UK Recruitment Agency Marketing Leaderboard 2026: Reed, Pertemps and Adecco Lead 10 Brands

Last Updated on October 22, 2026

Reed scores highest of the ten UK recruitment agency brands compared, at 5.6 out of 10 on the Whito leaderboard.

Opinion and analysis. Whito read every brand below by hand on 22 October 2026, using publicly visible activity only, against fixed anchors and the same ten UK searches. Each channel is scored 0 to 10, set out under How we scored, so a score describes what we could see on the day, not the quality of the recruitment service. Brands cannot pay to appear or to change a score. Where a figure is not published, we say so.

Recruitment agencies sell to two audiences at once, candidates and employers, and every brand here serves both online. The websites look alike, so the differences show up in search and reviews.

Reed scores 5.6, ahead of Pertemps on 5.1 and Adecco UK on 5.0. Reed’s office pages appeared in all five town searches, and it replies to all 20 of its latest Trustpilot reviews. No brand shows its recruitment fees.

Brook Street scores lowest at 4.1. It ran no Google ads in 30 days, appeared in none of 10 UK searches and holds 2.2 on Trustpilot, despite replying to 16 of its latest 20 reviews.

The leaderboard

Average is the simple mean of the seven channel scores, rounded to one decimal place. Brands on the same average share a rank and are listed A to Z. All ten brands read 22 October 2026. The Meta Ad Library could not be read on 22 October 2026, so Paid reflects Google ads only and is capped at 6. We will add Meta counts and update the scores when it can be read.

Company verdicts

Reed, 5.6

Reed scores 5.6, the highest of the ten. SEO scores 9: 5 of 10 UK web searches returned reed.com in the top ten, plus credit for guides, interview advice and a salary guide. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a UK salary guide tool; no recruitment fees shown. Email scores 2: a subscribe form for employer insights and events; no app seen on reed.com. Social scores 4: links to Facebook, X and LinkedIn, three platforms in all. Its office pages appeared for all five town searches.

Pertemps, 5.1

Pertemps scores 5.1. Reviews score 8: Trustpilot 4.5 from 1,016 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a branch locator and a salary health check tool; no recruitment fees shown. Email scores 2: Job alerts by email; no account, newsletter or app seen. SEO scores 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned pertemps.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.

Adecco UK, 5.0

Adecco UK scores 5.0. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers (adecco.co.uk now redirects to adecco.com/en-gb); no recruitment fees shown. Social scores 6: links to Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn, four platforms in all. SEO scores 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned adecco.com in the top ten. Email scores 4: a candidate log-in and registration; no newsletter or app seen.

Robert Half UK, 4.9

Robert Half UK scores 4.9. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a salary guide and timesheets; no recruitment fees shown. Social scores 6: links to Facebook, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, four platforms in all. Email scores 2: a newsletter subscription and job alerts; no app seen. Reviews score 4: Trustpilot 1.8 from 157 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20.

Manpower UK, 4.7

Manpower UK scores 4.7, level with Robert Walters. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a branch finder; no recruitment fees shown. Social scores 6: links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn, four platforms in all. SEO scores 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned manpower.co.uk in the top ten. Email scores 4: a candidate log-in and registration; no newsletter or app seen.

Robert Walters, 4.7

Robert Walters scores 4.7, level with Manpower UK. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a salary survey; no recruitment fees shown. SEO scores 7: 4 of 10 UK web searches returned robertwalters.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for an insights library and salary survey. Paid scores 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain robertwalters.co.uk: no ads found. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted. Reviews score 3: Trustpilot 3.9 from 6 reviews, with a company reply on 4 of the latest 6.

Randstad UK, 4.6

Randstad UK scores 4.6. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, with salaries shown on job listings; no recruitment fees shown. Social scores 6: links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, five platforms in all. Reviews score 2: Trustpilot 3.3 from 685 reviews, with no company reply on the latest 20. SEO scores 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned randstad.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.

Michael Page, 4.4

Michael Page scores 4.4. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, with salaries shown on job listings; no recruitment fees shown. Paid scores 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain michaelpage.co.uk: 16 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted. SEO scores 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned michaelpage.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library. Reviews score 3: Trustpilot 3.2 from 426 reviews, with a company reply on 9 of the latest 20.

