Menu
The British Institute of Recruiters

What is a Key Information Document for agency workers?

Last reviewed 9 November 2026 ยท Reading time 6 minutes

A Key Information Document is a short, separate statement that an employment business must give a work-seeker before the work-seeker agrees terms with it. It says who will employ or engage them, who pays them, the rate or the minimum rate the business expects to achieve, how often they are paid, every deduction and fee, the holiday terms, and a worked example of one pay period from gross to net. It is limited to two sides of A4, it carries the words "Key Information Document" at the top, and it must be given again within five business days of any change. The duty is regulation 13A of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, in force since 6 April 2020, in England, Scotland and Wales, and since 7 April 2026 the Fair Work Agency enforces it. (Sources, legislation.gov.uk, regulation 13A as amended on 7 April 2026 and gov.uk, Providing a Key Information Document for agency workers, guidance for employment businesses, last updated 7 April 2026.)

Updated 9 November 2026. This guide sets out what the regulation requires, in the order a temp desk meets it, with the government source for each point. The Fair Work Agency's contact details are the ones the document must now carry, and since 1 October 2026 a worker has six months rather than three to bring most tribunal claims, which is why the dated record of when each document was given is worth keeping properly.

Key facts, each with its government source

  1. It must be given before the work-seeker agrees the terms under regulation 14, and it must be a separate document, not a page inside the contract. (Regulation 13A(1) and (2).)
  2. It must carry the title "Key Information Document" at the top of the first page, and beneath it a statement of what the document is, where further information can be found, and the contact details of the enforcement officers, with a line saying the worker may contact them about a breach. Since 7 April 2026 those officers are the Fair Work Agency's (contact@fairworkagency.gov.uk, 0345 161 6000, Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG, from the Agency's gov.uk page). (Regulation 13A(3)(a) and (b), as amended on 7 April 2026 and gov.uk guidance, the update of 7 April 2026.)
  3. It is limited to two sides of A4 when printed, written clearly and succinctly, in readable type. (Regulation 13A(10).)
  4. It may include the other terms agreed under regulations 14 and 15, and nothing else. (Regulation 13A(9).)
  5. If the details change after terms are agreed, a revised document goes to the worker by the end of the fifth business day after the change, stating the date the change takes effect. (Regulation 13A(15).)
  6. Where an umbrella company or a personal service company sits between the business and the person doing the work, a different set of details applies, the business may rely on written information from the umbrella or the worker's company, and a copy of that information goes to the worker within five business days of a request. (Regulation 13A(4), (6), (7) and (8).)
  7. The Fair Work Agency took over enforcement of the Conduct Regulations, including regulation 13A, from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate on 7 April 2026. (gov.uk, the guidance page, updated 7 April 2026 and the Agency's organisation page.)

What must be in it

For a worker the employment business will pay directly, regulation 13A(3)(c) lists ten things.

  1. Whether the worker is, or will be, employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship, or engaged under a contract for services.
  2. The identity of the employment business.
  3. If someone other than the employment business will normally pay the worker, who that is.
  4. The rate of pay, or the minimum rate the business reasonably expects to achieve for the worker.
  5. How often pay is made.
  6. The nature of the deductions required by law, such as income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions where they apply.
  7. The nature and the amount of any other costs and deductions, or the method of calculation where the amount cannot be stated.
  8. The nature and the amount of any fees for goods or services charged to the worker by the business or by anyone else, or how they are calculated.
  9. Any non-monetary benefits the worker is entitled to.
  10. The holiday entitlement and how holiday is paid.

The worked example

Regulation 13A(3)(d) asks for a representative example statement for a single pay period, item by item and as amounts, estimated where necessary. It runs from the gross pay for the period, through the deductions required by law, any other deductions and any fees, to the net pay the worker will receive. The example is the part a worker reads first, and the natural check on it is the first payslip, so it should be built from the actual rate and the actual deductions for that assignment rather than a standard illustration carried over from a previous year. The gov.uk guidance publishes three example documents, Annex A for PAYE workers, Annex B for workers paid through an umbrella company and Annex C for workers who provide their services through a personal service company. (Source, gov.uk, the guidance page and its annexes.)

Umbrella companies and personal service companies

Where the person who will do the work is not the work-seeker, because an umbrella company or another intermediary is the work-seeker, and the employment business is not the one who will normally pay them, regulation 13A(6) replaces the ten items with details of the intermediary, the worker's contract with it, who employs and who pays the worker, and the same pay, deduction, fee and holiday information seen from the worker's side. The employment business may rely on written information from the umbrella, the worker's own company or the payer, provided the information relates directly to the person giving it, and must give the worker a copy of what it relied on within five business days of a request. A worker paid through an umbrella should be able to see on the document every deduction between the assignment rate and their net pay. Since 6 April 2026 the agency that holds the client contract can be liable for the PAYE an umbrella in its supply chain fails to pay, which is covered on the Employment Rights Hub's umbrella guide. The Key Information Document is the place the worker sees the same chain written down. (Regulation 13A(4) to (8). gov.uk Annex B and Annex C. gov.uk, PAYE rules for labour supply chains that include umbrella companies from 6 April 2026.)

