A Staffing Agency Clearly Cheaper Than the Competition? Price Alone Is Not Enough. Companies Should Know Where the Rate Comes From
Two agencies offer a company workers with a similar profile, but one quotes a clearly lower rate. The price difference alone does not mean that something is wrong with the offer. It should, however, prompt the entrepreneur to check where it comes from. An employee’s pay is only one element of the calculation. Contributions, the way working time and due allowances are settled, recruitment and HR administration costs, the legalization of foreign nationals’ work and the division of duties between the agency and the client also matter. When comparing offers, it is worth looking not only at the final rate, but also at whether the provider can clearly explain what it consists of.
Price remains one of the basic criteria for choosing a staffing agency. This is natural: companies look for savings and compare suppliers’ offers. The problem is that, for example, two similar-looking offers do not always cover exactly the same thing.
One agency may organize recruitment differently, have lower administrative costs, operate on a larger scale or accept a lower margin. The price difference may therefore have entirely justified business reasons. If it is significant, however, it is worth asking a few additional questions. What pay will the employee receive? How will hours worked and due allowances be settled? What exactly does the agency’s rate include? Which duties remain with the company? When hiring foreign nationals, there is also the question of the legality of the work and the correct completion of the required procedures.
– As a staffing agency, we see that companies today analyze employment costs very carefully, and this is entirely natural. A lower price alone should not be treated as a sign that something is wrong. It is worth knowing, however, what the difference results from. When we discuss a rate with a client, we should be able to show clearly what it covers: what pay the employee will receive, how their working time will be settled, what the agency is responsible for and which duties remain with the client. This allows the entrepreneur to actually compare offers, and not just two numbers – says Anna Dzhobolda, strategic advisor of the recruitment department at Gremi Personal.
An employee’s pay is not the whole price of the service
Since 1 January 2026, the minimum wage in Poland has been PLN 4,806 gross per month. The minimum hourly rate for certain civil-law contracts, including contracts of mandate (umowa zlecenia) and contracts for the provision of services, is PLN 31.40 gross. These are two different mechanisms, so they should not be equated.
Pay, however, does not exhaust the cost of providing a worker. Depending on the cooperation model and the specific contract, it is supplemented by, among other things, employment-related charges, and the costs of recruitment, payroll and HR administration, staff coordination and the processes related to the legal employment of foreign nationals. That is why the price of one hour of service alone does not tell the entrepreneur how the offer has been constructed. Far more is revealed only by the answer to the question of what exactly is included in that price.
This is particularly important in temporary work, where duties are divided between the temporary work agency and the user employer. Before cooperation begins, the user employer provides the agency with, among other things, information on pay for work and on internal pay regulations. The parties also agree on the scope of information about the course of work that affects the amount of the temporary worker’s pay, and on the method and deadline for providing it to the agency.
A cheaper offer? First check whether we are comparing the same thing
If one of the offers clearly departs in price from the others, the first step should not be to assume that it is improper. However, it is worth examining whether all the offers really relate to the same scope of service.
The division of duties between the agency and the company should be established precisely. In the case of temporary work, some of them by law belong to the user employer. This applies, among other things, to ensuring safe and hygienic working conditions, providing the required work clothing and footwear and personal protective equipment, conducting occupational health and safety (OHS) training and keeping records of the temporary worker’s working time.
A lower price may result from the scope of the agency’s additional services, the way costs are settled and the amount of its margin. This does not change the obligations that the law imposes directly on the user employer. Only a comparison of these elements therefore allows one to assess whether the offers being compared are really comparable.
– In the work of our recruiters and client service teams at Gremi Personal, we see how many elements can affect the final price of a service. That is why the rate alone says little unless we set it against the entire cooperation model. The entrepreneur should know exactly what they are paying for, what they receive within that price and which duties remain on their side. Only then can the offers of several agencies be compared fairly – stresses Anna Dzhobolda.
Hiring foreign nationals adds another element
Offers concerning the employment of foreign nationals require particular attention. Since 1 June 2025, new rules have applied to the conditions for entrusting work to foreign nationals in Poland. They changed, among other things, the procedures related to the legalization of employment and increased the importance of electronic handling of these processes.
For the entrepreneur, this means that when choosing an agency it is worth checking not only the price, but also how the procedures related to the legal employment of foreign nationals are carried out. The status of the provider itself is also important. Providing employment agency services is a regulated activity, and entities conducting it are subject to entry in the register of employment agencies. If an agency provides job placement or temporary work services for foreign nationals who require a work permit or a declaration on entrusting work, the entrepreneur should check whether the agency has obtained the appropriate amendment of its entry in the register of employment agencies. This is yet another reason why choosing a provider solely on the basis of the rate may not give the full picture of the offer.
– It is not about a company choosing a more expensive agency just because it is more expensive. It is about knowing why one provider can offer the same service more cheaply. As a staffing agency working every day with workers, recruiters and companies, we stress that transparent cooperation starts with a few simple pieces of information: how much the employee receives, how their working time is settled, what the agency is responsible for, what the client is responsible for and what exactly the quoted price includes. If these questions can be answered clearly, the entrepreneur has grounds for an informed comparison of offers – adds the Gremi Personal expert.
For companies, this means in practice a simple rule: the rate is important, but it is worth reading it together with the terms behind it. When choosing a staffing agency, what matters is therefore not only the final amount, but also the conditions of workers’ employment, the way their work is recorded and settled, the legality of the processes and a clear division of responsibility between the agency and the client.