How Much Do Agencies Charge for Temps in the UK?

If you're running a recruitment agency in the UK — or thinking about starting one — how much you charge is one of the biggest decisions you'll make. Charge too little and you'll struggle to stay profitable. Charge too much and you risk scaring clients away.

So how much do recruitment agencies actually charge? In short: most UK agencies add a markup of 15% to 25% on top of a temporary worker's pay rate, and charge fees of around 15% to 30% of a candidate's first-year salary for permanent placements (higher for niche, hard-to-fill or executive roles). The exact figure depends on the pricing model you use, the sector you work in, contract length, volume, and the compliance costs built into the assignment.

There's a simple way to approach setting your own prices — it's often called the Pricing Tripod. It helps you find the sweet spot by balancing three things:

Cost – What it costs you to deliver the service
Competition – What your competitors are charging
Value – What your service is actually worth to the client

Get all three right, and you'll set prices that clients are happy to pay — and that leave you with healthy profits. Let's break down what recruitment agencies charge for 2026, section by section, starting with the question agencies and clients search for most: temporary staffing.

How much do recruitment agencies charge for temps in the UK?

For temporary and contract staffing, UK recruitment agencies typically don't charge a flat fee. Instead, they add a markup of 15% to 25% on top of the temporary worker's hourly or daily pay rate. The client pays the worker's wage plus the agency's markup, and the agency uses that margin to cover employment costs, admin and profit.

Some sectors — healthcare, legal and other specialisms where temps are needed urgently or are in short supply — can command markups at the higher end, or above this range, because clients need cover fast and are prepared to pay a premium for speed and reliability.

What the markup actually covers

The margin an agency builds into a temp's charge rate isn't pure profit. It typically has to cover:

The worker's wages
Employer contributions such as National Insurance and pension auto-enrolment
Holiday pay accrual
Umbrella company or payroll processing costs, where the worker is engaged through an umbrella rather than agency PAYE
Insurance and compliance administration
The agency's own overheads and profit

This is why two agencies quoting the same "20% markup" can end up with quite different profitability — it depends how efficiently they manage those underlying costs.

Markup vs margin: a worked example

You place a warehouse temp at £12/hour. You add a 20% markup — so the client is charged £14.40/hour.

Over a 40-hour week, that's:

£96 extra revenue per week
Over 4 weeks, £384 extra

If your admin and payroll costs are about £50 a week, you're left with around £184 profit for that month.

It's worth noting that a "20% markup" and a "20% margin" aren't the same thing. Markup is calculated on the worker's pay rate; margin is calculated on the charge rate you bill the client. In the example above, a 20% markup on £12/hour works out at roughly a 16–17% margin on the £14.40/hour charged. Agencies and clients sometimes talk past each other because they're using different bases — it's worth being clear which one you mean when you quote a percentage.

Umbrella vs PAYE: how compliance costs affect what you charge

How a temporary worker is paid also affects the pricing conversation. Under agency PAYE, the agency employs the worker directly and is responsible for employer National Insurance, pension contributions and holiday pay within the charge rate. Under an umbrella company arrangement, the umbrella employs the worker, deducts its own margin, and handles the employment costs and payroll compliance on the agency's behalf.

Neither route is automatically cheaper for the client — the same underlying employment costs exist either way, they're just administered differently. What matters for pricing is that agencies build these compliance costs into the markup transparently, so clients understand what the charge rate actually covers, and so the agency isn't absorbing costs it hasn't priced in.

Tips for pricing temps

Offer volume discounts if a client needs lots of temps at once — but make sure your margins still work once admin and compliance costs are covered.
Charge a rush fee if someone is needed urgently, especially at very short notice (like same-day fills).
Review markups by contract length. A long-running temp assignment usually carries less administrative overhead per week than repeated short bookings, which is why longer contracts can sometimes support a steadier, more competitive markup while still being profitable.

How much do recruitment agencies charge for permanent placements?

Permanent placements are the bread and butter for a lot of agencies.

How the costs work

Your main costs here are time and tools: writing ads, headhunting, screening CVs, interviewing, CRM software (like Chameleon-i), and general admin. On average, agencies in the UK spend somewhere between £500 and £1,000 per successful placement.

What competitors charge

In the UK, fees for permanent placements usually sit around 15% to 30% of the candidate's first-year salary. Higher if the role's niche, or hard to fill.

Retained vs contingency recruitment

For permanent roles, agencies generally work on one of two commercial bases:

Contingency — the agency is only paid if and when a candidate they introduce is hired. This is the most common model for standard permanent roles, and it's the one reflected in the fee ranges above.
Retained — the client pays some or all of the fee upfront (often in staged instalments) to secure the agency's exclusive focus on the search. This is more common for senior, specialist or hard-to-fill roles where the client wants commitment and priority ahead of a guaranteed outcome.

Retained work tends to justify a higher overall fee because the agency is taking on more of the search risk upfront and dedicating focused time to a single client, rather than competing with other agencies on a contingency basis.

Quick example

You place someone earning £40,000. You charge 20% — that's £8,000. If your cost to deliver was £1,000, your profit is £7,000. You saved the client dozens of hours of work in exchange for that fee.

