Does Hays pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Hays employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 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?

65% of Hays employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Hays 3.5 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 (997) , Consultant (378) , Recruiter (363) , Senior Recruitment Consultant (228) , Associate Recruitment Consultant (224) , Senior Consultant (208) , Associate Consultant (198) , Manager (169) , Account Manager (148) , Business Manager (119) , Director (90) , Senior Manager (85) , Intern (79) , Consultant en recrutement (75) , Key Account Manager (74)

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

"It provides excellent training and development opportunities that can give you a head start in this tough market." ((in 687 reviews)); "Most of the teams have a great culture and it’s a very success driven company." ((in 422 reviews)); "I worked with really great people over a number of years with Hays and made some fabulous friends." ((in 307 reviews)); "I was lucky to be part of a great team who weren’t cut throat and were caring." ((in 216 reviews)); "Great support and colleagues." ((in 160 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 362 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 135 reviews)); "Flexibility for working hours" ((in 132 reviews)); "Clearly the management training is failing as all the managers do is micromanage instead of nurturing and supporting." ((in 105 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

65% would recommend to a friend

(5,743 total reviews)

Mark Dearnley

99% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Culture & values

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Compensation and benefits

Hays has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 5,743 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

1.0

Jun 26, 2018

Unprofessional management and awful working hours.

Anonymous

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Clear training programmes at the beginning of your Associate Consultant days. A good company to work for to get an initial recruitment training and experience. Great for exposure to Senior Stakeholders in other businesses, depending on your specialism.

Cons

Very high turnover, including Senior and Managing Consultants. No support for a work/life balance, very long work days and it is frowned upon should you leave the office when your contracted hours finish. Management coming in hungover almost every day of the week, along with stories of highly unprofessional behaviour that would be brought into the office the next day. Very poor pay for the hours you're requested to work and commission structure is not competitive in the market. A lot of pressure on hitting KPIs from Senior Management.

Hays Response

7y

Thanks for your review.

2.0

Mar 10, 2018

Low pay and extremely controlling environment

Senior consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

If you want a career in recruitment, this is a very good place to start and to learn, very good for a step up into bigger and better things.

Cons

Lowest pay in the industry by a country mile KPIs are everything, they are flashed round the office 3 times a day, you are expected to draw blood for Hays (almost literally). There are so many layers of management and directors who are driven by KPIs, that everyone is just a number and are a product of their last month. Extremely hands-on management and control, though this environment can help you learn, you cannot help but feel absolutely controlled, and I experienced manipulation regularly, many of my colleagues felt depressed, bullied and anxious, even when performing well / extremely well there is little appreciate only 'you need to be doing better'. You are expected to give your life to Hays (you will be gradually encouraged to work 7:30 - 7pm) with little remuneration. Highest turn-over of staff I ever experienced.

Hays Response

8y

Thank you for your review. We do have high performance expectations at Hays and KPIs and targets are a big part of any sales environment but we absolutely do not condone bullying in the workplace - if there’s some specific examples or feedback you’d like to pass on in regards to this can you please contact Trisha Brookes, Director of People and Culture. I'm sorry that you had a negative experience with us but we wish you well in your future endeavours.

2.0

Jan 20, 2017

Flaunting basic employee rights

Senior recruitment consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Challenging Social People driven Excellent training Technology. Up to date systems, database

Cons

Salary Management Work life balance HR and Employment laws not always in force

Hays Response

9y

The comments on your review are being taken very seriously and communicated with the MD of the W&W region. Can you please give me a call to discuss them further as I will need more information to investigate claims listed above. Jenna Alexander 0203 465 0202.

Viewing 49 - 51 of 5,743 Reviews

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Hays

Hays reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Unprofessional management and awful working hours.

Low pay and extremely controlling environment

Flaunting basic employee rights

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