Comparing agencies

Comparing recruitment and temp agencies in Belgium

If you hire technical, industrial or engineering profiles through an agency in Belgium, you quickly run into the same names. Below are the ten agencies with the most public website traffic on their Belgian site, side by side, using only facts from their own site and the company register. What an agency does not publish, we leave open. After that you read which kinds of agencies exist, what the law asks of each type and what to look out for.

Who they are

Agency	Type	Group or owner	Founded	Offices in Belgium	Area
Randstad	Temp agency with recruitment and selection	Randstad, started in the Netherlands in 1960	1965 in Belgium, as Interlabor Interim	78 recruitment and temp offices	All of Belgium
Start People	Temp agency with recruitment and project sourcing	RGF Staffing Belgium (Recruit)	1963 in Antwerp, as Creyf's Interim	A hundred selection offices	All of Belgium
Accent	Temp agency with permanent hiring	House of HR	1995 in Roeselare	More than 200 offices	Flanders and Wallonia
Actief Interim	Temp agency with permanent hiring through Actief Select	Actief Group, family business	1988	86 offices	Flanders and Wallonia
Michael Page	Recruitment, also temporary assignments and interim management	Michael Page plc	Active in Belgium for more than 25 years	3: Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent	All of Belgium and Luxembourg
Manpower	Temp agency with recruitment	ManpowerGroup	1948, first office in Milwaukee (United States)	Not published	All of Belgium and Luxembourg
Adecco	Temp agency with permanent placement	The Adecco Group	1961, start of the Belgian company	More than 60 branches	All of Belgium
DaJobs (voorheen Daoust)	Temp agency with recruitment and selection	Family business, third generation	1954	More than 80 JobCenters	All of Belgium
Synergie	Temp agency with permanent hiring	Synergie, HR group active in 17 countries	Active in Belgium for more than 25 years	More than 70 offices and in-house teams	Not published
Unique	Temp agency with recruitment and project sourcing	RGF Staffing Belgium (Recruit)	1963, start of the company	Not published	All of Belgium
AltusConnect	Recruitment, freelance and project sourcing, technical profiles only	AltusConnect BV	2025	Antwerp	All of Belgium

What they offer

Agency	Temporary agency work	Permanent hiring	Project sourcing	Freelance	Technical unit
Randstad	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Technics specialism, plus engineering under professionals
Start People	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published
Accent	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Specialisms Techniek (technical), Industry and production, Construction
Actief Interim	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Not published
Michael Page	Not published	Yes	Not published	Not published	Engineering and Manufacturing specialism
Manpower	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Not published
Adecco	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Not published
DaJobs (voorheen Daoust)	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Industry and Technical sector within temp work
Synergie	Yes	Yes	Not published	Not published	Not published
Unique	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not published	Unique Technicum
AltusConnect	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	The whole agency: technical profiles only

Data as each agency publishes it, completed with the company register. Not published means we did not find the item in a source, not that the agency does not do it.

Four kinds of agencies

A temp agency employs the temporary worker itself and has them work for you. That is only allowed for the reasons the law permits; the federal employment service lists six, including replacing a permanent employee, a temporary increase in work and an intake with a view to permanent hiring.

A recruitment and selection agency searches and screens candidates for you, but the candidate is hired by you. The agency does not become a party to the employment relationship itself.

With project sourcing the agency employs a specialist and deploys them on a project at your company. Because lending staff with a transfer of employer authority is prohibited in Belgium outside the legal exceptions, the agency remains the employer. Which instructions you may give as a client is set out in writing beforehand.

A niche agency sticks to one field. Some large agencies have a dedicated unit for it, such as Unique Technicum or the technics specialism at Randstad. A small agency can also be niche as a whole: AltusConnect only recruits technical profiles.

What the law requires, per region

Temporary agency work is only allowed in Belgium through a recognised temp agency. The law of 24 July 1987 governs the work itself, but recognising the agencies is a matter for the regions.

