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?

66% 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 (1002) , 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 (119) , Director (90) , Senior Manager (85) , 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 685 reviews)); "The culture here is great now and the business is transforming in a positive direction." ((in 427 reviews)); "I worked with really great people over a number of years with Hays and made some fabulous friends." ((in 308 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 162 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 356 reviews)); "Industry has low salaries for junior staff and Hays is no different" ((in 329 reviews)); "Low pay and sometimes less shifts" ((in 157 reviews)); "KPI's are really high and no work life balance" ((in 135 reviews)); "Flexibility for working hours" ((in 126 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

66% would recommend to a friend

(5,756 total reviews)

Mark Dearnley

99% approve of CEO

52% 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 5,756 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

5.0

Dec 18, 2014

Great place to work

Recruitment consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The company is a meritocracy

Cons

You can work long hours

3.0

Dec 9, 2014

Good people poor management

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Hays train their staff well and for a young recruiter starting out in their career are certainly a good option. The company's size and reach ensures that they always have business on the go and that business development, while important, is not as pressing as with smaller companies.

Cons

The company, despite efforts, is still primarily a volume recruiter, focusing on lower end business. They do well in the bottom reaches of the market, competing with the likes of Michael Page and Robert Walters. Like those companies however they find it very hard to break into the more senior, and lucrative, parts of the market. This is reflected in the staff and there are very few Hays recruiters who really understand their business and can offer anything to a client except for CVs. The company has very high overheads, with a large support and administration staff and, as a result, both base salaries and commissions are very low. To ensure that costs are met the company is very KPI driven and does not encourage personal flair or creativity.

2.0

Nov 26, 2014

Review

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good career progression if you know the right people.

Cons

Long hours, not very good work life balance.

Viewing 5596 - 5598 of 5,756 Reviews

Jobs at Hays

Service Delivery/Customer Success Manager

Senior Incident Response Engineer

Senior Project Manager

Traveling Superintendent

Senior Superintendent

Hays

Hays reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great place to work

Good people poor management

Review

Jobs at Hays

Hays reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Jobs at Hays

Hays reviews FAQs