an employment business must give a work-seeker before they agree terms, under regulation 13A. It is no more than two sides of A4 and sets out who pays them, their pay rate, deductions, fees, holiday and a worked example of pay. A revised one is due within five business days of a change.
Sources
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (contents)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 6 (detrimental action)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 10 (charges to hirers, transfer fees)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 12 (withholding pay)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 13A (key information document)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 14 (terms with work-seekers)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 17 (omitted 8 May 2016)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 18 (information from the hirer)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 19 (confirmation about the work-seeker)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 21 (information to work-seekers and hirers)
- Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 26 (fees to work-seekers)
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses
- Business.gov.uk: New employment rights, changes by date (April 2026 SSP, holiday pay records, Fair Work Agency)
- GOV.UK: Fair Work Agency
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