In Flanders, selection and recruitment agencies, executive searchers and headhunters need no recognition. Only temporary agency activities require recognition as a temp agency.

In Brussels an agency needs recognition to supply temporary workers and a registration for recruitment and selection or outplacement, in each case before it starts the activity.

In Wallonia the decree of 3 April 2009 requires prior recognition for temporary agency work and prior registration for recruitment and selection.

Belgium ratified ILO Convention No. 181 on private employment agencies. The agencies themselves are largely grouped in Federgon, the federation of HR service providers.

Sources: Wet van 24 juli 1987 betreffende de tijdelijke arbeid, de uitzendarbeid en het ter beschikking stellen van werknemers (Justel) (checked on 11 November 2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, uitzendarbeid (motieven en verplichte erkenning) (checked on 11 November 2026); Vlaanderen.be, bureaus private arbeidsbemiddeling (erkenning alleen voor uitzendactiviteiten) (checked on 11 November 2026); Brussel Economie en Werkgelegenheid, erkenning of registratie particulier bureau voor arbeidsbemiddeling (checked on 11 November 2026); Décret wallon du 3 avril 2009 relatif à l'enregistrement ou à l'agrément des agences de placement (Wallex) (checked on 11 November 2026); Vlaanderen.be, wetgeving private arbeidsbemiddeling en erkenning van uitzendkantoren (IAO-verdrag nr. 181) (checked on 11 November 2026); Federgon, federatie van de HR-dienstverleners in België (checked on 11 November 2026)

Which type fits which need

For a peak, a replacement or temporary extra work, a temp agency is the obvious channel: only a recognised temp agency may have temporary workers work for you. The table shows how many offices each agency reports itself.

If you want to work together first and hire permanently afterwards, there is a separate intake motive: the temporary worker works for you with a view to permanent hiring.

If you are hiring permanently, recruitment and selection fits: the candidate joins your payroll straight away. A niche agency makes sense when the profile is rare and screening it takes technical knowledge.

If your assignment has a start and an end and you do not want to employ the specialist yourself, look at project sourcing or a freelancer. With project sourcing the agency remains the employer and keeps authority over the specialist.

Sources: FOD Werkgelegenheid, uitzendarbeid (motieven en verplichte erkenning) (checked on 11 November 2026); Wet van 24 juli 1987 betreffende de tijdelijke arbeid, de uitzendarbeid en het ter beschikking stellen van werknemers (Justel) (checked on 11 November 2026); Décret wallon du 3 avril 2009 relatif à l'enregistrement ou à l'agrément des agences de placement (Wallex) (checked on 11 November 2026); AltusConnect, technisch recruitmentbureau in België (wie we zijn, wat we niet doen) (checked on 11 November 2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, terbeschikkingstelling van werknemers (checked on 11 November 2026)

What to check as an employer

For temporary agency work, ask for the recognition number per region. Some agencies list those numbers on their site, as DaJobs does for Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia and the German-speaking Community.

Agree how and when you pay. Recruitment comes in several forms, such as no cure no pay, where you only pay when you hire, or an assignment under a different formula. Also put in writing whether the agency asks for exclusivity.

Ask who does the technical screening. The table shows which agencies publish a separate technical unit or specialism; for the others it is not on their site, which does not mean they do not fill technical roles.

Sources: FOD Werkgelegenheid, uitzendarbeid (motieven en verplichte erkenning) (checked on 11 November 2026); DaJobs, privacy policy (DaJobs SA, BCE 0400.523.292, agréments par région) (checked on 11 November 2026); AltusConnect, werkwijze en tarieven (vormen van samenwerking, geen exclusiviteit) (checked on 11 November 2026); Randstad België, specialisatie technics voor technisch talent (checked on 11 November 2026); Unique, Technicum: werving en selectie voor technische functies (checked on 11 November 2026); Michael Page België, over ons (kantoren, diensten, specialisaties) (checked on 11 November 2026); Accent, onze specialisaties voor werkgevers (checked on 11 November 2026)

Frequently asked questions

Randstad or Hays for engineers?

