Closing soon6 days left · closes midday, Friday 20 November 2026

HCC - 10/26 - The Provision of a Recruitment Agency Framework

Hertfordshire County Council · Local authority

In brief

Hertfordshire County Council is looking for suppliers for recruitment work (East of England).

It is a framework worth up to £46,000,000 excluding VAT: the most the buyer expects to spend across all suppliers, not one contract.

The contract runs for 2 years, up to 4 years with extensions, starting 1 April 2027.

It is split into 7 lots, so a supplier can bid for part of the work.

The buyer says it is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

Bids close at midday, Friday 20 November 2026.

Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.

Can I win this?

Key dates

Questions by
midday, Friday 6 November 2026
Bids by
midday, Friday 20 November 2026

How bids are scored

Professional and Technical

Price 40% · Quality 60%

Quality matters most. You can win without being the cheapest.

Industrial

Price 40% · Quality 60%

Quality matters most. You can win without being the cheapest.

Social Care (Adults)

Price 40% · Quality 60%

Quality matters most. You can win without being the cheapest.

Qualified/ Registered Social Care

Price 40% · Quality 60%

Quality matters most. You can win without being the cheapest.

3 more lots are scored in the official notice.

Competition

Usually high: a median of 5.5 bids per contract for this buyer (from 40 awards in the last 12 months).

Framework

Winning puts you on a list of suppliers the buyer can call on; it does not guarantee work. The £46,000,000 is the most the buyer expects to spend across all suppliers over the framework's life, not one contract.

Conditions

  • Suppliers pay a fee of 1.5% of the value of work won through this framework.

What the notice says

Hertfordshire County Council is currently out to procurement for the Provision of a Recruitment Agency Framework The purpose of this procurement is to establish a new framework for recruitment agency services, enabling managers to source agency workers in a compliant and efficient manner. The Framework Agreement will be awarded and administered by Hertfordshire County Council on its own behalf. Participating Bodies will be responsible for managing their own call off contracts. For the purposes of this Framework Agreement, the following organisations are deemed Participating Bodies: • Broxbourne Borough Council • Dacorum Borough Council • East Herts Council • Hertsmere Borough Council…Read the full description
Hertfordshire County Council is currently out to procurement for the Provision of a Recruitment Agency Framework The purpose of this procurement is to establish a new framework for recruitment agency services, enabling managers to source agency workers in a compliant and efficient manner. The Framework Agreement will be awarded and administered by Hertfordshire County Council on its own behalf. Participating Bodies will be responsible for managing their own call off contracts. For the purposes of this Framework Agreement, the following organisations are deemed Participating Bodies: • Broxbourne Borough Council • Dacorum Borough Council • East Herts Council • Hertsmere Borough Council • North Hertfordshire District Council • St Albans City and District Council • Stevenage Borough Council • Three Rivers District Council • Watford Borough Council • Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council The Council intends for this Framework Agreement to be flexible and meet the needs of the Council and the Participating Bodies The job types required under this Framework Agreement have been split into Lots and each Lot has job roles within. These have been outlined along with their specific requirements in Annexes 1 to 8 to the Specification. To ensure the highest quality provision to each Lot, the Council will limit the number of suppliers awarded to each Lot. The maximum number of awards per Lot is set out in the table below: Supplier Limits per lot Lot number Lot Title Supplier Limit Lot 1 Professional and Technical 2 Agencies per Job Type Lot 2 Industrial Up to a maximum of 10 Agencies Lot 3 Social Care (Adults) 3 Agencies Lot 4 Qualified/ Registered Social Care 3 Agencies Lot 5 Educational Psychology Services Unlimited Lot 6 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 3 Agencies Lot 7 District Council & Borough Council Job Types 2 Agencies per job family. Full details are in the Instructions to Tenderers and Specification, Schedule 1 of the Framework Agreement This procurement is an open process. Organisations wishing to take part in this project are invited to ‘express an interest’ and also ‘opt in’ which will give access to the full procurement documents in the e-tendering system. To be considered as a Tenderer you must complete and submit a Tender by the deadline of 12 noon on the 20th November 2026 Please allow sufficient time to make your return, as Tender submissions cannot be uploaded and submitted after this return deadline. Please ensure that where possible documents are uploaded as a PDF and that file names are succinct. Any questions relating to this procurement must be made via correspondence on the website, in accordance with the procurement documents, and can be addressed to the main contact as shown in the details above. Tenderers should be aware that due to the nature of the Services provided, any Framework formed as a result of this procurement process shall be executed as a deed. Tenderers should seek independent legal advice on the implications of this prior to submitting their Tender, where appropriate. Please note that the Framework requirements will be subject to available financial resources, supplier performance and flexibility to meet changing demands. The Council reserves the right at any time to cease the procurement process and not award the Framework or to award only part of the opportunity described in this notice. If the Council takes up this right, then they will not be responsible for or pay the expenses or losses, which may be incurred by any organisation or tenderer as a result. To access this opportunity please visit https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/Home

Should I bid?

Tick what applies to you. Nothing is saved.

How to bid

  1. Read the full notice on Find a Tender, including any tender documents it links to.
  2. Register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform (through Find a Tender) if you have not already. Suppliers need to be registered to take part in procurements under the Procurement Act 2023.
  3. Submit your bid through the buyer's e-tendering portal: in-tendhost.co.uk.
  4. Send clarification questions before midday, Friday 6 November 2026.
  5. Make sure your bid arrives before midday, Friday 20 November 2026. Late bids are usually rejected.

Lots

LotTradeValue
Professional and Technical
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Professional and Technical Agency workers for Lot 1

Recruitment and staffing£390,000
Industrial
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Industrial Agency workers for Lot 2

Recruitment and staffing£3,800,000
Social Care (Adults)
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Social Care (Adults) Agency workers for Lot 3

Recruitment and staffing£12,000,000
Qualified/ Registered Social Care
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Qualified/Registered Social Care Agency workers for Lot 4

Recruitment and staffing£1,010,000
Educational Psychology Services
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Education Psychology Services Agency workers for Lot 5

Recruitment and staffing£13,000,000
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Agency workers for Lot 6

Recruitment and staffing£2,800,000
District Council & Borough Council Job Families
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029
What this lot covers

The provision of District Council & Borough Council Job Families Agency workers for Lot 7

Recruitment and staffing£13,000,000

Timeline

  1. Preliminary market engagement notice · UK2, notice 039730-2026
  2. Tender notice · UK4, notice 100709-2026

About the buyer

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From notice 039730-2026 on Find a Tender, first published 30 April 2026, last updated 23 October 2026. We last checked for changes on 23 October 2026.