Payroll services for recruitment agencies

A recruitment agency running a temp desk is effectively a payroll company that also finds people jobs. Hundreds of weekly-paid workers, agency worker regulations and the 2026 umbrella-company reforms make this the most regulation-dense payroll in the UK.

What makes recruitment agencies payroll different

• Volume and speed. Timesheet deadline Friday, BACS Monday: the provider (or in-house bureau software) must turn thousands of payslips around in hours, not days.
• Agency Workers Regulations. After 12 weeks, temps get pay parity with comparable permanent staff – rate changes the payroll must track automatically.
• Umbrella reform from April 2026. Responsibility for unpaid PAYE in umbrella chains now sits with the agency (or end client). Vet any umbrella partners hard, or bring workers onto your own payroll.
• Holiday pay accrual. 12.07 percent rolled-up holiday is standard for temps but must be itemised separately on every payslip.

What to look for in a provider

Specialist recruitment payroll providers and pay-and-bill platforms are the realistic options; generalist bureaus rarely cope with the volume. The staffing agencies page covers the high-volume operational side in more depth.

Pricing follows the wider market – see what outsourcing costs (£4 – £10 per employee per month fully managed) – but sector add-ons matter more than the headline rate, so always compare like-for-like quotes.