It depends on the form of collaboration. Randstad is a temp agency with recruitment and selection, 78 offices in Belgium, a technics specialism and an engineering offer under professionals. Hays Belgium works from six offices with temporary and permanent recruitment and contracting, with Engineering as one of its fields. Match your need to what each agency offers itself.

Sources: Randstad België, over ons (Interlabor Interim in 1965, diensten) (checked on 11 November 2026); Randstad België, recruitment- en uitzendkantoren in België (checked on 11 November 2026); Randstad België, specialisatie technics voor technisch talent (checked on 11 November 2026); Randstad België, engineeringprofielen rekruteren (checked on 11 November 2026); Hays België, over Hays (kantoren en diensten) (checked on 11 November 2026); Hays België, rekrutering per vakgebied (checked on 11 November 2026)

What is the difference between a temp agency and a recruitment agency?

With a temp agency the agency is the employer and the temporary worker works for you for a while, for a reason the law allows. With a recruitment agency the candidate joins your payroll and the agency is not a party to the contract. That is why a temp agency needs recognition in every region and a selection agency in Flanders does not.

Sources: FOD Werkgelegenheid, uitzendarbeid (motieven en verplichte erkenning) (checked on 11 November 2026); Décret wallon du 3 avril 2009 relatif à l'enregistrement ou à l'agrément des agences de placement (Wallex) (checked on 11 November 2026); Vlaanderen.be, bureaus private arbeidsbemiddeling (erkenning alleen voor uitzendactiviteiten) (checked on 11 November 2026)

What does no cure no pay mean at a recruitment agency?

That you only pay if you hire a candidate from the agency. If you hire nobody, you pay nothing. Not every agency works this way, nor for every assignment; at AltusConnect it is the standard form, with a different formula for exceptionally hard roles and executive search.

Source: AltusConnect, werkwijze en tarieven (vormen van samenwerking, geen exclusiviteit) (checked on 11 November 2026)

Does a recruitment agency need to be recognised?

For temporary agency work, always. For recruitment and selection it depends on the region: Flanders requires no recognition, while in Brussels and Wallonia the agency must register beforehand.

Sources: FOD Werkgelegenheid, uitzendarbeid (motieven en verplichte erkenning) (checked on 11 November 2026); Vlaanderen.be, bureaus private arbeidsbemiddeling (erkenning alleen voor uitzendactiviteiten) (checked on 11 November 2026); Brussel Economie en Werkgelegenheid, erkenning of registratie particulier bureau voor arbeidsbemiddeling (checked on 11 November 2026); Décret wallon du 3 avril 2009 relatif à l'enregistrement ou à l'agrément des agences de placement (Wallex) (checked on 11 November 2026)

Why are Tempo-Team and Daoust not in the table?

According to Randstad, the Tempo-Team and Hudson brand names disappear in 2026 and merge fully into the Randstad brand. The Tempo-Team site now leads to Randstad's. Daoust is now called DaJobs and appears in the table under that name.

Sources: Randstad België, onze geschiedenis (merknaam Randstad, Tempo-Team en Hudson in 2026) (checked on 11 November 2026); DaJobs, Daoust devient DaJobs (nieuwsbericht over de naamswijziging) (checked on 11 November 2026)

Is AltusConnect a temp agency?

No. AltusConnect does not do temporary agency work. It works on permanent hires, freelance assignments and project sourcing, for technical profiles only.

Source: AltusConnect, technisch recruitmentbureau in België (wie we zijn, wat we niet doen) (checked on 11 November 2026)

Factual information from the public sources listed, on the date stated. AltusConnect is not affiliated with the companies named; brand names belong to their owners. Spotted an error or an outdated figure? Mail hello@altusconnect.be and we will correct it.

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