When to give it, and when to give it again

The document goes to the worker before they agree terms. Where options are still open, such as two possible rates or a choice between PAYE and an umbrella, the business may give more than one document, must give a revised one if the details change before agreement, and must give a finalised document once the details are settled and before the terms are agreed. After agreement, any change to the required details means a revised document by the end of the fifth business day after the change, stating the date on or after which the revision takes effect. Every revised document has to meet the same content and format rules as the first. (Regulation 13A(12) to (16).)

The format rules

Two sides of A4 at most when printed, clear and succinct, in readable type, and separate from every other document. Only the required information and the regulation 14 and 15 terms may appear on it. Where everything cannot fit within two sides, the business may summarise and say where the full details are found. (Regulation 13A(2), (9), (10) and (11).)

Why the dated record matters more since 1 October 2026

Since 1 October 2026 a worker has six months rather than three to bring most employment tribunal claims about things that happen on or after that date (for breach of contract claims in Scotland the change comes on 9 November 2026). A dispute about pay or deductions on an assignment that ends in the spring can therefore arrive in the autumn, and the first question is what the worker was told before they agreed terms. A dated record of each Key Information Document and each revision, with the written information from any umbrella the business relied on, answers it from the file. (Source, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/954 and the government's timeline update of 22 October 2026.)

What a recruitment agency should have ready

  1. One template for each way a worker is paid, PAYE through the business, through an umbrella company, or through a personal service company, each carrying the title, the statement beneath it and the Fair Work Agency's contact details.
  2. A worked example built from the real rate and the real deductions for each assignment, checked against the first payslip.
  3. A dated record of when each document and each revision was given, so that "before terms were agreed" and "within five business days" can be shown from the file, kept for the six-month window and the early conciliation period that follows it.
  4. For umbrella arrangements, the written information from the umbrella that the business relied on, filed with the document.
  5. A review of the templates whenever a rate, a deduction, a fee or the holiday terms change, and once a year against the gov.uk guidance.

BIOR Agency Members have the Key Information Document template (2026, with the Fair Work Agency wording) and the Key Information Documents 2026 guide in the document library, and can put a question about a particular arrangement to Ask BIOR.

Questions people ask

Who must give a Key Information Document?

Every employment business in England, Scotland and Wales that supplies work-seekers to hirers, to every work-seeker, before the work-seeker agrees terms with it. An employment agency that only introduces candidates for permanent roles is not covered by regulation 13A. (Regulation 13A(1).)

When did the Key Information Document become law?

Regulation 13A took effect on 6 April 2020. It was amended on 7 April 2026 so that the enforcement contact on the document is the Fair Work Agency. (legislation.gov.uk, regulation 13A, the versions of 6 April 2020 and 7 April 2026.)

How long can a Key Information Document be?

Two sides of A4 when printed, at most, written clearly in readable type. Where the full detail cannot fit, a summary with a reference to where the detail is found is allowed. (Regulation 13A(10) and (11).)

What happens if pay or deductions change after the worker has started?

The business must give a revised document by the end of the fifth business day after the change, stating the date the change takes effect. (Regulation 13A(15).)

Does a worker paid through an umbrella company get one?

Yes. The employment business gives it to the person who will do the work as well as to the umbrella, with the details regulation 13A(6) lists, and may rely on written information from the umbrella, with a copy to the worker within five business days of a request. (Regulation 13A(1), (6), (7) and (8).)

Who enforces the Key Information Document rules?

The Fair Work Agency, since 7 April 2026, when it replaced the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The document itself must carry the Agency's contact details. (gov.uk, the guidance page, update of 7 April 2026 and regulation 13A(3)(b)(iii).)

Where to go next

The Fair Work Agency, what every recruitment agency needs to know. Umbrella and payroll compliance, the 2026 PAYE rules for labour supply chains. The Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline for recruitment agencies. The Employment Rights Hub. Check any recruiter at ior.org/certified.

BIOR membership includes the certification assessment. Pass it and you are certified for five years. Agency Members have the Key Information Document template, the Agency Compliance Pack and Ask BIOR behind their login, and every member has a public verification page. Read what Agency Membership includes at ior.org/agency-membership. Check any recruiter at ior.org/certified.

Written by The BIOR Membership Team. Last reviewed 9 November 2026 against legislation.gov.uk and gov.uk. Sources, regulation 13A of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, as amended on 7 April 2026. gov.uk, Providing a Key Information Document for agency workers, guidance for employment businesses, with Annexes A, B and C, last updated 7 April 2026. gov.uk, the Fair Work Agency's organisation page. gov.uk, PAYE rules for labour supply chains that include umbrella companies from 6 April 2026. SI 2026/954. The Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline update, 22 October 2026.