About Active Staffing

Why we exist

Hiring for UK food production, FMCG and cold-chain operations is a specialist game. The shifts are demanding, the compliance bar is high, and the wrong hire on a hygiene-critical line can cost more than a salary band. Generalist agencies miss those signals. We don't.

Active Staffing Limited was set up to fix that. We are a UK permanent recruitment partner with one belief at the centre of the desk: a hire only works if both sides feel cared for. The employer gets a brief taken seriously, a shortlist delivered on time, and a consultant who knows their site, their shift pattern, and the team mix. The candidate gets the truth about the role, the standards, and the reality of the floor, not a sales pitch.

What we do, plainly

We place permanent staff for UK food, FMCG, beverage, bakery, meat & seafood processing and cold-chain employers. Our desk is built around hires that stay, the brief, the vetting, the offer support, the day-7 / 30 / 90 follow-ups, every step geared toward six-month outcomes.

The roles we place most often:

• Production operatives, line leaders and shift supervisors
• Multi-skilled engineers, automation leads and reliability technicians
• Quality assurance, NPD specialists and BRC auditors
• Hygiene team leaders and HACCP-trained leads
• Cold-store operatives and refrigerated transport coordinators
• Warehouse operatives and FLT-licensed staff
• HGV Class 1 / 2 drivers and transport planners
• Production planners, schedulers and stock controllers

How we vet

Every candidate goes through:

• Right-to-work verification
• Reference contact (current and previous employer where possible)
• Hygiene and HACCP awareness check (Level 2 Food Hygiene as standard for food roles)
• Willingness-to-work check for shift patterns, low-temperature or high-care environments
• A structured competency conversation, scenario-tested where the role calls for it
• Salary expectations and shift-pattern fit, captured in writing

Who we work for

Our clients are UK food, FMCG and cold-chain employers, mostly small to mid-market, with hiring managers who want to spend less time on recruitment and more time on running the line. We work with bakery groups, beverage producers, meat and seafood processors, refrigerated 3PL operators, and FMCG manufacturers across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

How we think about a placement

A successful placement is not a CV submission. It is the moment six months later when the new hire is still on the rota, the shift is running, the audit is passing and the team trust them. That is the only outcome that matters to us, and the only one we measure against.

Our values, the short version

• Do the brief properly. A 30-45 minute call up front saves a fortnight on the back end.
• Tell the truth. If the salary is below market, we will say so. If the candidate is not right for shift work or low-temperature environments, we will not pretend they are.
• One throat to choke. One consultant per client, end to end. Holiday cover is briefed properly so nothing slips.
• Stand behind the work. Free replacement period on every placement. No small print.
• Hygiene-aware by default. HACCP, BRC, allergen-control awareness checked as standard for food roles.

Want to talk?

Use the contact form and we will come back within one working day. We are available Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.