Best Temping Agencies in the UK: 8 Specialists Compared

UK employers are leaning on temporary staff more than they have in years. The May 2026 KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs reported that temp billings edged up in April while permanent placements fell more sharply, as firms turned to flexible cover during economic uncertainty.

For a hiring manager, that makes choosing the right temp agency a real decision worth some proper thought. The right one fills a gap in hours; the wrong one sends a CV that wastes a morning. If you are a candidate looking for temporary work rather than someone doing the hiring, you can browse our available roles and register with Oriel Partners here.

This guide compares eight UK specialists' temp agencies on what each does best, where they cover, how candidates rate them, and what to look out for when choosing a temp agency. Oriel Partners publishes this guide and is one of the agencies listed; we have applied the same criteria to ourselves as to everyone else. The numbering is for reference only, not a ranking.

The 8 best temping agencies in the UK at a glance

The eight agencies below all place PA (Personal Assistant), EA (Executive Assistant), reception, and wider business-support temps. The table summarises each at a glance; the detail follows.

Review scores were confirmed accurate at the time of publication.

How the best temping agencies compare

The comparison below takes each of the eight agencies in turn, weighing specialism, coverage, pace, and candidate ratings, and is honest about where each one falls short.

1. Oriel Partners - Best for: specialist business-support temps, placed fast

Oriel Partners is a specialist PA and business-support recruitment consultancy with more than 40 years of combined expertise, working from a London HQ across the UK. We built our temporary recruitment service around a single idea: that specialist depth and genuine speed are not a trade-off.

We work towards getting a suitable candidate within two hours of a brief, with same-day or next-day starts in most cases. We recruit for remote and hybrid roles across the UK.

Every temp is vetted with right-to-work and reference checks before they reach you. Around 80% of temps we have placed convert to permanent staff within six weeks, where the role allows.

Strengths

• First suitable candidate within two hours of briefing, a working standard, not a guarantee.

• Right-to-work and reference checks are completed before a temp starts, as standard.

Best for

Oriel Partners suits employers in finance, executive search, private equity, banking, hospitality, and the luxury industry who refuse to choose between thorough and fast. We fit hiring managers who need cover at pace but will not accept an unscreened CV, and businesses hiring across the UK that want a specialist rather than a generalist staffing firm. 

Not ideal for

Employers looking for bulk industrial or warehouse temps are better served by a high-volume generalist; our focus is on PA, EA, reception, and business support roles.

2. Adecco - Best for: same-day cover for last-minute gaps

Adecco is one of the world's largest workforce-solutions providers, with more than 50 UK branches and a national candidate database built for speed. Its temporary desks fill office and business-support roles at every level across the public and private sector, drawing on local teams to place candidates quickly when a gap opens at short notice.

Strengths

• A large national branch network that reaches regional towns, smaller agencies cannot serve.

• The scale and infrastructure to handle urgent, high-volume, and one-off temp briefs alike.

Best for

Adecco fits employers who value reach over specialism, especially for short-notice office, admin, and reception cover outside London, where local consultants know the regional market.

Not ideal for

Senior private-office, family-office, and UHNW (ultra-high-net-worth) assistant hires sit outside its volume remit. As with any large branch network, service quality varies by office, so confirm how your local branch handles vetting and payroll first.

3. Tate Recruitment - Best for: regional admin cover via local consultants

Tate Recruitment runs temporary and contract office desks out of branches spread across the UK, so a temp brief is usually handled by locally based consultants who know their regional markets.

Strengths

• Locally based consultants with regional market knowledge.

• A broad office-support remit, from reception and admin to PA cover.

Best for

Tate suits an employer who needs temp or contract cover in a particular town or region and wants someone close to that market to fill the role. If your gap is in Leeds, Bristol, or Glasgow rather than London, a branch that recruits there week in, week out can move faster than a national desk.

Not ideal for

Because fulfilment is branch-led, service and payroll handling shift depending on which office picks up your brief, and Tate's reputation is harder to read as one national picture than most here. Confirm how the local branch runs timesheets and pay before you place. For senior or specialist assistant hires, a focused desk will serve you better.

