UK engineering hiring, without the 22% agency fees.
Pre-validated shortlists of engineers from Poland, Ukraine, Romania and wider CEE — delivered in 5 business days. 15% success fee (32% cheaper than UK agencies). UK GDPR + EU AI Act compliant. IR35-safe B2B and EOR options.
Why UK hiring stalls
London is out of senior engineers. Your agency is charging 22% anyway.
Three structural problems that cap UK engineering hiring in 2026.
London talent shortage
Over 80,000 open engineering roles in UK vs a senior talent pool that grows 3% annually. Competition has pushed London salaries to £120–160K for a senior backend.
22–25% contingency fees
UK agencies still charge 22–25% of annual salary. On a £130K senior hire, that's £28,600–32,500 — regardless of whether you actually interview 5 or 25 candidates.
Brexit slowed EU hiring
Sponsoring a non-UK EU engineer now takes 8–12 weeks and £5K+ in legal costs. Most UK scale-ups have given up on direct EU employment entirely.
How we solve this for UK buyers
AI-augmented sourcing from CEE, built for UK scale-ups.
Six concrete differences that matter specifically for UK hiring — priced, structured and compliant for your context.
32% cheaper than UK agencies
15% success fee vs the UK standard 22%. On a £70K hire: £10,500 with Recruo vs £15,400 with a contingency agency.
Zero Brexit friction
We source from Poland, Ukraine, Romania and wider CEE. B2B contractor model means no visa sponsorship, no Home Office queues.
Full UK working-hours overlap
CEE is UTC+1/+2 — 7+ hours of overlap with UK working hours. No async-only compromises like US West Coast or SEA.
IR35 handled
Off-payroll working rules don't bite for genuine B2B CEE contractors (HMRC treats them as outside IR35 by default). EOR structure available for inside-IR35 cases.
UK GDPR + EU AI Act compliant
Our flow meets UK GDPR and EU AI Act obligations by design. Human-in-the-loop, full audit trails, candidate notification — all documented per engagement.
Remote-ready by default
Every candidate we shortlist is equipped and confirmed for remote work — Starlink backup in Ukraine, home-office setups verified, English confirmed B2+.
UK-specific FAQ
What UK scale-ups actually ask us.
Can UK companies still hire CEE engineers after Brexit?+
Yes — the B2B contractor model has no Brexit implications. Your UK company contracts with the engineer's sole-proprietorship in Poland/Ukraine/Romania. No visa, no Home Office, no sponsorship licence needed. If you want full employment, we set up an Employer of Record (Remote, Deel, Oyster) that employs the engineer in their home country for you — legal cost ~£3K/year per hire.
How do you handle IR35 for contractors?+
Genuine B2B CEE contractors are typically outside IR35 because they operate their own registered business (ФОП in Ukraine, JDG in Poland, PFA in Romania), have multiple clients, and control their own work. If you need inside-IR35 arrangement (e.g. for senior roles working exclusively for you), we arrange an EOR employer in the engineer's country — removes IR35 concern entirely.
What about UK GDPR for candidate data?+
UK GDPR mirrors EU GDPR. We process candidate data under legitimate interest (for the active search) or consent (for pipeline retention). Every engagement includes a signed DPA. Data stored in EU regions by default; UK-only retention available on request. Retention periods: 12 months for rejected candidates, purged on request.
Do you have UK-based clients?+
Yes — Phase 1 pilots include Series B UK fintechs and a Series A London-based SaaS. We don't publish client names without written permission (recruitment is a trust business). We can share an anonymised case study summary on a discovery call.
What's the typical remote setup for UK companies?+
95% of our UK placements are fully remote. Engineers work UK hours (10am–6pm UK), attend all sync meetings, and many quarterly travel to the UK office on their own expense. We verify home-office setup before shortlisting — Starlink or fibre confirmed, power backup for Ukrainian candidates.
How does your 90-day guarantee work for UK hires?+
If your hire leaves or is let go within 90 days of start (for any reason other than gross misconduct), we re-run the search at no additional fee. The guarantee covers both voluntary departure and performance-based termination. Triggered twice in our first 20 placements — both re-runs delivered a new shortlist in 4 days.
Get started
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engineering time to hiring?
Fill out the form and we'll reach out within 24 hours to scope your first role. Or book a 30-min discovery call directly.
No upfront fees
Pay only on placement
90-day guarantee
Free re-search if hire leaves
EU AI Act ready
Compliant by design
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