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 (998) , Consultant (378) , Recruiter (364) , Senior Recruitment Consultant (228) , 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 684 reviews)); "The culture here is great now and the business is transforming in a positive direction." ((in 426 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 218 reviews)); "Great support and colleagues." ((in 176 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 351 reviews)); "Industry has low salaries for junior staff and Hays is no different" ((in 343 reviews)); "KPI's are really high and no work life balance" ((in 131 reviews)); "Clearly the management training is failing as all the managers do is micromanage instead of nurturing and supporting." ((in 106 reviews)); "Aggressive and condescending Vice President and Senior Management" ((in 39 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

(5,746 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 5,746 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

Apr 4, 2016

high-pressure to perform. You're only ever a number to Hays

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

fun and social environment, more so during off-hours. You will learn a lot about a specific industry/market

Cons

There is a tremendous amount of pressure on everyone to bill high $ and maintain very high KPI's. Very discouraging. Extremely high turnover. low base salaries and average commission structures. Training programs need attention. Most of the senior management team are incompetent and plain rude.

Hays Response

10y

Thank you very much for your comments both the positive and constructive. We take all feedback seriously. The recruitment industry is a performance driven business and as such suits a certain personality and not others. Hays is proud of its high performance culture and commitment to delivering an excellent service to our clients and candidates. Regarding your comments re Senior Management, this is concerning and we would be keen to speak to you directly to hear your thoughts. Staff retention is very important to us. We conduct regular feedback surveys, round tables, 360 degree feedback sessions and exit interviews to rate management performance and identify areas to improve. If you are willing, we would welcome a phone conversation to discuss. Rowan O’Grady, Country MD.

2.0

Dec 21, 2015

This company is a joke

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Global footprint and reach. Name is only often associated with recruiters and recruitment where ever you go 9/10 will know the brand name.

Cons

Not specialist or recruitment experts in any particular field. Second to Michael Page/Robert Walters. Huge disconnect between employees globally. Very disorganized and terrible HR. Salary is not competitive compared to other agencies. Employees and the firm is a joke.

Hays Response

10y

Thank you for your review. Unfortunately as I do not know which region you work in across our global business I cannot action your comments with the management team. If you would like to advise where you are based from a country perspective I will pass your review onto the correct team. You can reach me on jenna.alexander3@hays.com if you are based outside the UK&I or 0203 465 0202 if you are local to our HQ.

4.0

Dec 9, 2015

Account Manager

Account manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fantastic corporate culture. Training is great, on the recruiter and account manager side.

Cons

Sometimes can have unrealistic expectations . With breaking into larger accounts, sometimes more focused on becoming a vendor then actually listening to the account manager, who has had the hands on-experience in trying to break the account, in deeming if the account will be a waste of time or not.

Viewing 199 - 201 of 5,746 Reviews

Jobs at Hays

Service Delivery/Customer Success Manager

Senior Project Manager

Senior Incident Response Engineer

Senior Superintendent

GIS Specialist-Expert

Hays

Hays reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

high-pressure to perform. You're only ever a number to Hays

This company is a joke

Account Manager

Jobs at Hays

Hays reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Hays reviews FAQs

Jobs at Hays