Recruitment tenders cover the public sector’s buying of people and of the services that find them: temporary and agency workers, permanent recruitment campaigns, executive search, nursing and medical staffing, and assessment centres. Buyers range from councils and schools to NHS trusts and central government. This page sets out the rules agencies are held to, the data security questions, and how small agencies get onto frameworks and win. Our tender eligibility checker is coming soon. Until then, tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon.
What buyers usually ask recruitment agencies for
Expect questions on agency compliance and data handling. The tender pack sets out anything beyond the points below.
Compliance with the agency regulations
In Great Britain, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 set how agencies deal with work-seekers and hirers. Three parts come up in tenders:
- Before you supply someone, you must take steps to protect both sides, including reasonable enquiries about whether the placement would harm either party’s interests.
- Where the work involves working with, caring for or attending a vulnerable person, you must obtain copies of relevant qualifications and two references from people who aren’t relatives, and take other reasonably practicable steps to confirm suitability.
- You must keep records sufficient to show you comply, for at least a year.
Expect to be asked for your compliance file and audit process.
Data security and Cyber Essentials
A staffing contract can involve candidate and employee data. PPN 014 covers central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and NHS bodies. It applies to contracts with characteristics such as a supplier handling the personal information of citizens or government employees, and it says in-scope bodies must not take a blanket approach. Where it applies, you need Cyber Essentials (or equivalent). Other buyers may choose to apply it. Our page on Cyber Essentials for government contracts explains the scheme.
Candidate vetting
Standard and Enhanced DBS checks are only available where the role meets the legal criteria (England and Wales); Basic checks are open to anyone. The DBS eligibility guidance says the recruiting organisation is responsible for deciding if a check is needed and at what level. The pack should say who runs the checks on candidates you supply.
Insurance and financial standing
Employers’ liability insurance is compulsory for employers in Great Britain, with limited exemptions (Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969), and gov.uk says the cover must be at least £5 million. Public liability and professional indemnity are set by the buyer. Agencies pay workers before clients pay invoices, so expect turnover and financial questions. The buyer sets this in the tender pack. See turnover and financial standing tests.
How to win staffing contracts
In the week to 10 Oct 2026 there were 52 live business services notices in our data, the parent sector that includes recruitment (as of 10 Oct 2026).
Frameworks: getting on, then winning call-offs
A framework is a contract with suppliers, and call-offs can be awarded with or without competition between members. A framework’s term is limited to four years in most cases. Frameworks awarded under an open framework are outside the four-year cap. An open framework must reopen within its first three years, then at least every five, and ends after eight (sections 47(5)(a) and 49). In the same week, 72 of the 470 live notices in our data mentioned frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems (DPS, now called dynamic markets) (as of 10 Oct 2026). Being on a framework doesn’t bring work by itself, so find out how call-offs are awarded. Our guide covers frameworks and dynamic markets.
Lots by role type and region, and smaller contracts
On above-threshold contracts a buyer must consider lots, or give reasons for not using them. Staffing can be split by role type or region, so bid for the lots where you have a pool of candidates.
Supply of nursing personnel (79624000) and medical personnel (79625000) are listed as light-touch services in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024. Recruitment services (79600000), supply services of personnel including temporary staff (79620000) and assessment centre services (79635000) are light-touch only for certain defence and security contracts (Table 2 of Schedule 1), so for most buyers the standard rules apply. Check the CPV code on the notice.
If a buyer advertises a below-threshold contract worth £12,000 or more (central government, including NHS trusts) or £30,000 or more (other authorities), including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice. Buyers can also invite quotes from chosen suppliers without advertising. If a buyer invites tenders, it can’t run a separate suitability stage before tenders are submitted, but it can still assess suitability at the award stage (Welsh devolved buyers and framework call-offs aside). The gov.uk guidance explains the rules.
Fill rates, time-to-fill and compliance audits
Quality questions reward numbers you can prove. Give your fill rate, average time to fill and last compliance audit result, with the dates they cover and how you measured them. Do not round up. Buyers check, and a modest figure you can evidence scores better than a vague boast.
Social value
Central government departments, their executive agencies and NDPBs must give social value at least a 10% weighting on above-threshold contracts where it is relevant and proportionate (PPN 002). For recruitment, one theme that fits is local recruitment: how you reach under-represented candidates and how many placements stay local. Make commitments specific and measurable.
Pitfalls
- confusing the margin with the pay rate in the price schedule, so the numbers don’t match the buyer’s template
- a missing or out-of-date compliance file when the buyer audits
- bidding for every lot when your candidate pool covers one region
- assuming a framework place will bring steady work without any further bidding
Related work: see social care tenders if you supply care staff, training tenders for learning and development, and business services tenders for the wider sector. The live list on this page picks up notices tagged with CPV codes for recruitment services (79600000), placement and supply of personnel (7961 and 7962) and assessment centres (79635000).
Questions
How do public sector buyers procure agency staff?
Through frameworks, dynamic markets and their own tenders, and through smaller contracts below the Procurement Act thresholds. A framework is a contract with suppliers for future call-offs, which can be awarded with or without competition between members. Look at each notice for the route and whether it is split into lots by role type or region.
Do recruitment agencies need Cyber Essentials for government contracts?
Not for all of them. PPN 014 covers central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and NHS bodies, and applies to contracts with characteristics such as handling citizens' or government employees' personal information. It says in-scope bodies must not take a blanket approach. Other buyers may choose to apply it, so check the pack.
Can a small agency get onto a staffing framework?
Yes, if you meet the entry questions and the framework is open for new members. Open frameworks re-open so that new suppliers can join, and dynamic markets must stay open at any time. Being on a framework doesn't bring work by itself, so find out how call-offs are awarded.
What compliance checks do buyers expect on candidates?
Where the work involves caring for or attending a vulnerable person, the 2003 agency regulations (in Great Britain) require copies of qualifications, two references from people who aren't relatives, and other reasonably practicable steps to confirm suitability. DBS checks apply where the role meets the legal criteria, and Basic checks are open to anyone. The pack says what the buyer expects.
Where are school and council recruitment contracts advertised?
Notices go on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, and TenderWorthy covers both. Scottish public bodies must advertise regulated procurements on the Public Contracts Scotland website, which TenderWorthy doesn't cover. Schools are outside the below-threshold notice rules, so a school may buy small staffing contracts without advertising them. Introduce yourself directly as well.