Provision of temporary agency workers to Eurofound - HR/7832

Eurofound (Dublin) has published an open call for tenders (EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0016, HR/7832) for a framework agreement to supply temporary agency workers across five profiles on demand, acting as the legal employer and complying with Irish employment law. The estimated maximum framework value is €1,500,000 with a maximum duration of 48 months (initial 12 months plus up to three 12-month renewals) and award by best price-quality ratio (price 40%, quality 60%) subject to a minimum quality threshold. Eligible tenderers must hold a valid Irish Employment Agency Licence, meet financial and technical selection criteria including turnover and references, and submit electronic tenders via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 30/04/2026 14:00 Dublin time. Mandatory requirements include provision of CVs for key personnel, adherence to the fixed monthly agency fee pricing structure and the Reference Price scenario, and compliance with data protection and audit provisions.

What it funds

Framework contract for supply of temporary agency workers to Eurofound (Ireland). Contractor provides interim staff across five generic profiles (junior assistant to senior administrator) on demand for absences, peaks, specialised tasks or time‑limited projects. Contractor acts as legal employer and is responsible for recruitment, payroll and compliance with Irish employment law; interim workers work under Eurofound supervision.

Estimated budget and duration:Estimated total value €1,500,000. Maximum contract duration 48 months (initial 12 months, renewable up to 3 times) ¹.

Who can apply

Open procedure. Eligible tenderers are temporary employment agencies / economic operators able to operate in Ireland (must hold applicable Irish licences and comply with Irish employment, tax and social security rules). Single tenderers or consortia allowed; subcontracting and reliance on other entities permitted with declared evidence.

1. 1Must be able to act as legal employer for interim workers in Ireland (recruitment, payroll, statutory contributions).
2. 2Evidence: Employment agency licence (Workplace Relations Commission) and financial/technical capacity per tender specifications.
3. 3Group tenders: appoint a group leader and provide consortium agreement; identified subcontractors >10% must be declared.

Key dates & process

Submission method:electronic via EU eSubmission (EU Login / Participant Register PIC required). Deadline for receipt of tenders: 30 April 2026 at 14:00 (Europe/Dublin). Public opening: 1 May 2026 at 11:00 (Europe/Dublin). Deadline for questions: 22 April 2026.

Tenders must include the Standard Reply Form, technical offer (CVs for key staff including Contract Manager and Customer Relationship Manager), evidence of company profile, references (min. 3 similar services, at least 2 in Ireland totalling €1,000,000 over 5 years) and a financial offer using the provided price templates. The financial evaluation uses a reference pricing scenario; tenders exceeding the €1,500,000 budget may be rejected.

The contractor will invoice monthly for total employment cost plus fixed agency fee per worker; employment cost may be adjusted to reflect changes in statutory employment charges. Interim placements are normally limited to 11 months unless otherwise agreed.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, submission and Q&A are on the Funding & Tenders Portal: Funding & Tenders Portal.

Basic opportunity information

Title:Provision of temporary agency workers to Eurofound — Internal reference HR/7832 (Procedure identifier EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0016, TED ref 61/2026 211834-2026). Contracting authority: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, D18 KP65, Dublin, Ireland. Publication / launch date: TED publication 27/03/2026; F&T Portal publication 25/03/2026. Type: Open procedure, call for tenders for a framework contract (FWC) for services. Submission method: Electronic via eSubmission / EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required). Languages accepted: any official EU language (list provided in call).

Deadlines and key dates:Deadline for receipt of tenders: 30/04/2026 at 14:00 Europe/Dublin. Date and time of public opening: 01/05/2026 at 11:00 Europe/Dublin. Deadline for contracting authority to reply to questions: 22/04/2026 23:59 Europe/Dublin. TED publication date: 27/03/2026 ¹.

