Why Secondment Matters in Recruitment

Secondments are used by approximately 60% of large UK employers as a deliberate talent development and relationship-building tool, according to CIPD survey data. For staffing agencies, secondments matter from two directions simultaneously. Agencies with their own consultants may place them on secondment with key clients as an embedded talent acquisition resource, a commercial arrangement that generates recurring revenue and builds the kind of deep client integration that is very difficult for a competitor to dislodge. Agencies also advise clients on secondment structures for their own employees and, in some cases, act as employer of record for a cross-company secondee where the client does not want to take on direct employment obligations during a trial period.

A poorly structured secondment creates ambiguity about who is responsible for the worker's welfare, performance management, and redundancy rights, which generates exactly the kind of employment tribunal exposure that careful drafting is designed to prevent. Getting it right requires understanding what a secondment actually is, how it differs from other temporary arrangements, and what documentation makes the arrangement defensible if challenged.

How Secondment Works

A secondment is a temporary transfer of an employee to a different role, team, department, or organisation, while the employment relationship with the original employer (the seconding employer) remains intact throughout. The secondee continues to receive their salary and benefits from the original employer, who is then recharged by the host organisation for the secondee's time, usually at cost plus a margin to cover employment overhead. At the end of the secondment period, the employee returns to their substantive role or a comparable one.

The secondment agreement, which should always be in writing before the secondment begins, needs to address several practical points: the duration and any extension provisions, the scope of the secondee's responsibilities at the host, the supervision and performance management structure, the reporting line back to the original employer, expense arrangements, and the process for early termination by either party. Critically, the agreement should be explicit that the secondee remains an employee of the original employer throughout. This distinction separates the arrangement from a transfer or a TUPE situation and preserves the secondee's right to return.

In cross-company secondments, the host organisation typically has day-to-day control over the secondee's work while the original employer retains the employment contract. This dual-control structure creates a question of employer liability: if the secondee suffers a workplace injury at the host site, the relevant liability depends on which party had practical control of the working environment at the time. Insurance arrangements on both sides should be reviewed before the secondment begins, and the agreement should allocate responsibility clearly.

For staffing agencies running embedded consultant programmes, the commercial secondment model works differently. The agency is the employer of the seconded recruiter, the client is the host, and the commercial relationship is governed by a service agreement rather than an employment-law secondment arrangement. The distinction matters for IR35 analysis and for what employment protections the seconded consultant holds against the host.

Secondment vs. TUPE Transfer

A secondment is temporary and preserves the original employment relationship. TUPE applies when an employment relationship permanently transfers to a new employer following a business or service change. Employees on secondment who are later transferred permanently to the host organisation may have TUPE protections depending on the specific circumstances of the transfer. The temporary versus permanent distinction must be documented clearly at the outset, because a secondment that repeatedly extends without a defined end point begins to resemble a de facto permanent arrangement, which an employment tribunal may treat accordingly.

Secondment in Practice

A management consulting firm seconds two senior project managers to a healthcare trust for 18 months to support a digital transformation programme. The consulting firm handles payroll, benefits, and employment administration throughout. The trust provides office space, system access, and day-to-day work direction. At month 14, the trust requests a six-month extension, which the consulting firm agrees to and documents formally. Both PMs complete a 24-month secondment and return to the firm's delivery bench with materially stronger public sector credentials, which the firm incorporates into subsequent bid submissions. The secondment delivers commercial value to all three parties: the trust gets embedded expertise without a permanent headcount commitment, the firm deepens a client relationship, and both PMs return as significantly more deployable assets.