Cucumber Recruitment
Cucumber Recruitment is a UK healthcare staffing agency founded in 2018, supplying pre-screened nurses, healthcare assistants, and specialist care staff on a temporary and permanent basis to NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, and community providers across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cucumber Recruitment does
Cucumber Recruitment is a UK-based healthcare staffing and recruitment agency founded in 2018 and headquartered in Manchester, with regional operations in Glasgow and Plymouth. The firm supplies temporary, urgent, and permanent nursing and care staff to NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, mental health services, community healthcare providers, and specialist children's services across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Its candidate pool comprises more than 5,000 pre-screened healthcare professionals, with NMC registration, PVG/SSSC status, and DBS checks verified before every placement rather than only at onboarding, and documentation produced same-day for CQC and Care Inspectorate inspections.
The company's core technology is a recruitment management platform that combines an applicant tracking system, a client portal for booking and managing shifts, and continuous compliance verification infrastructure. Service offerings span a wide portfolio: nurse staffing (RGN, RMN, RNLD), healthcare assistant and support worker staffing, urgent and emergency staffing, permanent direct-hire recruitment, midwife staffing, mental health and CAMHS staffing, complex care and learning disability staffing, children's residential staffing, community and primary care nursing, and DBS-checked healthcare staff supply.
Cucumber generates revenue primarily through usage-based hourly bill rates on temporary and bank shifts (with pricing adjusted by staff grade, urgency, and out-of-hours status) and one-time placement fees for permanent direct hires. GTM is direct sales via phone, website consultation forms, and on-site client relationships, supplemented by content marketing, a dedicated job board, social media presence, and a staff referral programme. Customer segments include NHS trusts, private care providers such as Bupa and Anchor Healthcare, residential care homes, mental health trusts, and community organisations, with no publicly disclosed revenue.
Cucumber Recruitment firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cucumber Recruitment
- Legal name
- Cucumber Recruitment
- Website
- https://cucumber-recruitment.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cucumber Recruitment is a UK healthcare staffing agency founded in 2018, supplying pre-screened nurses, healthcare assistants, and specialist care staff on a temporary and permanent basis to NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, and community providers across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cucumber Recruitment industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Staffing Services
- NAICS
- Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Healthcare Clinical Direct Hire (Nursing/Allied/Physicians) (BPACAFAH)
Keywords
Where Cucumber Recruitment is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Cucumber Recruitment business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Temporary Healthcare Staffing: Placement of pre-screened nurses and healthcare assistants into temporary shifts, bank shifts, short contracts, and urgent staffing requests. Revenue generated through hourly bill rates applied to placed shifts. Flexible pricing adjusted to client requirements and urgency levels.
- Permanent Nurse Recruitment: Direct hire placements for NHS trusts, care homes, and private hospitals. Screening, interviews, and compliance handled end-to-end. One-time placement fees for successful hires.
- Specialist Care Staffing: Placement of specialist staff including mental health nurses, learning disability nurses, complex care workers, and CAMHS specialists for temporary or permanent positions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Flexible hourly rates based on staff grade and urgency |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Permanent recruitment placement fees |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cucumber Recruitment product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cucumber Recruitment is a UK healthcare staffing agency that places pre-screened nurses, healthcare assistants, support workers, midwives, and specialist care staff into temporary, bank, urgent, and permanent positions for NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, mental health services, community healthcare, and children's services across England and Scotland. The company operates from offices in Manchester, Glasgow, and Plymouth, maintaining a 5,000+ professional database with continuous NMC, DBS/PVG, and SSSC compliance verification at every placement.
Product overview
Cucumber Recruitment is a healthcare staffing agency operating as a unified platform offering temporary nurse staffing, urgent nurse staffing, permanent nurse recruitment, and specialist care staffing services. The company provides a database of over 5,000 pre-screened healthcare professionals across the UK, with dedicated services including Nurse Staffing (NMC-registered nurses for temporary cover), Urgent Nurse Staffing (same-day pre-screened placements), Permanent Nurse Recruitment (direct hire for NHS and care homes), Healthcare Assistant Staffing, Support Worker Staffing, Mental Health Staffing (RMNs and mental health support workers), Midwife Staffing Agency, Emergency Healthcare Staffing, Community Nurses (district nurses, health visitors, school nurses), Primary Care Nurses (schools, GP surgeries, prisons), Specialist Care Staffing including Complex Care, Children's Services Staffing covering CAMHS and children's residential care, and DBS Checked Healthcare Staff. The product portfolio covers the full spectrum from emergency shift coverage to permanent placements, spanning NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, community settings, and specialist care environments across England and Scotland.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Nurse Staffing NMC-registered nurses placed into bank shifts, short contracts, and ongoing temporary cover for hospitals, clinics, medical centres, nursing homes, and care facilities. Compliance is handled end-to-end. Available nationwide across England and Scotland.