Scope, duration and estimated value

Scope:Provision on demand of temporary agency workers (interim staff) to Eurofound to cover staff absences, peak workload, specialised tasks or time-limited projects. Interim worker categories defined in the tender specifications: Senior Administrator, Administrator, Junior Administrator, Senior Assistant, Junior Assistant. Contractor acts as legal employer, responsible for recruitment, employment contracts, payroll, statutory tax and social security, statutory entitlements and compliance with Irish employment law; interim workers perform duties under Eurofound supervision at Eurofound premises in Dublin. Nature of contract: services; CPV: 79620000 (Supply services of personnel including temporary staff) and additional CPV 79414000 (HR management consultancy services).

Duration and framework mechanism:Maximum contract duration: 48 months (FWC concluded initially for 12 months and automatically renewable up to three times unless notice served). The procedure will result in a framework agreement without reopening of competition. Specific orders are placed via order forms under the framework contract; the FWC itself does not obligate Eurofound to order a minimum quantity.

Estimated financial envelope:Estimated maximum total value (framework ceiling) for the duration of the FWC: €1,500,000 (includes a 5% buffer for unforeseen employment cost changes). The financial evaluation will use a Total Reference Price scenario; tenders exceeding the ceiling under that scenario may be rejected.

Who can apply and how

Eligible applicants:natural or legal persons established in the scope permitted by Eurofound and EU Treaties, international organisations and entities established in third countries with reciprocal public procurement agreements where applicable. Tenderers may submit as single economic operators or as a consortium (joint tender). Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors (over 10% share or necessary to meet selection criteria) must be declared and provide declarations of intent. Entities on whose capacities the tenderer relies (not subcontractors) must provide commitment letters.

Submission and registration requirements:Submission exclusively via eSubmission on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login). Tenderers must be registered in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC. All required parts of the Standard Reply Form (Part C) must be completed and signed by authorised representatives. Electronic signatures (QES) are accepted; handwritten signatures are also accepted when converted and uploaded following instructions. Technical rules for eSubmission (supported browsers, file formats, maximum file size per attachment, max number of attachments) must be followed.

Key procurement conditions and obligations

Award method:best price-quality ratio with weightings: price 40% and quality 60% (quality max 100 points — evaluation requires a minimum total score of 70 points). Framework contract is not exclusive. Contractor will be the legal employer of interim workers and must comply with Irish employment, tax and social security legislation (payroll, employer PRSI, statutory pension contributions, PAYE, USC etc.). Interim workers perform duties under Eurofound supervision at Eurofound premises in Dublin; contractor to provide recruitment, pre-screening, candidate CVs, payroll and statutory administration. Maximum continuous placement period for the same interim worker is 11 months unless Eurofound requests otherwise in writing.

1. 1Provision of CVs within 10 working days of request; Eurofound shortlists and may test/interview candidates.
2. 2Contractor to provide monthly invoices with breakdown per interim worker (order number, worker name, month, reference gross salary, PRSI, pension contributions, agency fee).
3. 3Agency fee must be a fixed monthly amount (includes all charges such as travel and subsistence) and not subject to indexation; employment cost component can be adjusted to reflect statutory legislative changes.
4. 4Contract ceiling is €1,500,000 for four-year maximum duration; Eurofound may, during contract performance, award further negotiated procedures for repetition of similar services up to 50% increase of the initial budget.

Evaluation and required documentation

Administrative, exclusion and selection compliance will be checked first; tenders failing mandatory requirements will be rejected. Tender evaluation includes verification of exclusion criteria, restrictive measures, financial and technical selection criteria and the award evaluation (quality + price). Eurofound may request documentary evidence at any time during the procedure and before award (e.g. accounts, insurance certificates, licences).

Selection (minimum) requirements to be provided with tender:Mandatory items with the tender include: completed Standard Reply Form (Part C); declaration on honour covering exclusion and selection criteria; company profile (organisation, Irish operations, staffing levels and management, contract management and QA measures); references: at least 3 similar services provided in the last 5 years, at least 2 in Ireland, total value >= €1,000,000; CVs for key personnel (Overall Contract Manager with min 5 years project management experience; Customer Relationship Manager with min 3 years experience). Employer’s liability, public liability and professional indemnity insurance evidence may be requested before award.