Hays, 4.3

Hays scores 4.3. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers; no recruitment fees shown. Email scores 6: a My Account area plus the Hays app, offering free upskilling and rewards; no newsletter seen. Reviews score 2: Trustpilot 1.5 from 436 reviews, with no company reply on the latest 20. SEO scores 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned hays.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.

Brook Street, 4.1

Brook Street scores 4.1, the lowest of the ten. Website scores 7: online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers; no recruitment fees shown. Social scores 6: links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn, five platforms in all. SEO scores 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned brookstreet.co.uk in the top ten. Paid scores 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain brookstreet.co.uk: no ads found. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.

What the channels show

Town pages win the searches

Reed’s office pages appeared in all five town searches and Robert Walters’ in three, plus one for temporary staffing. Robert Half appeared once, for Leeds. The other seven appeared in none. The fee searches went to blogs, recruitment software firms and smaller agencies that publish their rates.

Nobody publishes a fee

None of the ten shows a recruitment fee or a percentage. The ‘how much does a recruitment agency charge’ searches were answered by others. An agency that states its fee range answers the employer’s first question.

Reviews are weak across the sector

Pertemps holds 4.5 from 1,016 Trustpilot reviews with replies to all 20 of its latest, and Reed 4.4 from 1,451, also with replies to all 20. Hays holds 1.5 from 436 with no replies, and Robert Half 1.8 from 157 despite replying to all 20. Most candidate reviews are about how they were treated, which no amount of marketing fixes.

Email capture is thin

Hays scores 6 for its app and account. The rest offer a candidate login, job alerts or a bare subscribe form, and score 2 or 4. For a business that lives on its database, few make the sign-up worth having.

Key lessons for any recruitment agency

Publish your fee range

No brand here shows a fee, and the fee searches went to others. A clear percentage range for permanent placements, and margins for temps, wins the employer who is comparing.

Build an office page for every town

Reed’s town office pages took all five town searches. A page per town with the sectors you cover, your consultants and live jobs competes for the same results.

Reply to every candidate review

Reed and Pertemps reply to all 20 of their latest reviews and score 7 and 8. Hays replies to none and scores 2.

Give candidates a reason to stay

Hays’ app with free upskilling and rewards is the only email channel here that offers more than job alerts. A useful tool keeps candidates coming back between jobs.

Steal this playbook

Five moves from this leaderboard, ranked by return on effort.

1. Reply to every review. Reed and Pertemps reply to all 20 of their latest.
2. Publish a fee range. None of the ten does, and the fee searches went to others.
3. Build an office page per town. Reed’s took all five town searches.
4. Publish a salary guide. Reed, Robert Walters and Robert Half do, and all three appeared in search.
5. Offer candidates a tool, not just alerts. Hays’ app earns the top email score.

The evidence behind the scores

One line per channel, as read on the date shown for each brand. Review figures change daily; these are the numbers on the day we looked.

Reed

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 4: Links to Facebook, X and LinkedIn, three platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a UK salary guide tool; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 2: A subscribe form for employer insights and events; no app seen on reed.com.
• SEO 9: 5 of 10 UK web searches returned reed.com in the top ten (‘recruitment agency London’, ‘recruitment agency Manchester’, ‘recruitment agency Birmingham’, ‘recruitment agency Leeds’, ‘recruitment agency Bristol’), plus credit for guides, interview advice and a salary guide.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain reed.com: about 200 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 7: Trustpilot 4.4 from 1,451 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20. (the reed.com agency profile; the reed.co.uk job board has its own)
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘UK’s #1 Specialist Recruitment Company’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Pertemps

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and LinkedIn, six platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a branch locator and a salary health check tool; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 2: Job alerts by email; no account, newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned pertemps.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain pertemps.co.uk: 90 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 8: Trustpilot 4.5 from 1,016 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘LET’S WORK TOGETHER’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Adecco UK

