Direct Engagement Partner
Kova runs it. You own it.
We provide the technology, operational infrastructure and specialist support recruitment agencies need to engage and pay contract workers directly — while retaining the worker relationship, workforce information, supporting evidence and commercial decisions within their own business.
What Kova is
Direct Engagement, delivered as a complete service.
Kova gives recruitment agencies the technology, specialist knowledge and operational support needed to engage and pay contract workers directly — without building a complete internal workforce function.
The same workforce. A different supply chain.
Portal screens shown are illustrative.
An operating partner, not a software hand-off
Technology alone does not deliver Direct Engagement. Kova runs the operation alongside your agency, so you keep the relationships while the day-to-day work is managed.
Expertise, not just software
Recruitment-sector, payroll, PAYE, CIS, off-payroll, legal and compliance specialists handle the day-to-day, supported by workflow technology configured around your decisions.
Confidence you can evidence
Every decision, check and payment is recorded, so your agency can answer client, auditor and regulator questions from its own information.
DIRECT ENGAGEMENT: THE DIFFERENCE
The same workforce. A different supply chain.
Direct Engagement changes where the worker relationship, the workforce information and the supporting evidence sit.
Umbrella supply chain
A third-party umbrella company engages and pays the worker. The recruitment agency relies on that third party for workforce information, communications, payment records and supporting evidence.
Direct Engagement
The recruitment agency engages and pays the worker directly through the appropriate engagement route. The worker relationship, workforce information, records and supporting evidence remain within the agency's supply chain.
Kova provides the technology, operational infrastructure and specialist support needed to make Direct Engagement operationally manageable.
WHY NOW
Outsourcing engagement no longer necessarily outsources the risk.
Recruitment agencies are facing increasing scrutiny across the temporary labour supply chain. Joint and Several Liability is an immediate and significant consideration, but it forms part of a wider compliance environment that includes missing-trader and wider VAT fraud, CIS abuse, false self-employment, missing deductions and fraudulent downstream payments.
Joint and several liability
Since 6 April 2026, the agency holding the client contract can be held jointly and severally liable with an umbrella company for relevant PAYE left unpaid in its supply chain. Where there is no agency, liability can fall to the end client.
Supply chain fraud
HMRC is tightening scrutiny of CIS compliance and labour supply chain fraud — false self-employment, missing deductions and downstream payment abuse.
Due diligence limits
Due diligence, accreditation and contractual safeguards remain important, but they do not by themselves stop HMRC recovering an umbrella company's PAYE underpayment from the agency.
Direct Engagement removes reliance on a third-party umbrella company for the engagement and payment of workers, but it does not remove the agency's own responsibilities. Kova provides the technology, processes, controls, evidence and operational support needed to manage those responsibilities. Further regulation of the labour supply chain is also expected to develop from 2027.
Source: HMRC / GOV.UK guidance on umbrella company PAYE liability, CIS and supply chain compliance.
THE KOVA PROPOSITION
Kova runs it. You own it.
You retain the worker relationship, information, evidence and commercial control. Kova carries the operational load.
Kova provides
- Technology and operating infrastructure
- Worker onboarding and document capture
- Engagement and workforce administration
- Payment operations and payslips
- Compliance processes and supporting records
- Evidence and audit trails
- Reporting and management information
- Specialist payroll, operational and compliance support
You retain
- Worker relationships
- Engagement contracts
- Client relationships
- Engagement and commercial decisions
- Workforce information and records
- Supporting evidence
- Brand and agency identity
- Visibility and control over cash-flow timing
THE THREE OUTCOMES
Control. Transparency. Confidence.
The three outcomes agencies tell us matter most when they move to direct engagement.
Control
Control the processes, information and decisions.
Retain the worker relationship, engagement decisions, commercial decisions and visibility over cash-flow timing.
Transparency
Transparency over how every worker is engaged and paid.
Keep workforce information, payment records and supporting evidence accessible within a more transparent labour supply chain.
Confidence
Confidence built on accessible evidence and capable delivery.
Records and audit trails within your control, supported by specialists who run the operation day to day.
COMMERCIAL BENEFITS
Greater control over cash-flow timing and the potential to reduce intermediary margins and duplicated costs.
Visibility over cash-flow timing
- Greater visibility over how funds move through the supply chain
- Improved visibility over cash-flow timing
- Fewer third-party interfaces and reconciliations
Cost structure and information
- One accessible source of workforce information and supporting evidence
- The potential to reduce intermediary margins and duplicated costs
- Greater control over the worker experience
- Better information for client and audit enquiries
Commercial outcomes will depend on factors including the workforce profile, engagement routes, funding requirements, payment timing, workforce costs and Kova's fees.
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WHY KOVA
Expert-led. Technology-enabled. Operationally delivered.
Kova combines recruitment-sector expertise, integrated technology and operational support to help agencies operate Direct Engagement effectively. Kova combines technology, operational infrastructure and specialist support to deliver Direct Engagement as a complete service.
Agency-controlled workflows
Workflows and commercial decisions stay under your agency's control.
Worker onboarding and document capture
ID, right to work, engagement contracts and documents in one structured flow.
Engagement and workforce administration
Day-to-day workforce administration handled alongside your team.
Payment operations and payslips
One auditable workflow with visible deductions and engagement and workforce costs.
PAYE, CIS and off-payroll support
Kova supports workers engaged through PAYE, CIS and other appropriate engagement routes, subject to the correct status assessment and applicable legal requirements.
Compliance processes and supporting records
Stronger operational controls and more transparent processes, with defensible records.
Accessible evidence and audit trails
Evidence designed to support client, audit and compliance enquiries.
Reporting and management information
Clearer visibility of workforce, engagement and payment records.
Specialist payroll, operational and compliance support
Specialists on hand, not a support line behind a software licence.
Kova is an operating partner, not a software hand-off.
THE KOVA DIFFERENCE
Led by people who have run these operations.
Most providers hand you software and a support line. Kova is led by a founding team that has run payroll, compliance and intermediary operations from the inside, so every question is handled by a specialist.
WHAT KOVA HELPS EVIDENCE
An accessible audit trail, by design.
Every engagement produces the supporting evidence an HMRC review, a client audit or an internal compliance check expects to see.
- Right to work checks
- Worker engagement route
- PAYE / CIS / IR35 decision trail
- Contract and onboarding documents
- Payroll records and payslip transparency
- HMRC reporting outputs
- Audit trail and exception management
- Status determination evidence pack
Kova supports agencies with structured workflows, evidence and operational controls. Final engagement decisions remain subject to the agency's legal, tax and commercial review.
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
Supporting The Lily Foundation
Kova is proud to support The Lily Foundation, the UK charity dedicated to fighting mitochondrial disease, a cause that is personally important to our founding team.
Learn more about The Lily FoundationSee how Direct Engagement fits your agency.
Start with a focused pilot, see the operation in action, and decide from there.