Award criteria and scoring:Quality criteria (60 points weighting): sourcing methods and candidate pool (30 points); pre-selection and matching methods (30 points). Organisation and resources (25 points): workflow, customer relationship management approach (15 points); back-up arrangements (10 points). Quality control measures (15 points). Price and quality combined by a 40/60 price-quality formula (price 40%, quality 60%). Minimum quality threshold: 70/100; tenders below this are excluded from ranking.

Financial offer specifics and salary model

The financial offer must be submitted using the Official Price List template in Part C. The tender must provide a fixed monthly agency fee per category (A–E) and accept that employment costs (reference gross monthly salaries + statutory employer contributions) are structured according to defined grades linked to the EU Staff Regulations levels and adjusted by an Irish country coefficient. Employer statutory charges (notably employer PRSI and pension contributions under the Irish automatic enrolment scheme) are added to reference gross salaries to compute Total Employment Cost. Employment cost component may be adjusted to reflect changes in statutory charges; agency fee component is fixed and not indexable.

Reference salaries and price scenario:Tender documents include a Reference Price Calculator (Part F) with hypothetical consumption over the 48-month period using monthly employment cost figures for each category. Eurofound will use that scenario to compute a Total Reference Price for price evaluation and to verify compliance with the €1,500,000 budget limit.

Legal, regulatory and operational prerequisites

Required licence:Employment Agency Licence as required under the Employment Agency Act (1971) issued by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) — compliance verified via WRC list of licensed employment agencies. Tenderers must demonstrate capacity to operate in Ireland (Irish-based operations description, local personnel and back-up). Compliance with Union and national data protection obligations is mandatory (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 where applicable) and the FWC requires that personal data of candidates and interim workers be processed within the EU/EEA unless prior written authorisation is given. Compliance with environmental, social and labour law obligations and the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) for any AI systems used is required.

1. 1Mandatory evidence: Employment Agency Licence verifiable via WRC
2. 2Insurance evidence (upon request): employer’s liability €12.7M per claim, public liability €6.5M per claim, professional indemnity €1M per claim (minimum levels stated in specifications)
3. 3Financial capacity: average yearly turnover or budget of last two years above €562,000 (consolidated assessment)
4. 4References: minimum 3 similar services offered in last 5 years (>= €1,000,000 total) with at least 2 references based in Ireland

Contract performance, ordering and invoicing

Ordering:Eurofound will send a request for service; contractor must respond confirming availability and provide CVs within 10 working days (shorter if urgent and agreed). Eurofound shortlists and approves candidates; order form is signed to place the engagement. Contractor returns signed order form within 5 working days. Interim workers are subject to Eurofound working arrangements (holiday calendar, flexible working, mission rules for travel). Interim workers must be employed on fixed-term contracts; contractor must ensure legal right to work in Ireland. Maximum placement of same worker without break is 11 months unless otherwise agreed in writing. Invoices must itemise order number, worker name, month, reference gross salary, PRSI, pension contributions and agency fee. Eurofound pays monthly after approval; standard payment terms apply (invoice processing and payment timelines set out in contract).

Risk, sanctions and termination

Eurofound may reject abnormally low tenders, may apply price reductions or liquidated damages for delays or failures, and may terminate the FWC for reasons including non-compliance with legal rules, exclusion situations (bankruptcy, fraud, insolvency, final convictions etc.), restrictive measures, conflicts of interest or proven failure to meet contractual obligations. Contractor liable for damages caused by breach, subject to limits except in cases of gross negligence, willful misconduct or personal injury. Checks and audits may be carried out by Eurofound, OLAF, EPPO and the Court of Auditors; contractor to retain original documents for five years after final payment.

