KYC (Know Your Customer/Candidate) in recruitment refers to the identity, right-to-work, and background checks an agency completes before placing a temporary worker with a client — and it exists to protect the worker, the agency, and the hirer all at once.
Why KYC exists in recruitment
Placing a worker who isn't legally entitled to work, or whose identity or qualifications can't be verified, creates risk for everyone involved: the hirer can face penalties, the agency can lose its standing with clients, and the worker's own position becomes uncertain. KYC checks are how agencies confirm, before a placement happens, that none of that risk is present.
What KYC checks typically cover
Depending on the role, this usually includes:
- Identity verification — confirming the worker is who they say they are.
- Right-to-work checks — confirming the worker is legally allowed to work in the UK, and for how long if their status has an expiry date.
- DBS checks — where the role requires one, confirming there's no disqualifying criminal record.
- Qualifications and references — confirming relevant certifications or prior employment where the role depends on them.
Why this matters for hirers too, not just agencies
A hirer relying on an agency to supply staff is trusting that the agency has already done this work. Hirers should be able to see that a worker has been through compliance checks before confirming a placement, rather than taking it on faith — and a platform that makes compliance status visible removes that guesswork.
What workers should expect
For a worker, KYC usually means uploading identity documents, proof of right to work, and any relevant certificates once, during onboarding — not repeating the process for every new agency or every new placement. A well-run system checks documents for expiry and prompts a worker to renew before they lapse, rather than the worker finding out only when they're blocked from taking a shift.
How Meet Resources handles this
Meet Resources runs KYC and compliance checks as part of a worker's profile — documents are uploaded once, verified, and visible (at an appropriate level) to agencies and hirers considering that worker for a shift. Expiring documents, like right-to-work status, are tracked so a worker can renew ahead of time rather than being caught out on the day.