May 2026
Recruitment in Focus – Spring 2026
Welcome to our spring 2026 update
We are pleased to present our latest update for the recruitment sector.
We know the UK recruitment sector continues to face challenges. The Employment Rights Act will undoubtedly influence how businesses engage with recruiters as companies respond to changes across a number of protections including statutory sick pay, extended qualifying periods for unfair dismissal protection and enhanced employment security for workers in a number of sectors including leisure and hospitality, retail and logistics and distribution.
Furthermore, umbrella company compliance changed earlier this month in relation to responsibility for PAYE accountability. More generally, the global economic headwinds generated by the ongoing regional conflicts have exerted a negative pressure on growth and investment.
There are however reasons to be positive. Certain sectors including engineering, green energy, technology and defence are seeing strong demand.
Those well-run recruitment businesses with strong relationships, who are able to add real value to their client’s decision making will continue to thrive.
We hope you enjoy our round up and welcome suggestions for our next update.
Paul Jonson – Senior Partner
Latest articles
Automated decision making (ADM) in recruitment is a key regulatory focus for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO recognises that the increased automation of recruitment processes using AI brings potential benefits but also raises concerns such as people being incorrectly overlooked for jobs or being discriminated against.
Research shows that the average worker in the UK changes jobs every 5 years. In the fast-paced world of recruitment it is often more frequent. It is therefore particularly important for recruitment agencies to ensure that contractual terms prohibit departing employees from diverting key assets such as clients, candidates and staff to competitor businesses or new start-ups. This can be achieved through carefully drafted restrictive covenants.
Any people-centric business must appropriately incentivise their team to retain the most talented individuals.
This is no more so that in the recruitment sector, where competition for top talent can be fierce and the cost of replacement is expensive.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces new significant statutory rights for workers on zero and low-hours contracts, including reasonable notice of shifts, the right to guaranteed hours and payments for short-notice cancellation of shifts, with corresponding rights for agency workers. This article details the upcoming changes and their likely impact on the recruitment sector.
Our update is designed to bring you the latest news and legal developments relevant to in-house lawyers. If there are any areas you would like more information on or if you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to let us know via our feedback form or get in touch with any member of our team.
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