There's no current published figure for how late recruitment clients pay, and Adfin doesn't yet have enough agencies in its data for a reliable one. Across UK small businesses, Adfin's Getting Paid Report found that 34.3% of invoices customers paid themselves arrived after the due date, and the typical late one was 8 days late. Recruitment adds its own pressures, from large perm fees that stall in approvals to long terms set by bigger hirers.
In this article
The short version
- No current published survey covers how late recruitment clients pay.
- Across UK small businesses on Adfin, 34.3% of invoices customers paid themselves arrived late, typically 8 days late.
- Xero's data puts UK small businesses at an average of 8.3 days late.
- The REC found 35% of recruitment firms had bad debt in the past year, against 29% across sectors.
- Statutory interest on a £6,000 fee paid 8 days late is £15.45, plus a £70 fixed sum.
What the payment data shows
There's no current published survey of how late recruitment clients pay. The industry figures you'll find are mostly from 2015 to 2020, and Adfin doesn't yet have enough recruitment agencies in its data to publish a reliable figure for the sector.
The closest current measure is how UK small businesses get paid in general. In Adfin's Getting Paid Report:
- 65.7% of invoices customers paid themselves arrived on or before the due date
- the other 34.3% arrived late
- the typical (median) late payment arrived 8 days after the due date
- 7.1% of late payments took more than 90 days
Those figures cover more than 450,000 paid invoices raised through Adfin by more than 1,000 UK businesses between June 2024 and August 2026, more than 55,000 of them paid by the customer themselves, across all sectors and not recruitment alone. The on-time and late figures are for invoices where the customer chose when to pay, not direct debits (see the UK Getting Paid Report and how we measure payment behaviour).
Xero's UK small business data, measured differently, puts the average at 8.3 days late in the June 2026 quarter.
For recruitment specifically, the REC's 2024/25 status report, drawing on member data, found that 35% of recruitment firms had bad debt in the past year, compared with 29% across sectors.
Perm fees and temp invoices compared
Perm and temp work get paid late in different ways. A perm fee is a large one-off invoice, often several thousand pounds, that may need a purchase order or a finance director's sign-off before it's paid. Temp and shift staffing invoices are much smaller and go out every week, and some larger hirers demand long terms from suppliers of agency workers.
A perm fee paid late leaves a hole in one month's cash. A temp invoice paid late covers wages you've already paid. If you invoice a client every week and each invoice lands a week or more after its due date, you'll have run at least one more weekly payroll for that client before it arrives.
Late perm fees also affect rebates. Published agency terms often make the rebate or guarantee conditional on the client paying on time. If yours work that way, a fee paid two weeks late may already have cost the client their rebate if the candidate leaves, which is worth pointing out when you chase.
What 8 days late means in pounds
A business client that pays late owes you statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum per invoice. The base rate used is the one in force on the 30 June or 31 December before the fee fell due, so it's 11.75% a year for fees falling overdue between 1 July and 31 December 2026.
On a £6,000 perm fee paid 8 days late, the interest comes to £15.45 and the fixed sum is £70. On a £900 temp invoice paid 8 days late, the interest is £2.32 and the fixed sum is £40. The interest on one invoice is small, but across a year of placements and weekly invoices it adds up.
It's easy to leave uncharged. Done by hand, working out days late, raising a separate invoice and chasing that as well can cost more time and goodwill than the sum is worth.
How agencies can respond
This data doesn't show which payment method or tool gets an agency paid sooner. It does show how common late payment is: about a third of invoices customers paid themselves arrived after the due date, and a small share ran on for months.
A few habits tend to help whichever system you use. Agree the payment term when the client signs your terms, and put the due date and payment details on every invoice. Send the first reminder on the due date, while the placement is still fresh in the hiring manager's mind. Keep a short personal message for the clients who ignore automated emails.
If you'd rather not run those habits by hand, Adfin's collection agents can take them on, chasing by email, SMS and WhatsApp within rules you approve, and adding statutory late payment interest to overdue business invoices if you switch that on.
Related guides
- Why do recruitment agencies get paid so late?
- How do recruitment agencies get paid?
- What payment terms should a recruitment agency use?
- What's the cheapest way for a recruitment agency to get paid?
- UK late payment rules: a complete guide
Common questions
How late do recruitment clients typically pay? No current survey covers recruitment on its own. Across UK small businesses on Adfin, 34.3% of invoices customers paid themselves arrived late, and the typical late one was 8 days after the due date.
Do temp clients pay later than perm clients? There's no reliable current data comparing them. Temp invoices are smaller and weekly, and some large hirers demand long terms from suppliers of agency workers, while perm fees are larger and more likely to stall in approvals.
Is there an industry benchmark for recruitment debtor days? There's no current published survey. Older figures from 2015 to 2020 exist, but they describe a different market.
How much interest can I charge on a late perm fee? 8% above the Bank of England base rate, which is 11.75% a year for fees falling overdue between 1 July and 31 December 2026. On a £6,000 fee paid 8 days late that's £15.45, plus a fixed sum of £70.
Why doesn't Adfin publish a recruitment-only figure? There aren't yet enough recruitment agencies in Adfin's data for a reliable sector figure, so this article uses Adfin's figures across all UK small businesses.
How long can large clients make agencies wait? Some hirers have demanded terms of up to 120 days from suppliers of agency workers, according to the REC.
Sources
- REC - Recruitment Industry Status Report 2024/25 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/research/recruitment-and-industry-status-report/uk-recruitment-industry-status-report-202425
- REC - REC responds to new package on late payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://rec.uk.com/our-view/news/press-releases/rec-responds-new-package-late-payments
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: charging interest on commercial debt (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt
- Bank of England - Interest rates and Bank Rate (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate
- Xero - United Kingdom Small Business Insights (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.xero.com/uk/resources/small-business-insights/latest-united-kingdom/