Tips for pricing permanent roles

Avoid big discounts — instead, offer extra value, like a free replacement guarantee if the candidate leaves within an agreed period.
Specialised roles — if you're filling rare or technical roles (like cybersecurity, AI, or CFOs), don't be afraid to charge at the higher end (up to 30%).

Executive search pricing

This is where the serious money is — but also where you put in serious effort.

How the costs work

Executive searches involve deep research, head-hunting passive candidates, extensive screening, and sometimes flying to meetings or attending panels. Easily costs you £2,000 to £5,000 per search in time and resources.

What competitors charge

For C-level roles, it's normal to charge 25% to 40% of the candidate's first-year salary. Some agencies charge a fixed fee (e.g., £30,000+) depending on how senior the hire is.

Quick example

You find a CFO for a £120,000 salary. You charge 30% — that's £36,000. If you spent £5,000 on the search, your profit is £31,000.

Tips for executive search pricing

Retainers work best — ask for part payment upfront to lock in commitment.
Success-only fee — you can charge more if you only get paid when the hire is made (risk = premium).

What factors affect how much a recruitment agency charges?

Whichever pricing model you use, the actual percentage or markup an agency settles on is shaped by a handful of recurring factors:

Sector and specialism. Niche, technical or hard-to-fill sectors (such as IT, healthcare, legal or executive roles) typically support higher fees than high-volume generalist recruitment, because supply of suitable candidates is more limited.
Volume. Clients booking a high volume of temps, or committing to multiple permanent hires, can often negotiate a lower rate per placement — the agency accepts a smaller margin in exchange for a larger, more predictable pipeline of work.
Contract length. Short-notice, one-off or very short assignments carry more relative admin overhead and often justify a rush fee or higher markup, while longer-running temp contracts or repeat business can support steadier, more competitive pricing.
Compliance and umbrella costs. Employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday pay and umbrella company margins all form part of the underlying cost base for temporary workers, and agencies need to price these in rather than absorb them.
Urgency and speed. Clients who need a role filled quickly are typically paying for speed and certainty as much as for the candidate itself, which is reflected in the fee.

Choosing the right pricing model for your agency in 2026

There's no single "correct" recruitment agency pricing model — the right approach depends on the type of work you do:

Markup on pay rate — the standard model for temporary and contract staffing, where the agency adds a percentage on top of the worker's pay rate.
Margin percentage — the same commercial relationship expressed as a percentage of the charge rate rather than the pay rate; useful for comparing profitability across placements of different sizes.
Percentage of first-year salary (contingency or retained) — the standard model for permanent placements and executive search, typically 15–30% for permanent roles and 25–40% for executive search.
Fixed fee per placement — a flat fee agreed upfront regardless of salary, sometimes used for senior or executive hires as an alternative to a percentage-based fee.

Heading into 2026 and 2027, agencies that are transparent about which model they're using — and what it includes — tend to have an easier time justifying their fees to clients than agencies that simply quote "our rate" without explaining the basis for it.

Use recruitment software to make pricing smarter

Trying to keep track of costs, competitors and client deals in spreadsheets? You'll lose money somewhere. Recruitment software like Chameleon-i makes it easier:

Tracks time and billable hours
Helps you see real margins on placements
Auto-invoices clients
Tracks competitor pricing data

The faster you can see your costs and profits clearly, the faster you can adjust your pricing when needed. If you're weighing up recruitment software costs alongside your own pricing model, our Chameleon-i pricing page and recruitment CRM pricing comparison break down what a recruitment CRM and ATS typically costs to run.

Frequently asked questions

How much do recruitment agencies charge for temps in the UK?

Most UK recruitment agencies add a markup of 15% to 25% on top of the temporary worker's pay rate, with some sectors going higher when workers are needed urgently or are in short supply. That markup covers the worker's wages, employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday pay, umbrella or payroll costs, and the agency's own overheads and profit.

How much do agencies charge overall?

It depends on the type of placement. Temporary and contract staffing is typically priced as a 15–25% markup on pay rate. Permanent placements are typically priced at 15–30% of the candidate's first-year salary. Executive search fees usually run from 25–40% of first-year salary, or a fixed fee for senior hires.

What's the difference between a markup and a margin?

Markup is calculated as a percentage of the worker's pay rate; margin is calculated as a percentage of the charge rate billed to the client. A 20% markup works out to a slightly lower margin percentage, because the margin is measured against the larger, marked-up figure.

Do agencies charge more for urgent or hard-to-fill roles?

Yes. Niche skills, senior roles and urgent same-day or short-notice requirements typically sit at the higher end of the fee ranges, or attract a rush fee, because the agency is taking on more search difficulty or time pressure.

Final thoughts: how to get pricing right

Cover all your costs — not just salaries, but everything (ads, tech, admin, compliance). Watch your market — know what others are charging, but don't blindly copy them. Charge for your value — if you save clients time, money, and headaches, that's worth serious money.

And remember: pricing isn't set in stone. Check your numbers every few months and tweak if needed. If you're delivering great candidates and reliable temps, clients will pay your fees without blinking.

With the right pricing model — and smart tools to back you up — your recruitment agency can grow faster and stress less.