How to Hire Scaffolders in the UK Without Agencies

You do not need an agency to hire scaffolders. Agencies add a margin on top of every day rate and put a layer between you and the people doing the work. Plenty of firms fill their crews by advertising directly, talking to candidates themselves, and keeping that margin in the business.

Here is how to hire scaffolders directly in the UK, what to put in the advert, and the one legal check you cannot skip.

Why hire direct

Going direct keeps the agency markup, the one added to every day rate or charged as a finder's fee, in your business, and on a busy crew over a year that adds up fast. It also puts you back in control: you speak to candidates yourself, judge them yourself, and build a relationship rather than renting one. And because you know your sites and your standards, you get a better match than a CV forwarded by someone who has never set foot on a scaffold.

This is the whole idea behind ScaffJobs: no agencies, no recruiters, just employers and scaffolders talking directly.

Write an advert that pulls applicants

Scaffolders scroll past vague adverts. Be specific:

• The level you need. State the CISRS card level clearly: labourer, Part 1, Part 2, advanced or supervisor. (Not sure which is which? Our guide to CISRS cards breaks it down.)
• Location and the kind of work. Site location or patch, and whether it is commercial, industrial, domestic, system or tube and fitting.
• Pay. Adverts with a day rate or salary get far more applicants than "competitive". If you are not sure what to offer, see what scaffolders earn.
• How to apply. A direct phone number, email or link. Make it easy.

Where to advertise

Put the role where scaffolders already are: a niche scaffolding job board, the trade's Facebook groups, and word of mouth on site. A general job site buries a scaffolding role under thousands of unrelated listings; a specialist board does not.

The right-to-work check

Check that everyone you take on has the right to work in the UK before they start. Done properly, the check gives you a "statutory excuse" against a civil penalty if someone turns out not to be allowed to work. Since 1 October 2026 it also covers people on worker's contracts and individual sub-contractors, under section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, so a self-employed scaffolder you take on to do work you've contracted to provide is in scope. Someone running their own independent business who contracts directly with clients is not. The Home Office's employer's guide to right to work checks, dated 1 October 2026, explains how to do each check and what to keep. The excuse doesn't protect you if you know a person isn't allowed to do the work, whatever checks you've done, so build the check into your process from the first day.

Get seen quickly

The fastest way to fill a role is to get it in front of a lot of the right people at once. Posting on ScaffJobs is free, and a featured listing puts your role first among the roles that match each search, with a free bonus post in the 5,000-member ScaffJobs Facebook group, so it reaches scaffolders who are not actively searching as well as those who are. Our advertising page sets out what each option includes.