Terms of business for a recruitment agency (temporary workers)

Supplying temporary workers is a regulated business with money at risk in both directions: the employment business must pay the worker whether or not the hirer pays, and the hirer will try to keep the worker without paying a transfer fee. The terms of business have to run charges and timesheets, put supervision and safety on the hirer, deal with transfers in the way the regulations allow, and reflect the equal treatment rules. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Employment businesses and staffing agencies in England and Wales supplying temporary, contract and interim workers to client hirers, whether the workers are engaged by the business as workers, employees or through their own companies. These are the terms with the hirer.

What matters in temporary supply terms

Regulated supply and the terms with the hirer

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and the Employment Agencies Act 1973 govern the supply of workers, including the rule that the employment business pays the worker regardless of whether the hirer has paid. The former requirement to agree terms with the hirer before supplying was removed in 2016, so the terms bind the hirer only if the employment business incorporates them itself. The terms should record that the workers are engaged by the employment business, that the hirer takes them on a supply basis, and that the hirer's obligations begin when it accepts a worker for an assignment.

Charges, timesheets and hours

The terms should state how charges are calculated (an hourly or daily charge including the worker's pay, statutory costs and margin), that charges are based on timesheets the hirer signs or is deemed to have approved after a stated period, that a signed timesheet is confirmation the hours were worked, and that overtime, bank holidays and expenses are charged as stated. Charges are invoiced weekly with interest and fixed compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

The hirer's responsibilities on site

While on assignment the worker is under the hirer's supervision, and the terms should make the hirer responsible for the worker's day-to-day direction, health and safety, induction, equipment and a safe workplace, and for informing the employment business of any incident or complaint. The hirer is also responsible for the suitability of the role and for its own additional checks where the assignment requires them.

Transfer fees and taking the worker on

Regulation 10 of the 2003 Regulations restricts how a transfer fee can be charged when a hirer engages a worker directly, through another agency or on a permanent basis: the hirer must be given the alternative of an extended period of hire, and the fee must be structured as the regulations allow. The terms should set out the transfer fee and the extended hire alternative in the way the regulations permit, define the period after an assignment during which a fee applies, and cover engagement by associated companies.

Equal treatment, liability and conduct

Under regulation 5 of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 an agency worker is entitled to equal treatment on basic terms after 12 weeks in the same role, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends new rights on guaranteed hours and shift notice to agency workers as it is phased in, with the hirer and the employment business sharing the resulting obligations, and the terms should require the hirer to provide the information about its own terms needed to comply and to pay the resulting charges. Liability should be capped at the charges for the assignment, with consequential loss excluded, tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977; the hirer is responsible for the worker's acts under its supervision. Worker data is shared under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 for the assignment only.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

The hirer says the timesheet was never signed and refuses to pay. What now?

If the terms provide that timesheets not disputed within a stated period are deemed approved, and the worker's hours are recorded, the charges are due. The employment business has already paid the worker, which the regulations require, and the terms should say that a dispute over hours is not a reason to withhold the whole invoice.

The hirer took our temp on permanently after ten weeks without telling us. Can we charge a transfer fee?

If the terms provide a transfer fee structured as the regulations allow, with the extended hire alternative offered, and the engagement fell within the stated period, the fee is payable. The regulations make the structure of the clause as important as its existence.

Who is responsible if a temp is injured on the hirer's site?

The hirer is responsible for health and safety on its own site, and the terms should say so. The employment business remains responsible for its own obligations to the worker, which is why the hirer's information about the role and its risks matters before the assignment starts.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms of business for a recruitment agency (permanent placements)

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.