Three changes to recruitment agency compliance landed on 6th April 2026. Most agencies noticed one of them.
The Employment Rights Act 2025, new Statutory Sick Pay rules, and updated guidance on umbrella company oversight all came into force on the same date. Together, they reshaped what recruitment agency compliance actually requires.
If your compliance processes haven’t been reviewed since last year, they’re already behind.
What the April 2026 Changes Mean for Your Agency
Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from the first day of absence, with no waiting period. That directly affects every umbrella company in your supply chain. Your workers expect it. HMRC will check for it.
The Employment Rights Act extends accountability further into the supply chain. If an umbrella you use is underpaying workers or operating outside the rules, your agency is connected to that failure. You may not have caused it. But you’ll need to show what steps you took to prevent it.
Why Agencies Are More Exposed Than They Realise
Most compliance frameworks were built around what agencies directly control: their own payroll, their own contracts, their own processes.
The risk has shifted. You’re now accountable for the conduct of the companies you appoint. A compliant supply chain isn’t just best practice. It’s a legal exposure question.
That requires documented evidence, not good intentions.
What Recruitment Agency Compliance Looks Like Now
The agencies building defensible compliance programmes in 2026 are doing three things. They’re vetting their umbrella suppliers against recognised standards, including FCSA accreditation. They’re maintaining continuous, auditable records of that vetting. And they’re catching payroll discrepancies before they become HMRC findings.
Diligence Hub brings those processes into one place. veriPAYE sits inside the platform, verifying payslip-level accuracy so your compliance record is live and evidenced, not assembled from memory when an inquiry arrives.
Recruitment agency compliance in 2026 means documented, ongoing due diligence. Diligence Hub makes that manageable. Find out how at diligencehub.co.uk.
