They may also be engaged by individual private patients who require care at home, or by their relatives or charitable organisations. Some nursing agencies also supply qualified midwives.

Nursing agencies may need to be registered with their appropriate statutory national regulatory body. Registration requirements differ depending on where in the UK the nursing agency is located. The manager of the agency, who is often also the proprietor, may need to be registered as well. Individual nurses and midwives must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Although some nursing agencies act as ’employment agencies’ and introduce nurses to clients that employ the nurse directly, most nursing agencies are defined as ’employment businesses’ under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (as amended). This is because the workers the agency supplies are paid for and employed by the agency rather than the client. The regulations set out requirements such as the statutory information that should be included in agencies’ contracts with both nurses and clients and the circumstances in which nurses may and may not be charged fees by the agency.

This profile provides information about starting up and running a nursing agency as an employment business. It describes the skills required, the training available, the current market trends and the key trading issues. It also explains the legislation that must be complied with and provides sources of further information and support. Information about starting up and running an employment agency is provided in our guide, Recruitment Agency.