Procurement documents available

Procurement documents published in English on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal include:Part A Invitation to tender, Part B Tender Specifications, Part C Standard Reply Form, Part D Draft Framework Contract, Part E Information on entitlements, Part F Reference Price Calculator (XLSX). All documents were published 27/03/2026 (version 1); download via the F&T Portal opportunity page. Subscribe on the call page to receive updates and Q&A. The contracting authority will not respond to questions submitted after 22/04/2026 23:59 Europe/Dublin.

Categorisation and extracted structured information

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: staffing agencies/temporary employment undertakings, SMEs, large enterprises, recruitment companies, human resources providers, consortia including service providers established in the EU/EEA; universities/research institutes/NGOs are not the primary target unless they are legal entities providing temporary staffing services. Subcontractors and entities relied upon are permitted.
2. 2Funding Type: Tender / Procurement — framework contract for services (not a grant).
3. 3Consortium Requirement: Consortium allowed but not required. Tenderers may submit single or joint tenders (joint tender requires Agreement/Power of Attorney and a designated lead).
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Applicants established in Member States and certain third countries as allowed by Eurofound rules; services to be provided in Ireland; key compliance with Irish employment law is required. Overall procurement is EU-level (Eurofound is an EU agency).
5. 5Target Sector: Human resources / staffing / temporary personnel / administrative support (public sector services supporting EU agency operations).
6. 6Mentioned Countries: Ireland is explicitly mentioned (place of performance and legal jurisdiction). Eurofound (EU agency) operates under EU institutional rules. Tender documentation refers to Ireland, Dublin and to Union law/regulations. No other countries explicitly required beyond EU/EEA eligibility provisions.
7. 7Project Stage: Operational / service delivery (implementation and ongoing supply of interim staff).
8. 8Funding Amount: Estimated total contract ceiling €1,500,000 for maximum FWC duration (up to 48 months).
9. 9Application Type: Open call for tenders (electronic submission via eSubmission), submission is via the Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission).
10. 10Nature of Support: Commercial procurement — beneficiary receives monetary payments from contracting authority for services supplied; providers will receive monetary payments (service contract revenue).
11. 11Application Stages: Single-stage tender submission (1); selection and evaluation phases include possible requests for supporting evidence and clarifications (effectively 1 submission followed by evaluation and award).
12. 12Success Rates: Not published; typical public procurement success rate depends on number of bids and is not provided in the documents. Eurofound reserves the right not to award. No statistical success rate available in the tender dossier.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: No co-funding required. This is a paid services contract; contractor bears staffing costs until reimbursed by Eurofound under order forms.
14. 14Templates: Application / submission must follow Standard Reply Form (Part C) structure including: Part 1 Identification of tenderer; Questionnaire for joint tenders, subcontracting and relying on other entities; Agreement/Power of Attorney template; Subcontractor Declaration of Intent template; Commitment letter template for entities on whose capacity the tenderer relies; Legal Entity & Financial Identification Form; Declaration on honour (exclusion and selection criteria); Technical Offer section; Financial Offer using the Official Price List model; Statements concerning IPR and AI usage. Tenderers must complete Annexes and use the Part F Reference Price Calculator to compute the Total Reference Price for evaluation.

Operational and technical details (reproduced from specifications)

Interim worker categories and example functions:Senior Administrator (degree + at least 3 years relevant experience; autonomous); Administrator (degree + at least 3 years experience; some autonomy); Junior Administrator (university or vocational training; supervised tasks); Senior Assistant (clerical & secretarial tasks; >=3 years post-secondary experience); Junior Assistant (manual/administrative support such as data entry, switchboard, scanning). Reference monthly gross salaries linked to EU Staff Regulations + Irish country coefficient are provided in Part B with illustrative employer statutory contributions and Total Employment Cost per category. Agency fee must be set per category per working month and is contractually binding. A working month is treated as 22 working days as an indicative average; monthly fee is fixed regardless of exact working days in calendar month. Employment cost adjustments permitted only to reflect statutory legislative changes; agency fee remains fixed and not indexable.