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn, four platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers (adecco.co.uk now redirects to adecco.com/en-gb); no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: A candidate log-in and registration; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned adecco.com in the top ten.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain adecco.com: 30 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 6: Trustpilot 3.8 from 2,028 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20. (profile under adecco.co.uk)
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Making the future work for everyone’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Robert Half UK

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, four platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a salary guide and timesheets; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 2: A newsletter subscription and job alerts; no app seen.
• SEO 5: 1 of 10 UK web searches returned roberthalf.com in the top ten (‘recruitment agency Leeds’), plus credit for a salary guide and insights library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain roberthalf.com: 49 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 4: Trustpilot 1.8 from 157 reviews, with a company reply on 20 of the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Anything’s possible when you have the talent’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Manpower UK

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn, four platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a branch finder; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: A candidate log-in and registration; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned manpower.co.uk in the top ten.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain manpower.co.uk: 44 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 4: Trustpilot 2.0 from 188 reviews, with a company reply on 15 of the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Pioneering job matches’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Robert Walters

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, five platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, plus a salary survey; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: A My Account sign-up and sign-in; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 7: 4 of 10 UK web searches returned robertwalters.co.uk in the top ten (‘temporary staffing agency UK’, ‘recruitment agency Birmingham’, ‘recruitment agency Leeds’, ‘recruitment agency Bristol’), plus credit for an insights library and salary survey.
• Paid 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain robertwalters.co.uk: no ads found. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 3: Trustpilot 3.9 from 6 reviews, with a company reply on 4 of the latest 6.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Leading recruitment agency, talent advisory and outsourcing’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Randstad UK

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, five platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, with salaries shown on job listings; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: A My Randstad account; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned randstad.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain randstad.co.uk: 37 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 2: Trustpilot 3.3 from 685 reviews, with no company reply on the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘let’s find work.’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Michael Page

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 4: Links to YouTube and LinkedIn, two platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers, with salaries shown on job listings; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: Saved jobs through a candidate account; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned michaelpage.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain michaelpage.co.uk: 16 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 3: Trustpilot 3.2 from 426 reviews, with a company reply on 9 of the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘The recruitment agency connecting you to what’s next’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Hays

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 4: Links to Facebook, X and LinkedIn, three platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 6: A My Account area plus the Hays app, offering free upskilling and rewards; no newsletter seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned hays.co.uk in the top ten, plus credit for a career advice library.
• Paid 4: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain hays.co.uk: 2 ads. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 2: Trustpilot 1.5 from 436 reviews, with no company reply on the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Ready for your next career move?’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Brook Street

Read 22 October 2026.

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn, five platforms in all.
• Website 7: Online job search and applications, CV registration and a hire-talent route for employers; no recruitment fees shown.
• Email 4: A candidate log-in and registration; no newsletter or app seen.
• SEO 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned brookstreet.co.uk in the top ten.
• Paid 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain brookstreet.co.uk: no ads found. Meta Ad Library: could not be read on 22 October 2026 (it returned no results for any search, including brands known to advertise), so Meta is not counted.
• Reviews 4: Trustpilot 2.2 from 378 reviews, with a company reply on 16 of the latest 20.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘ROLES YOU WANT’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

How we scored

Who is on the board. Ten UK recruitment agency brands a candidate or employer is likely to meet: Reed (UK’s largest family-run recruiter, founded 1960), Hays (specialist recruiter), Michael Page (professional recruitment, part of PageGroup), Adecco UK (global staffing group), Robert Walters (professional recruitment), Randstad UK (global staffing group), Manpower UK (global staffing group), Pertemps (UK temp and permanent recruiter), Brook Street (high-street office and industrial recruiter) and Robert Half UK (specialist recruitment and consulting). Chosen for relevance and size, not marketing strength.

This board was first published with scores relative to the other brands on it. On 22 October 2026 it was rescored on Whito’s fixed anchors and expanded to ten brands, so scores are not comparable with the earlier edition.

When we looked. All ten brands were read on 22 October 2026, with the ten searches below run once on that date. The Meta Ad Library could not be read on 22 October 2026, so Paid reflects Google ads only and is capped at 6. We will add Meta counts and update the scores when it can be read. Recruitment sites take job applications online rather than bookings, so a site with online job search, applications and an employer route but no fees shown scores 7 on website.

