About Recruitment Agency Fees
How permanent, temporary and contract recruitment is charged to UK employers, what the Conduct Regulations require, and quotes from recruitment agencies.
What is on this site
One question, "recruitment agency fees", answered with a quote form that works on the page with no account, 4 guides on the questions around it, a data table you can cite (the figures and their method), and the sources every figure rests on.
- Permanent placement fees: percentage, fixed fee and what applies: How agencies charge for permanent hires, what the percentage is calculated on, when a fixed fee is better for the employer, and the terms that decide the invoice.
- Temp agency charge rates: what sits between pay rate and invoice: A temporary charge rate covers the worker's pay, statutory on costs and the agency margin. What each element is, and why comparing margins alone misleads employers.
- Temp to perm transfer fees: what regulation 10 actually says: Taking on an agency temp directly? A transfer fee term is unenforceable unless you were offered an extended hire alternative, and it expires after a defined period.
- Recruitment rebate periods: what happens when a hire does not stay: Rebate and replacement terms decide what an employer gets back when a placement fails. Sliding scales, exclusions, and the clauses that make a guarantee worth having.
Reach us
Contact for a question about the site, or enquiries@recruitmentagencyfees.co.uk. The legal terms are on Terms and Privacy.
Recruitment Agency Fees is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not a recruitment agency and we are not affiliated with any agency, regulator or professional body named here. We pass the details you submit to relevant recruitment agencies, who contact you directly; we may receive a fee from those agencies, and you pay nothing for the introduction. Percentage figures on this site are market convention as understood in 2026, labelled as such, and are not published averages or standards; nobody sets recruitment fee levels in the UK. Statutory points are drawn from the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 as shown on legislation.gov.uk on 14 August 2026. This site provides general information about how agencies charge and is not legal, employment law or tax advice.