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 (378) , 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?

"There is so much time put into the training and support here at hays which is great and I cannot fault my team." ((in 698 reviews)); "Most of the teams have a great culture and it’s a very success driven company." ((in 416 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 217 reviews)); "Great support and colleagues." ((in 164 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 354 reviews)); "Industry has low salaries for junior staff and Hays is no different" ((in 337 reviews)); "Low pay and sometimes less shifts" ((in 145 reviews)); "Flexibility for working hours" ((in 130 reviews)); "KPI's are really high and no work life balance" ((in 129 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

(5,755 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 5,755 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

3.0

Jan 15, 2026

Hays culture

Team manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Hays was a decent recruiting company. Their training program was thorough and extended over months/years. This is probably the best setup for someone new getting into recruitment.

Cons

Culture: Irate managers who are self-serving. Consultants fight over 'ownership' of candidates and this leads to division within teams and between teams. With the number of young consultants, it felt like an extension of the toxic environment that university parties are known for. Promotions can be discretionary (contrary to what's written in the 'contract to promote')

1.0

Jan 15, 2026

AVOID IF CAN - GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO KICKSTART

Recruitment consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Household name and looks good on CV after a couple years - can get looked at from wide companies for sales/consulting depending on exp and transferrable skills

Cons

So many people leave because of narcissistic directors, they will poke there nose in and make your life a constant question They only look at figures and don’t consider niche markets - also no communication Your not encouraged to take holiday due to kpis not being taken into account, you will be seen as still having hit targets as if your in for 20 working days when you’ve only been in for 8 and management will make you feel stressed/pressured for it and anxious constantly, Director Management constantly putting meetings in with no context after 6 months of no speaking. Then telll you kpis have gone from 150 - 200 unique calls 5 months ago so your 5 months behind target? - bare in mind if your on holiday these won’t be taken into account and if you have a heavy workload you will lose sleep, become depressed and genuinely hate life but because of comfort you stay but the money keeps you ticking

3.0

Jan 14, 2026

High reward, Market influenced risks

Recruitment partner

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Team culture is great, it’s encouraged to work the way you want.

Cons

The learning system is over engineered.

Viewing 115 - 117 of 5,755 Reviews

Jobs at Hays

Service Delivery/Customer Success Manager

Senior Project Manager

Senior Superintendent

Hays

Hays reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Hays culture

AVOID IF CAN - GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO KICKSTART

High reward, Market influenced risks

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