FAQ's

Responses to regularly asked questions

FAQ's for Individuals

First and most importantly we are not an agency, we are an independent platform that connects individuals to employers in an open and fair way.

Check out our “how it works page”

Labour Xchange is based around real life, your life. You can select the hours you want to work and let employers contact you with offers of adhoc employment. Work and income that fits around you and your life.

Yes is the short answer, however you can also significantly top up your income when convenient to yourself if your commitments don't allow you to work full time, this will also build valuable experience that can lead to better employment prospects.

No, Labour Xchange is just a platform (a very clever one, that works for you) that enables you to connect and gain work with businesses.

Work carried out by individuals on the Labour Xchange platform is a combination of self- employed and employed work.

As a Labour Xchange user, you can access free support and guidance from Community Trade Union and other partners, the details for which can be found on your portal once you have signed up.

Yes, you could be, equally you could be carrying out work for the business as a self-employed individual, however should a business continue to repeatedly book you as self employed we will insist they offer you a workers contract.

No, Labour Xchange never charges individuals for using the platform nor do we take a percentage of your earnings.

To cover costs Labour xchange make an additional small administration fee to the business booking your time.
Our theory is “you work hard and you should get the money for your work”

No, each booking you carry out will likely be for a different employer on an ad hoc basis. If an employer likes you and keeps booking you we insist they offer you an appropriate contract. We also ensure you will always be paid, and paid at least the Living Wage Foundation calculation to cover any inconvenience and cost of being self employed.

Unfortunately not, as you will only be matched to employers who are seeking your available hours and work preferences. However we offer tips and guidance on how to make sure your profile is optimised. Through our algorithms we offer guidance on the most sought hours and skills by employers in your area, so you can tweak your profile.

That’s fine, we don`t believe in restrictive CV`s. Create your profile, add a 20 second video and you’re good to go, the sign up process should take less than 6 minutes in total.

  1. For two reasons:
    Our platform is not suitable for everyone. If you are looking to a solution to a debt problems, lack of skills or suffer from low pay and poor conditions in your current workplace one of our partners may be better at supporting you. We want to ensure that everyone who comes to Labour xchange leaves better off, even if means passing you on to one of our charity partners for advice and help.
  2. Each year 15% of our profits are donated to charities that support working people. We believe work should work for everyone!

The star ratings for individuals are based on three elements.


  1. Completeness of profile. This includes the uploading of a photo or video.
  2. Responsiveness to booking requests. We ask that you reply to booking requests even if its to reject the booking. If you consistently do not reply to booking requests this will affect your star rating (it`s just about good manners really.)
  3. Ratings from your previous bookings. At the end of each booking the business you have worked for is asked to rate you on: Punctuality, attitude and quality of work.

We collate the ratings which then affect your overall rating.
Our rating system is simple and transparent, it is designed so you can build your reputation and command increased work and rates.

Please let us know by cancelling the booking through your portal in the bookings page. If you continuously cancel bookings it may affect your star rating.
Should you fail to turn up to a booking and not let us know you are unable to attend you star rating will go down to zero.

For a Self Employed role, once you have confirmed you are able to attend a booking the business pays upfront via debit card for your time. We hold these funds on your behalf until the booking has been completed.
Once the booking is complete we transfer your fee via bacs within twelve hours. We believe you should get paid as soon a physically possible.

For employed, you will be paid directly by the employer. 

To meet government requirements all employers must see original proof of eligibility to work documents.

Although an uploaded copy demonstrates you should meet the requirements it essential you provide the original at all bookings.

If you fail to bring your original documentation the business will have to send you home without working and you will not be paid.

please check Uk Government site here for more information. 

FAQ's for Businesses

Firstly and most importantly we are not an agency, we are a platform that connects individuals to employers in an open and fair way.

Check out our “how it works page”

No, candidates log their upcoming job/work availability in advance so when you search for staff we will return candidates who have already confirmed they are available to work.

We then contact them to confirm their interest, if self employed role a booking can commence, if employed then a selection/on-boarding process as agreed with the business.

Short answer, a minimum of the Living Wage Foundation calculation for the candidate and an administration fee of £10 per day if self employed, However this is the minimum rate and candidates may decide to ask for a higher hourly rate as their star rating improves.

Therefore, should you book a candidate for seven hours on one day you would pay £70 to the candidate and a £10 admin fee to Labour Xchange.

If the candidate is taken on as an employee then we have a fixed fee's starting from £250.00

Candidates found through Labour Xchange who work on a self employed basis, as they are not employed by Labour Xchange. The workers are therefore responsible for paying their own tax.

If they are employed by hiring business then that business is responsible for the tax and NI contributions.

No, if you continously book the same candidate as temp self employed they are becoming a worker with direct relationship with your company. Therefore should you try to book the candidate for either more than two weeks or for three separate times in four months the system will prevent the booking. Should this happen we would suggest you hire them directly on an appropriate contract.

Very much so, our platform is a good way to trial potential staff out before a permanent contract is offered. Our charges start from £250 as an administration fee to permanently recruit a candidate found on the system. As part of that administration fee we:

Provide you with template contracts to complete and offer the candidate.

Transfer employment details of the candidate.

We provide you with the tools to identify the candidates best suited to your business but do not vet them for you, although we do create work pathways that can do this for businesses.

Our algorithm will return the three candidates that best match your criterea then should review their “star rating”, profile, and workface video to ensure they match your requirements.

Whilst we provide the best matches we believe you are the most qualified to decide on a candidates suitability.

The star ratings for individuals are based on three elements.

  1. Completeness of profile. This includes the uploading of a photo or video.
  2. Responsiveness to booking requests. We ask that you reply to booking requests even if its to reject the booking. If you consistently do not reply to booking requests this will affect your star rating (it`s just about good manners really)
  3. Ratings from your previous bookings. At the end of each booking we ask you to rate the candidate on: Punctuality, attitude and quality of work. We collate the ratings which then affect their overall rating.

At the end of each temp booking we also ask the candidates to rate their experience working for you. When a candidate receives a booking request from your business they are able to see the rating for your business as an employer which may affect their decision whether to accept the booking. We believe our ratings system provide you and the candidate an honest and transparent way to access suitability, however if you have any questions or concerns please “contact us

For temp bookings, once the candidate has confirmed attendance we ask you to make a payment via debit or credit card for the cost of the whole booking.

We then hold these funds and release them to the candidate once the booking is complete.

In the unlikely event the candidate fails to attend please report their absence through your portal “report issue” page, and a full refund will be issued.

For employed candidates, we will invoice the administration fee on job offer to candidate.  

To meet government requirements all employers must see original proof of eligibility to work documents.

Although an uploaded copy demonstrates they should meet the requirements it is essential they provide the original at all bookings.

If they fail to bring their original documents, please send them home and let us know so you will not be charged.