4. Office Angels - Best for: filling several office roles at once

Office Angels has placed secretarial and office-support staff since 1986 and is one of the UK's best-known names in the sector. Part of the Adecco group, it places a high weekly volume of temporary office workers through branches in most major UK towns and cities.

Strengths

• A dedicated office and secretarial support date back to 1986.

• The backing and infrastructure of the Adecco group.

Best for

Office Angels brings real candidate volume and branch reach when you are filling multiple office and admin roles at once. For an agency this size, its service record holds up unusually well, and it is known for getting temps registered, started, and paid on time.

Not ideal for

Experience is branch-dependent: it has a reputation for outstanding local teams in some areas and patchier support in others, so the quality hinges on your office. Anyone wanting a small, hands-on team or a senior private-PA placement will be better served by a more focused desk.

5. Brook Street - Best for: public-sector and government admin

Brook Street has recruited office and clerical staff since 1946 and is part of ManpowerGroup, operating admin and secretarial temp desks across more than 20 UK branches. It is a REC member with a particularly strong public-sector and government practice.

Strengths

• Strong public-sector, court, and government administrative desks.

• REC membership and the scale of the ManpowerGroup behind it.

Best for

Brook Street suits employers hiring admin and clerical cover at volume across government and public-sector frameworks, who want a long-established national agency with desks built for exactly that work.

Not ideal for

Brook Street's weak spot is payroll: it has a persistent reputation for pay-accuracy problems and slow responsiveness since the move to the ManpowerGroup system, so vet the payroll process before placing temps. Senior private-office and UHNW EA hires also sit outside its clerical-weighted remit.

6. Reed - Best for: hard-to-fill roles in any UK region

Reed runs a dedicated business-support temp desk on top of the largest candidate database in UK recruitment, drawing on the reach of reed.co.uk to fill temporary, contract and interim roles in every region. That scale is the point here: where a smaller agency has no one on the ground, Reed almost always does, including public-sector briefs covered by its Crown Commercial Service framework.

Strengths

• 65 years in recruitment and offices in every UK region, the widest network of the eight.

• Public-sector frameworks and fast-track screening for compliant temp hires.

Best for

Reed suits employers who want the largest candidate pool and genuine reach into every UK region, including hard-to-fill locations a smaller agency cannot serve. Its consultants tend to place temps quickly and stay in touch through the assignment.

Not ideal for

Across 20 sectors and a vast database, Reed is a broad generalist, and at that scale, candidates often report doing some of the chasing themselves. Employers wanting a senior private-office or EA specialist may have to find a more tailored desk. 

7. Lily Shippen - Best for: senior EA and Chief of Staff cover

Lily Shippen runs a dedicated temporary and interim desk for senior business-support roles, placing Executive Assistants, Chiefs of Staff and PAs on short-term and maternity cover across London, Manchester and the wider North West. 

Strengths

• A specialist team that recruits support roles all day, so temp candidates are assessed on the judgement and discretion senior cover actually needs.

• Strong networks in the North West as well as London, which few specialist desks can match outside the capital.

Best for

Employers who need a senior temp or interim hire held to permanent-level standards, particularly in Manchester and the North West, where specialist cover is harder to source. It carries Feefo Gold Trusted Service status and a consistency of feedback that none of the larger agencies here can match.

Not ideal for

Anyone needing office or reception temps in volume. The desk is built for senior, considered placements, so a national-network agency will fill high-turnover front-line cover faster and cheaper.

8. Pertemps - Best for: office and commercial temps together

Pertemps is one of the UK's largest independent recruiters, placing temporary and permanent staff across the country through an extensive branch network. Alongside commercial, industrial, and driving desks, it runs office and administrative temp recruitment nationwide.

Strengths

• Branches in regional towns and smaller cities that other agencies overlook.

• Office and commercial temp desks are able to handle volume at speed.

Best for

Pertemps covers office, commercial, and industrial temps together, which helps if you are staffing a mixed site or hiring in regional towns where specialist agencies have no presence. Its local consultants have a name for being friendly and responsive, and for fast temp-to-perm starts.

Not ideal for

Businesses that need a niche PA or EA specialist. The remit spans many sectors rather than concentrating on business support. As with most high-volume payrolled agencies, payment accuracy is the weak spot, so confirm how the local branch handles timesheets and pay.