Mandatory Irish compliance and licence:Contractor must hold a valid Employment Agency Licence under the Employment Agency Act (1971) issued by the Workplace Relations Commission in Ireland; Eurofound will verify via the WRC list of licensed employment agencies. Contractor must ensure payroll withholding and statutory payments (PAYE, USC, employee and employer PRSI) and statutory pension contributions under Irish automatic enrolment pension rules.

Contractual, legal and data protection regime:The FWC and any specific contracts are governed by Union law and, where necessary, Irish law. The courts of Dublin have exclusive jurisdiction. Data processing by the contracting authority is governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; processing of candidate and worker personal data by the contractor must comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and remain within EU/EEA data centres unless otherwise authorised. Use of AI systems in service delivery must comply with the EU AI Act where applicable.

How Eurofound will order and manage service delivery

Ordering process:Eurofound issues a request specifying required categories and expected duration; contractor confirms acceptance and supplies CVs within 10 working days; Eurofound shortlists, may test or interview, then issues order form; contractor signs and returns completed order form within 5 working days. For urgent needs these timeframes may be shortened by agreement. If an interim worker becomes unavailable the contractor must provide replacements/CVs within 10 working days. Replacement requests for reasons within Eurofound control may be made and the contractor must supply new candidates according to standard process.

Summary: What is this opportunity about and explanation

This procurement is an open tender for a framework agreement to supply on-demand temporary agency workers to Eurofound in Dublin. The contractor will act as the legal employer of interim workers across five defined profile categories, handling recruitment, employment contracts, payroll and statutory compliance under Irish law while Eurofound supervises day-to-day work on its premises. The FWC will run initially for 12 months and may be renewed up to three times for a potential total of 48 months, with a maximum estimated contract ceiling of €1,500,000 for the framework period. The award is by best price-quality ratio (price 40% / quality 60%), with specific minimum selection criteria (financial turnover threshold, insurance, Irish operation, references, key personnel CVs, WRC employment agency licence). Tender submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the provided Standard Reply Form and pricing templates. Interested staffing agencies and HR service providers with established Irish operations, appropriate licences and documented experience in supplying temporary staff to public or private clients should prepare a full Standard Reply Form, supporting evidence for exclusion/selection criteria, the technical offer addressing the award criteria and a financial offer using the Official Price List. Eurofound expects prompt candidate provision (CVs within 10 working days) and requires contractor compliance with payroll, statutory contributions and statutory entitlements for interim staff. The full procurement documents (Parts A–F) contain mandatory templates, instructions and detailed legal, technical and financial rules that bidders must follow exactly; these are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page (see procurement documents link in notice) ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents including Part A Invitation to tender, Part B Tender Specifications, Part C Standard Reply Form, Part D Draft Framework Contract, Part E Information on entitlements and Part F Reference Price Calculator are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page for EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0016: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Overview

This is an open procedure call for tenders (EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0016) for a framework agreement to supply temporary agency workers to Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, located in Dublin, Ireland. The contractor will provide interim staff across five profiles on an on-demand basis to cover staff absences, peak workloads, specialised tasks, or time-limited projects. The contractor acts as the legal employer, handling recruitment, payroll, and compliance with Irish employment law, while workers perform duties under Eurofound supervision.

Estimated total value:€1,500,000 (including 5% buffer for salary adjustments and statutory changes). Nature: Services (CPV 79620000 - Supply services of personnel including temporary staff). Award method: Best price-quality ratio (40% price, 60% quality). Framework agreement without reopening of competition, maximum duration 48 months (initial 12 months, auto-renewable 3x12 months).

