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?

"The company wide training is good and comprehensive." ((in 684 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 313 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 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 339 reviews)); "Low pay and sometimes less shifts" ((in 135 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 106 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

Not enough data to show CEO approval

52% 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

May 26, 2016

Passionate about people no more

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent trainings and great branding. Used to have great culture and work environment with bustling sales floor and consultants were very motivated to place the right people in the right company. Consultants believed in what they were doing.

Cons

Change in management, and passionate about people no more - both towards clients, candidates and their very own employees. Management milk consultants for revenues instead of leading by examples; bringing people who are obviously misfit for the role and firing good people who had some bad months due to the market conditions as well as a huge cut in resources; extremely focused on KPIs till fake KPIs were recognised as hardworking; Very focused commercially on the placement fees rather than advising candidates/clients on decision making. From almost 100 people to less than 50 now?

Hays Response

9y

Singapore - your review has been flagged to Asia management team for review. Thank you.

1.0

Jan 26, 2016

A culture of bullying

Recruitment consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good incentives Taught me better about what not to expect from an employer

Cons

On my first day I was warned that I would have a number of break downs in the first few months from the sheer pressure. One girl even admitted to breaking down on a weekly basis. True to form, 2 weeks in and I was coming home in tears every day - not just from the stress of meeting ridiculous KPIs, but also the negative reinforcement used to push you. Worked 10 hour days, even missed lunch, and told it was still not enough. No wonder such a high turnover of staff. Not a conducive atmosphere. Sure, you can have a thick skin to a point, but when youre starting on the career ladder you don't need that level of unnecessary criticism. According to the others in the office, management do it to everyone, even those who have been there for time. Very long hours on top

2.0

May 12, 2015

Good company becoming distorted by politics

Senior consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Monthly commission structure -Global name -Candidate / client ownership structure -Training for entry level recruiters -Ambitious and aggressive environment -Established database in the major business areas

Cons

-Low base salary -Too much office politics -Incapable mid to senior level managers -Almost no benefits and minimal reward for top billers -High turnover due to lack of recognition of its employees -Constant splitting of successful consultants' business areas -Constant cost cutting in all areas -Minimal business analysis done for a global business -Old fashioned database and IT systems

Viewing 16 - 18 of 5,743 Reviews

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Hays

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Passionate about people no more

A culture of bullying

Good company becoming distorted by politics

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