Running an agency legally
Free, plain English guides to the law a UK recruitment agency has to work inside: the Conduct Regulations, key information documents, right to work checks, umbrella liability, paying drivers, licensing and terms of business. With links to the actual law, so you can check us.
The complete list of documents, registrations and insurance a new UK recruitment agency needs before the first placement, in the order you need them, with links to the free official sources.
Read, 9 minPermanent placement and temporary supply are different businesses under UK law, with different duties, different cash needs and different risk. Which one you are decides most of your compliance.
Read, 6 minWhat a key information document must contain, when it has to be given, why it is the document agencies most often get wrong, and where to download the free official examples for PAYE and for a limited company.
Read, 6 minHow to carry out a right to work check that actually gives you a statutory excuse, how long to keep the evidence, and why the duty now reaches into labour supply chains.
Read, 7 minFrom April 2026 an agency is jointly and severally liable for PAYE an umbrella company fails to pay, with no reasonable care defence. What that means in practice, and the simplest way to be safe.
Read, 6 minAgency drivers are almost always under supervision, direction or control, and where they are, the agency legislation requires PAYE whatever the invoice says. Why the 2026 IR35 threshold change makes this worse rather than better.
Read, 7 minSupplying labour into agriculture, horticulture, shellfish and the food processing and packaging attached to them requires a licence, and operating without one is a criminal offence. Where the line actually falls.
Read, 5 minThe clauses that decide whether you get paid and whether you keep the candidate, including the transfer fee rules under regulation 10 that make badly drafted terms unenforceable.
Read, 8 min