How to choose a temp agency

The best temping agency is the one that matches your sector, moves at the pace you need, and stands behind the people it sends. Speed matters most with temp cover, but speed without screening just moves the problem to your front desk. Use the following criteria to sort a strong agency from a weak one.

1. Sector specialism: An agency that places business-support staff every day knows what a good EA (Executive Assistant) looks like. A generalist staffing firm covering warehouses to call centres rarely does.

2. REC membership: The Recruitment and Employment Confederation is the UK's industry body for recruiters, binding members to its Code of Professional Practice. Membership signals the agency follows recognised standards and audits its compliance.

3. Screening and right-to-work checks: Ask what happens before a temp reaches you: reference checks, right-to-work verification, and a real conversation, not just a CV forward.

4. Genuine pace: A good temp desk can name its turnaround. Ask how fast they fill an urgent brief and whether same-day or next-day starts are realistic.

5. Coverage. If you hire outside London or across multiple sites, confirm the agency works UK-wide, including remote and hybrid placements, rather than London only.

6. AWR compliant: Make sure the agency is compliant with the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, tracks each temp's 12-week qualifying clock, and shares the pay and comparator information you need, because the hirer carries part of the liability if it goes wrong.

Temping agencies beyond London

Most temp roundups stop at the M25, but the need for temporary business-support cover does not. In April 2026, temp billings rose across the Midlands and the South while easing in London, according to the KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs. Employers in Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Cardiff face the same urgent gaps as those in the capital, and several of the agencies above are built to reach them.

Adecco, Tate, Office Angels, Brook Street, Reed, and Pertemps all run national branch networks, while Lily Shippen covers the North West and London, and Oriel Partners operates UK-wide from a London HQ. The generalists among them (Adecco, Reed, and Pertemps) also staff logistics, healthcare, hospitality, and industrial roles, whereas this guide concentrates on business support. A temp covering a diary or an inbox no longer has to sit in your office, so the best person for a Leeds or Edinburgh role may be placed as quickly as a London one.

When you hire outside London, ask the agency directly how it handles regional and remote briefs. Check whether it has placed temps in your area before and how it runs right-to-work checks at a distance. A specialist who treats UK-wide cover as core, not a London desk stretching to reach you, will give you a faster and more reliable fill.

Temping agency FAQs

What is a temp agency?

A temp agency is a recruitment business that supplies workers to employers on a temporary basis, covering short-term gaps such as sickness, parental leave, busy periods, or one-off projects. The agency employs or contracts the temp and handles their pay and admin. You can read more about how temp agencies work in our guide.

How do temp agencies work?

Temp agencies work by matching pre-vetted candidates to short-term employer briefs, usually at speed. Suitable temps can often start within a day or two, and the agency manages right-to-work checks, references, timesheets, and pay, which is covered further in our guide to the benefits of hiring through a temping agency.

How much does a temp agency charge?

A temp agency charges the employer, not the temp, usually through an hourly margin added on top of the temp's pay rate. For business-support temping, temporary PA rates typically run from around £18 to £35 an hour, depending on seniority and location, with senior or specialist cover higher. The temp is paid through PAYE with statutory holiday pay accrued on top, so the employer's hourly charge covers the temp's wage, holiday, National Insurance, and the agency margin. Candidates are not charged a fee to register or be placed; charging work-seekers for finding work is prohibited under UK recruitment rules.

Can you hire a temp permanently?

You can usually hire a temp permanently, but a transfer fee or an agreed extended-hire period normally applies when you take an agency temp onto your own payroll. The fee typically decreases the longer the temp has worked for you. Ask for the temp-to-perm terms in writing at the briefing stage so the cost of converting a strong temp is clear before you commit.

Find the right temping agency

The right temping agency is the one that fits your sector, your location, and your timeline, not simply the one with the biggest candidate list. Match the specialism to your roles, check the agency works where you hire, and confirm vetting happens before anyone reaches your desk.

At Oriel Partners, our temporary recruitment service covers PA, EA, reception, and admin roles UK-wide, and we work towards a first suitable candidate within two hours of your brief. Get in touch today to see how we can find you the perfect match.