When people talk about compliance in recruitment, the main topics are usually Right to Work, GDPR, IR35 and health and safety. Whilst these matter, there is a quieter, unspoken burden that is weighing recruiters down every day, and that is the admin of staying compliant across hundreds or even thousands of workers. 

Everyday it chips away at recruiters’ time and efficiency, as they chase expired documents, manage multiple spreadsheets, and the endless back-and-forth emails. In an industry where time is of the essence, compliance demands hours that recruiters don’t have.

The real cost of staying compliant
Recruitment firms are under growing pressure to deliver more, and faster, but many are still handling compliance using outdated systems.

According to The Global Recruiter’s 2025 Compliance First report, over half of UK staffing firms were forced to urgently update their compliance processes in 2024, largely due to increased scrutiny around umbrella companies. 

But it doesn’t stop once a candidate is onboarded. Ongoing compliance, such as expiring documents, certifications and sector-specific training, is a full time job for many teams. When you’re managing hundreds of flexible workers across different clients and job types, the growing concern is whether all documentation is up to date.

Why old tools don’t cut it
Despite the scale of the challenge, most organisations still rely on a mix of spreadsheets, emails, and disjointed HR tools. These systems don’t talk to each other, and worse, they depend on people remembering to act. That means expiry dates get missed, workers get booked out of compliance, and gaps only surface when something goes wrong.

The Compliance First report warns of exactly this kind of risk: non-compliant workers making it through the system due to poor internal processes, often intensified by time pressures and placement demands.

How Agentic AI relieves the pressure
Most compliance processes today are reactive. 

• Someone flags a missing document.
• Someone notices an expiry date has passed.
• Someone spots that a candidate isn’t cleared for work.

But Agentic AI turns that model on its head. Instead of relying on memory and manual follow-ups, Agentic AI works quietly in the background, continuously monitoring every compliance requirement and acting when something needs attention. No matter what the issue is, an automated system can chase it and escalate it without a consultant ever having to worry about it.

More importantly, Agentic AI doesn’t apply the same workflow to every role. Onboarding journeys can change based on job type, sector, or even client preferences. Meaning that healthcare placements can have stricter vetting than warehouse roles, and the system ensures every step is followed.

It’s not about replacing people, but it is about giving consultants their time back. When the admin is handled automatically, recruiters can focus on building relationships and delivering value, instead of updating spreadsheets and chasing documents.

The compliance burden no one talks about isn’t just law and regulations, it’s the endless administrative tasks to stay on top of it all. With the right AI tools in place, staffing and recruitment firms can move from chaos to future-proofing, turning compliance into a strength.

Because in 2026 and beyond, the agencies that win won’t be the ones with the biggest teams, they’ll be the ones with the smartest systems.

If your organisation’s compliance process is slowing things down, it’s time to explore what automated compliance could do for you. Book a demo today to speak with the team.