Glossary

Employment Agencies & Businesses

Government departments often differentiate between employment agencies and employment businesses. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) categorises employment agencies as those companies that find people permanent work, simply fulfilling a recruitment role. It defines employment businesses as those companies (often known as temping agencies) who are responsible for placing workers in roles with a client of theirs, usually on a temporary basis. Employment businesses are responsible for the payment of the worker and for dealing with employment rights such as annual leave.

Other common terms

PSL

Is a ‘Preferred Suppliers List’ that recruiters will use to identify companies that they are happy to work with, such as specific umbrella companies, that

Personal Service Company (PSC)

This is another term used to define a limited company and is most commonly used with reference to a company that contains a sole director/shareholder

PAYE

Meaning ‘Pay As You Earn’, this term refers to the method of paying Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”) in the UK. Your employer