Does Hays pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Hays employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.3 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Hays. This rating has improved by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Hays?

67% of Hays employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Hays 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Hays?

Recruitment Consultant (1006) , Consultant (379) , Recruiter (365) , Senior Recruitment Consultant (229) , Associate Recruitment Consultant (224) , Senior Consultant (208) , Associate Consultant (199) , Manager (169) , Account Manager (148) , Business Manager (121) , Director (90) , Senior Manager (87) , Intern (79) , Consultant en recrutement (76) , Key Account Manager (74)

What are the pros of working at Hays according to real employee reviews?

"The company wide training is good and comprehensive." ((in 677 reviews)); "Most of the teams have a great culture and it’s a very success driven company." ((in 431 reviews)); "I worked with really great people over a number of years with Hays and made some fabulous friends." ((in 314 reviews)); "I was lucky to be part of a great team who weren’t cut throat and were caring." ((in 219 reviews)); "Great support and colleagues." ((in 165 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Hays according to real employee reviews?

"Long hours and often expected to stay behind which can lead to burn out very quickly." ((in 353 reviews)); "Industry has low salaries for junior staff and Hays is no different" ((in 335 reviews)); "KPI's are really high and no work life balance" ((in 130 reviews)); "Clearly the management training is failing as all the managers do is micromanage instead of nurturing and supporting." ((in 104 reviews)); "Aggressive and condescending Vice President and Senior Management" ((in 42 reviews))

What are employees saying about Hays layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Hays layoffs and their outlook for job security at Hays in 2026.

Hays reviews

3.6

67% would recommend to a friend

(5,763 total reviews)

Mark Dearnley

99% approve of CEO

53% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Culture & values

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.3

Senior management

3.3

Compensation and benefits

Hays has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 5,763 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Hays employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Recursos humanos industry (3.8 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

6K reviews

2.0

Mar 6, 2016

Becoming old fashioned

Business manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Clear progression opportunity. Good people.

Cons

Zero working flexibility (just none!). Lack of employee trust. Old school "stick driven" management style. Old style technology - we don't do laptops, tablets, company mobiles are terrible if you have one.

1.0

Mar 3, 2016

Hays Telecoms - needs closing down. The worst recruitment company

Consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

None at all, the pros were leaving that place. No wander recruitment has a bad name in some areas it's because of cowboy firms like this.

Cons

Management in the wooburn site, there was a environment of bullying within the office mainly from management on most staff, getting sworn at across the office because you were not on the phone for more than a couple of minutes, abused on conference calls in front of several different offices. Expectations to work over your hours and not take lunch, leading to 12 hour days with 15 mins for lunch. The list is endless, this place has without doubt won the title of the grimmest place to work that I have been unfortunate to come across

1.0

Jan 22, 2016

Bad management

Recruitment consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Some nice coworkers, but can't think of very much at all to say about the company that is good Some nice coworkers, but can't think of very much at all to say about the company that is good

Cons

Some managers are idiots, who don't understand different desks / sectors. i.e. I had a manager who knew admin and low level finance jobs, but didn't / couldn't seem to understand that in senior finance I didn't have the same flow of jobs or candidates. They use threats to 'motivate' you even when you do really well - targets are always increased even when you're a top peformer.

Viewing 325 - 327 of 5,763 Reviews

Jobs at Hays

Senior Recruitment Consultant

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Hays

Hays reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Becoming old fashioned

Hays Telecoms - needs closing down. The worst recruitment company

Bad management

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