No. A legitimate staffing agency does not take a percentage of your pay. The client pays the agency a bill rate for every hour you work. Out of that bill rate, the agency pays your wage, the payroll taxes, insurance and workers' comp, and keeps a margin. Your pay rate is the number you agreed, and that is what lands in your account, minus the normal tax withholding any employer takes. If an agency asks you to pay a fee to be placed, that is a warning sign.
How the money actually flows
Say you are placed at $20 an hour. The client is billed $30 an hour. Here is where the $30 goes.
- $20 to you, as wages.
- About $3.40 to payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and workers' comp, which the agency pays as your employer.
- About $6.60 stays with the agency to cover the recruiter, the office and its profit.
The $10 difference between your pay and the bill rate is not "taken from you." It was never your pay. Your pay is the $20 you agreed. The client is paying extra for the agency to find, screen, pay and insure you.
What does come out of your check
The same things that come out of any paycheck: federal and state income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare. If you chose benefits through the agency, those premiums. Nothing else, unless you agreed to it in writing.
When to be suspicious
- An agency asks for a fee to register, to be placed, or to "guarantee" a job.
- Your pay stub shows a deduction you did not agree to and cannot get explained.
- You are told your pay is "the bill rate minus our percentage" and nobody will give you a plain number.
In many states, charging job seekers for placement is restricted or banned. Ask for the pay rate in writing before you accept, and compare it with the stub.
A plain version recruiters can share
"The client pays us for every hour you work. Out of that we pay your wage, your taxes and your insurance, and we keep some to run the business. Your rate is $20, and $20 is what you'll be paid before normal taxes. We never take anything from your pay."
That paragraph answers the question for most candidates in ten seconds. Say it before they ask.
Where M-Tracker fits
The pay line belongs in the offer note and the confirmation, in writing, before the first shift. M-Tracker checks those notes against a standard before they go out and tells the recruiter in plain words when the number or the pay day is missing. Candidates get the number in writing every time, and the question stops coming up.
Try M-Tracker free14-day trial. No credit card. No employee surveillance.
Questions people ask
Is it true the agency makes money on me for as long as I work there?
Yes. That is how the business works, and it is why good agencies want you to stay placed. It costs you nothing extra.
Can I ask what the bill rate is?
You can ask. Some agencies will tell you, some will not. It does not change your pay.
Would I earn more if the client hired me directly?
Sometimes. Many temp-to-hire orders end that way. Ask whether this one can.
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