• Social: which platforms the brand links to from its own site, and whether we could see recent posting and video.
• Website: 2 for a brochure page, 4 with a contact route on mobile, 6 with a page per service and a one-step enquiry, 8 with prices or ranges and registration numbers shown, 10 with online booking or an instant priced quote.
• Email: visible capture only, as we did not subscribe test inboxes for this edition. 2 for a bare newsletter form, up to 10 for a loyalty or app ecosystem with personal offers.
• SEO: ten UK searches for this trade, run through a standard web search API (22 October 2026; not personalised, no location set beyond the town in the query); we counted how many returned the brand’s own site in the top ten results. 0 of 10 scores 2, 1 to 2 scores 4, 3 to 4 scores 6, 5 to 6 scores 8, 7 or more scores 10, plus 1 for a substantial advice library. The searches: recruitment agency near me UK; recruitment agency fees percentage UK; how much does a recruitment agency charge; recruitment agency; temporary staffing agency UK; recruitment agency London; recruitment agency Manchester; recruitment agency Birmingham; recruitment agency Leeds; recruitment agency Bristol.
• Paid: the Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, by domain) and the Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads whose text names the brand, counted by the advertiser page). 2 for nothing found in either, 4 for active in one with fewer than 10 ads, 6 for active in both or 10+ in one, 8 for active in both with 10+ in at least one, 10 for 50+ Google ads and 10+ Meta ads. With Meta unread, Google alone scores 2 for nothing, 4 for under 10 ads and 6 for 10 or more. Paid describes visible activity, not quality. A low paid score is not a fault.
• Reviews: a fixed formula. Rating (4.7+ scores 4, 4.5 to 4.69 scores 3, 4.0 to 4.49 scores 2, 3.5 to 3.99 scores 1) plus volume (10,000+ scores 4, 1,000+ scores 3, 100+ scores 2, 20+ scores 1) plus replies to the latest 20 reviews (half or more scores 2, some scores 1).
• Brand: five checks worth 2 each: the same name and logo everywhere, one clear positioning line, a distinctive asset used for years, three or more independent press mentions in 90 days, and named people or expertise on the site.

These anchors are fixed for this edition, so the ten scores can be read against each other. Boards published before October 2026 used scores relative to the other brands on the board, so compare across boards with care.

Common questions

Which recruitment agency scores highest on the Whito leaderboard?

Reed scores highest at 5.6 out of 10, ahead of Pertemps on 5.1. Reed’s office pages appeared in 5 of 10 UK searches, it publishes a salary guide, and it holds 4.4 from 1,451 Trustpilot reviews with replies to all of the latest 20.

Which recruitment agency scores lowest, and why?

Brook Street scores 4.1. No Google ads were found, it did not appear in any of 10 UK searches and it holds 2.2 from 378 Trustpilot reviews, although it replies to 16 of the latest 20.

How much do recruitment agencies charge?

None of the ten brands shows its fees on the pages we read. The searches for agency fees were answered by recruitment software firms, blogs and smaller agencies that publish their rates.

How do recruitment agencies compare on reviews?

Ratings run from 1.5 for Hays to 4.5 for Pertemps. Adecco UK has the most reviews, 2,028. Reed, Pertemps, Adecco UK and Robert Half reply to all 20 of their latest reviews; Hays and Randstad UK reply to none.

What can a small recruitment agency copy from these brands?

Publish a fee range, which none of these ten does. Build an office page for each town you cover, as Reed does. Reply to every candidate review. Publish a salary guide for your sector, and give candidates a reason to keep their details with you.

Corrections and right of reply

If your business is scored here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk. We check it against the source, correct it within five working days if we are wrong, and publish your statement alongside if you want us to. Scores are never changed for payment or because a business has claimed a Whito listing. Full route: corrections, right of reply and removals.

Related: all UK marketing leaderboards · Recruitment Agencies on Whito

Jacob Whitmore Founder and Lead Analyst

Jacob Whitmore founded Whito. He works on what UK businesses are actually charged for marketing, and on getting those numbers published with the date they were checked.

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