Staffing Agency Compliance Requirements: Worker Documents

This article is provided for information only and is not legal advice. Regulatory references are accurate as of its publication date (October 2026) and limited to the countries named. Consult a qualified professional for any decision about an individual worker file.

A staffing agency must check a worker's identity, right to work, social security registration and any qualification the role requires before the first assignment, and keep evidence that it did so. The documents look similar from one country to the next. Who is responsible, how early the check must happen and what a failure costs differ. This article compares five European markets, shows what each check compares in practice (fields, dates, registers) and explains how to run it without re-keying data.

What documents must a staffing agency check in each country?

In all five countries, the baseline is the same: a valid identity document, proof of the right to work for anyone outside the national or EU labour market, a social security identifier and bank details that match the worker's identity. The differences lie in the reference authority and the timing of the check.

For a UK-specific walkthrough, see our guide to right to work checks for employers, and for a first-assignment checklist, our article on temp worker document verification before a first assignment.

United Kingdom: the right to work check is a dated document check

A UK employer, including an agency placing a worker, faces a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach (rates in force since February 2024). The statutory excuse is a compliant check, dated and retained. The Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks sets out three routes: a manual check of original documents, an online check with a share code, and digital identity verification through a certified provider (IDSP) for British and Irish passports.

Agencies carry an additional duty under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003: before introducing a work-seeker to a hirer, the agency must confirm identity, experience, training and any authorisation the role requires. Enforcement sits with the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.

Two practical details trip agencies up. A share code check is only valid for the status shown at the time, so a time-limited visa needs a diary date for the follow-up check. And a photocopy never replaces seeing the original or running the online check.

France: DPAE, residence permit and assignment contract

In France, the temporary-work company must file the pre-hire declaration (DPAE) with URSSAF before the assignment starts and give the worker the written assignment contract within two working days of placement (article L1251-17 of the Labour Code). The general framework is in article L1251-1 of the Code du travail.

For foreign workers, article L8251-1 bars employing anyone not authorised to work, and article R5221-41 requires the employer to have the permit verified with the préfecture at least two working days before hiring. Exposure includes a special contribution payable to OFII and criminal penalties under article L8256-2 (up to five years' imprisonment and a €15,000 fine per foreign worker employed).

Germany: AÜG licence, duration limits and a restriction on some permits

In Germany, an agency needs a licence from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit before supplying workers, and a single worker can be placed with the same client for 18 months at most. The Bundesagentur's licensing page lists the conditions. After nine months, equal pay with the client's own staff generally applies (§ 8 AÜG).

For third-country nationals, the permit is the sticking point: as a rule, the Federal Employment Agency does not approve temporary-agency work for holders of non-EU residence titles (§ 40 AufenthG). A permit valid for employment is therefore not necessarily valid for an agency assignment. The agency must read the work-authorisation annotation on the permit, not just its expiry date.

Spain and Portugal: registration before day one

In Spain, the ETT must hold administrative authorisation and register the worker with the Seguridad Social before work begins (Ley 14/1994 on temporary work companies). The text is available from the BOE. For non-EU workers the employer answers for the existence of a residence and work authorisation: employing a foreigner without one is a very serious infringement, fined between €10,001 and €100,000 under Organic Law 4/2000. Risk-prevention training and health surveillance must also be documented before placement.

In Portugal, a temporary-work company needs an IEFP licence and must notify Segurança Social of the worker's admission before the contract begins. The IEFP explains the regime for temporary-work companies and ACT publishes guidance on temporary work. Usual documents: Cartão de Cidadão or residence permit, NIF, NISS and IBAN. The consistency check lines up name, NIF and NISS across them.

Which cross-document checks can an agency automate?

A cross-document check compares the same fields across several documents and flags mismatches, which is where agencies lose most of their time. Our platform supports more than 3,200 document types and OCR extraction in 24 languages across 32 jurisdictions, so British, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese papers can go through one flow.

Such a check compares fields and dates. It does not prove a document is authentic, and where forgery is a concern it should sit alongside your existing controls.

What do agency staff ask most often?

Questions that recur on HR and recruitment forums fall into three groups. First: is a copy of the ID enough? In the UK, no; the original or an online check is needed. In France, a copy serves for identity, but a foreign permit must also be confirmed with the préfecture. Second: what if the permit expires during the assignment? Set a reminder before expiry and pause the placement if no renewal is evidenced. Third: who is liable, the agency or the client? In all five countries the employing agency carries the right-to-work check, and the client stays exposed if it knowingly uses unlawful labour.

How long should worker documents be kept?

GDPR applies to worker files in France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and UK GDPR in the UK: copies are kept only as long as needed. In the UK, the Home Office expects right-to-work evidence to be held for the length of employment plus two years. In Germany, the permit copy is kept during employment and then deleted within the statutory periods. Set a retention period per document type rather than one blanket rule. Our security page explains how CheckFile handles this data.

From a folder of papers to a validated file

Validate in three steps: completeness, validity, consistency. Confirm every required document is present, that its dates cover the assignment, then that shared fields agree. Our industry verification guide places this method in the context of high-turnover trades.

If your file volume is beyond what a team can check by hand, the staffing solution compares these fields and dates automatically and surfaces the mismatches for review. See pricing to size your usage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a staffing agency have to check every worker's right to work?

Yes. In all five countries covered, the employing agency is responsible for the right-to-work check. In the UK that means a dated, retained right to work check; in France it means verification with the préfecture for foreign permits.

Which document most often causes a failed check?

A residence permit whose validity does not cover the assignment, or whose type does not allow agency work, is the most frequent gap. Checking dates and the work-authorisation annotation catches most cases.

Can one process cover every country?

The process (completeness, validity, consistency) transfers. The document list, authority and deadlines do not, so each country needs its own grid.

Does an automated check prove a document is genuine?

No. It compares fields, dates and available registers and flags mismatches. Accepting the file remains a human decision.