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
Whoever you hire, you are legally required to check they have the right to work in the UK before they start. The government sets out exactly how to do this in its right to work checks guidance. Doing the check properly protects you from a civil penalty, so build it into your process rather than treating it as an afterthought.
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 pins your role to the top of the board and into the 4,000-member ScaffJobs Facebook group, so it reaches scaffolders who are not actively searching as well as those who are.