Key Dates

• TED publication: 27/03/2026
• Deadline for questions: 22/04/2026 23:59 Dublin time
• Tender submission deadline: 30/04/2026 14:00 Dublin time
• Public opening: 01/05/2026 11:00 Dublin time
• Expected notification of results: 18/05/2026
• Expected contract signature: 28/05/2026

Eligibility and Who Can Apply

Open to natural and legal persons within the scope of EU Treaties and international organisations. Not open to GPA countries. Must hold valid Irish Employment Agency Licence under Employment Agency Act 1971 (verifiable via Workplace Relations Commission list). Joint tenders and subcontracting allowed with restrictions. No variants permitted.

Exclusion Criteria

Standard EU exclusion grounds apply (bankruptcy, tax/social security breaches, fraud, corruption, etc.). Declaration on honour required; supporting evidence may be requested. Applies to tenderers, group members, identified subcontractors (>10% share or key for selection).

Selection Criteria

Economic and Financial Capacity (consolidated for tenderer as whole):Average yearly turnover/budget last 2 years > €562,000. Insurances: Employers liability >= €12.7M per claim; Public liability >= €6.5M per claim; Professional indemnity >= €1M per claim/aggregate.

Technical and Professional Capacity:Evidence A1: Company profile (Irish operations, manpower, quality measures). Evidence A2: 3 similar services (2 in Ireland, past 5 years, total >= €1M). Team: Contract Manager (5+ yrs project mgmt); Customer Relationship Manager (3+ yrs CRM). CVs required.

Staff Profiles and Pricing Structure

Five categories of interim workers (A-E), with reference gross monthly salaries linked to EU staff grades (adjusted by Irish country coefficient 130.7%). Total employment cost includes gross salary + employer PRSI (11.25%) + statutory pension (1.5% initial). Agency fee fixed per working month (22 days x 8 hrs), includes all charges, non-indexed.

Tenderers quote fixed monthly agency fees per category. Evaluation uses hypothetical scenario (55 months total across categories over 4 years +5% indexation) to compute total reference price (<= €1.5M budget). Salaries adjustable for EU indexation/country coefficient changes and Irish statutory updates.

Award Criteria (Quality 60%, Price 40%)

• Quality of recruitment/selection (60pts): Sourcing (30pts), Selection methods (30pts)
• Organisation of work/resources (25pts): Workflow/CRM (15pts), Back-up (10pts)
• Quality control measures (15pts)
• Minimum quality threshold: 70/100 pts

Submission Requirements

Electronic submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required). PIC mandatory. Documents: Standard Reply Form (Parts 1-6), company profile, references, CVs, price list, declarations. Full procurement docs (6 parts) downloadable from portal.

Portal Link:EU Funding & Tenders Portal

Contract Implementation and Obligations

On-demand ordering via order forms. Contractor provides CVs within 10 working days; max 11 months per worker unless extended. Monthly invoices with timesheets. Payments monthly post-approval (30 days). Compliance with Irish law, EU data protection (GDPR, Reg 2018/1725). Audits/checks up to 5 years post-final payment.

Risks and Considerations

• Must have Irish operations and licence; 2/3 references Ireland-based.
• Hypothetical pricing scenario critical - exceeding €1.5M rejects tender.
• Fixed agency fees; salaries adjustable only for statutory/EU changes.
• Joint tenders: Leader handles all; full joint/several liability.
• Recent spend: €2023 €260K; €2024 €270K; €2025 €675K (rising trend).

Procurement Documents

• Part A: Invitation to Tender
• Part B: Tender Specifications
• Part C: Standard Reply Form
• Part D: Draft Framework Contract
• Part E: Information on Entitlements
• Part F: Reference Price Calculator

All documents English-only. Q&A via portal (none public yet). Contact:ef-procurement@eurofound.europa.eu (questions via portal only).

Footnotes

1. 1Primary source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Dates/figures as of TED notice 27/03/2026. Verify portal for updates. Past spend from tender specs.