Guidance

Guidance for agents of professional sports persons

Published 14 January 2026

This guidance aims to help agents for professional sports persons to comply with the requirements of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (the act) and Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (the conduct regulations) – both as amended.

The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate is the state regulator for the private recruitment sector and is responsible for seeking compliance with this legislation. They check for compliance by investigating complaints made by agency workers and conducting inspections of recruitment agencies.

1. What a professional sports agent is

EAS considers agents for professional sports persons as a service, which can include the introduction of their clients (professional sports persons) to ‘employers’.

This can include where the arrangement is that:

• the agent agrees to act on behalf of the sports person and find work for them

• the agent agrees to provide a service for hirers in identifying a suitable sports person to the hirer

• the sports person agrees to carry out the work arranged or offered through the sports agent

Such arrangements are likely to be provided by a person or business acting as an employment agency or as an employment business.

Anyone setting up a new business, as an agent for professional sports persons, should consider seeking their own independent legal advice on their obligations under the act and the conduct regulations.

2. The business as an agent for professional sports persons as an employment business or employment agency

There are 2 kinds of recruitment agency defined under the act. These are an employment business and employment agency.

Under an employment business arrangement, the employment business will:

• have a contract between them and a sports person

• have a contract between them and the hiring client

• supply the sports person to the hirer (client) to act under the direction and control of the client or others

• arranges to pay the sports person for the services they have provided to the client, either directly or through a third party

In most cases however, agents for professional sports persons will act as an ‘employment agency’ where they are independent of both the prospective employer and the professional sports person. They introduce a sports person to an employer or hirer, for that sports person to become directly employed by the employer or hirer and to carry out work under contract with that employer or hirer.

This could include where:

• the employer or hirer arranges to pay the sports person directly for the services they have received

• the sports agent finds other paid work for the sports person (such as television, radio, social media, podcasts, editorial, personal appearances and so on)

• the sport agent receives money on behalf of sports persons and passes such money to the sports person

3. The EAS view on agents for professional sports persons falling within scope of the act

In our view, agents for professional sports persons fall under the act as ‘employment agencies’ where they are providing ‘work-finding services’ to sports persons. ‘Workfinding services’ means services (whether by the provision of information or otherwise) provided by an agency to a person for the purpose of finding that person employment or seeking to find that person employment.

Where a sports agent provides other services to sports persons such as contract negotiating or other non-work-finding services, they will still fall as an “employment agency” in the work-finding element that they may provide.

4. General compliance with EAS legislation

Employment businesses and employment agencies must comply with the act and conduct regulations.

Both employment businesses and employment agencies may find the following guidance useful:

• the EAS homepage

• detailed guidance on complying with the act and the conduct regulations

• an overview of your obligations when acting as an intermediary between persons seeking work and a hirer

5. Consequences of non-compliance

The act and the conduct regulations set out minimum standards that employment businesses and employment agencies need to comply with.

EAS is willing to work with and enter discussions with businesses and support them in getting things right and to comply with the law. Failure to meet these minimum standards, however, may result in enforcement action by EAS. This can include prosecution and if a person is found guilty of an offence, they are liable on conviction to a fine.

It is also open for EAS, where an offence has been committed, to consider a Labour Market Enforcement undertaking (for a period of up to 2 years). If an undertaking cannot be agreed or, once in place, is not complied with, EAS can apply for a Labour Market Enforcement order (for a period of up to 2 years) through the courts which may be granted upon conviction. If a person fails to comply with the order, they could be fined or imprisoned for up to 2 years.

The secretary of state can also consider applying for a prohibition order against a person from carrying on or being concerned with the carrying on of an employment agency or employment business for up to a maximum of 10 years on the grounds of misconduct or unsuitability.

6. Further information

If you have any queries on the legislation, or if you are wondering whether your business activity falls within scope, contact EAS directly by emailing eas@businessandtrade.gov.uk or by telephone on 020 4566 5333.

This note of general guidance, and any further information provided by EAS, may be used to help gain understanding of the legislation and is correct as of December 2025. However, they cannot provide definitive answers to individual queries and are not intended to be relied upon in any specific context or as a substitute for seeking your own independent legal advice on specific circumstances, as each case may be different.