Hays reviews

3.6

66% would recommend to a friend

(5,755 total reviews)
avatar

Mark Dearnley

99% approve of CEO

52% positive business outlook

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).

Reviews by job title

6K reviews
4.0
Jan 11, 2026

Good company

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance is good

Cons

Salary is little bit less

3.0
Jan 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of training, develops skills nicely if you want to get into sales, continuous development, and there is a clear progression path which is set out for you which are actually achievable.

Cons

Awful base pay, which everyone complains about. Lack of work / life balance, this especially depends on the desk you sit. There is some nice people in there, but I think its just a common theme in recruitment that many people are just in love with TRYING to make money and be a "success" but just have a day off - if you did want to make all this money then you wouldn't be working for Hays. It is clear that senior management don't have a clear plan which is felt on the floor of the people doing the work that directors once did 20 years ago. It is evident that they do not know what they are doing, they don't know how to adapt, and think Hays is number one - however, this is certainly not the case. They need to adapt to the recruitment industry. Competitors are doing the exact same service for cheaper. Technology has changed, all recruitment companies have access to the same standard technology / databases. It is clear why Hays market value has significantly dropped off in recent years. it is renown for recruitment to be brutal in letting people go, however this company go through periods of just letting 10 - 20 people go within about 2 weeks. Not only the lower levels, but also people who have made the company a lot of money, worked there for 10+ years. I was there for 2 years and this was the case around 5 times altogether. Burn and churn. Like they say repeatedly, "You are only as good as your last month".

1.0
Jan 8, 2026

Clicky

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most of the managers are great in terms of personality

Cons

You must be liked be a certain fellow consultant to fit in or they’ll make your life hell. Managers don’t manage this, they ignore it and people leave

Viewing 124 - 126 of 5,755 Reviews

Glassdoor has 8,145 Hays reviews submitted anonymously by Hays employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Hays is right for you.