- Urgent Nurse Staffing Pre-screened nurses available at short notice, including same-day placements, with an out-of-hours team and no compromises on compliance under time pressure. Designed for emergency cover situations.
- Permanent Nurse Recruitment Direct hire placements for NHS trusts, care homes, and private hospitals. Screening, interviews, and compliance are handled end to end. One-time placement fees apply for successful hires.
- Healthcare Assistant Staffing Pre-screened healthcare assistants available for temporary and permanent placements across the UK. Suitable for hospitals, care homes, and community settings.
- Support Worker Staffing Staffing solutions for support workers providing care and assistance to individuals with various needs, including complex care and learning disability support.
- Mental Health Staffing Specialist mental health staffing solutions connecting mental health professionals including RMNs and mental health support workers with care organisations, mental health units, and community mental health services.
- Midwife Staffing Agency Specialist staffing agency connecting hospitals, clinics, and health organisations with qualified midwives for maternity care and obstetrics services.
- Emergency Healthcare Staffing Emergency staffing solutions for healthcare facilities requiring rapid coverage when internal staffing resources are unavailable.
- Community Nurses Supply of skilled community nurses including district nurses, health visitors, school nurses, palliative care nurses, and prison nurses to private healthcare organisations and local authorities.
- Primary Care Nurses Primary care nursing services placing nurses in schools, GP surgeries, prisons, and walk-in centres for routine health checks, chronic disease management, and urgent care.
- Care Staffing Agency Care staffing solutions for residential and nursing care facilities across the UK, covering general care roles in care homes and nursing homes.
- Specialist Care Staffing Specialist care staffing covering complex care, mental health support, and learning disability services with setting-specific compliance.
- Complex Care Staffing Staffing for complex care packages requiring consistent, trained workers with specialist training in acquired brain injury, secure care, and community support.
- Children's Services Staffing Staffing solutions for residential childcare, CAMHS specialists, and children's residential homes with specialist training requirements.
- CAMHS Staffing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services staffing solutions placing qualified CAMHS professionals with organisations across the UK.
- Children's Residential Staffing Specialist staffing for residential childcare facilities with professionals trained in challenging behaviour, mental health, moving and handling, dignity and respect.
- DBS Checked Healthcare Staff Healthcare staff with enhanced DBS checks verified and on the update service, ensuring compliance with safeguarding requirements for regulated settings.
Quantifiable outcome
- Same-day staffing cover available for most postcodes across England and Scotland
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cucumber Recruitment
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cucumber Recruitment technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cucumber Recruitment partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cucumber Recruitment competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HCL Nursing: UK nursing and midwifery agency supplying temporary and permanent staff to NHS and private sector. Overlaps directly with Cucumber's core nurse staffing, midwife, and mental health placements.
- Pulse Nursing at Healthierside: One of the largest UK healthcare staffing agencies, placing nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals into NHS and private settings. Direct competitor to Cucumber in temp and perm nursing placements, with similar compliance-led value proposition.
- Thornbury Nursing Services: UK nursing agency specializing in last-minute, urgent, and high-acuity nurse cover for NHS trusts and private hospitals. Closely comparable to Cucumber's urgent nurse staffing and same-day fulfilment model.
- Medacs Healthcare: Global healthcare staffing provider with strong UK presence across nursing, doctors, and allied health. Comparable to Cucumber in placing pre-screened healthcare professionals into NHS, care homes, and private hospitals.
- Newcross Healthcare: UK healthcare staffing provider placing nurses, support workers, and care assistants across NHS, care homes, and home care. Comparable in multi-segment healthcare staffing and permanent placement services.
- Scottish Nursing Guild: Specialist nursing agency focused on Scotland and the wider UK, placing RMNs, RGNs, and specialist nurses. Direct peer given Cucumber's Glasgow HQ and Scottish compliance (PVG/SSSC) infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Hays Healthcare: Global staffing firm with a UK healthcare arm covering nursing, allied health, and medical permanent and temporary placements. Overlaps with Cucumber on NHS and private provider contracts at greater scale.
- REED Health: Major UK generalist recruiter with a dedicated healthcare division placing nurses and care staff into NHS and private providers. Larger and broader than Cucumber, but operates in the same customer base.
Emerging players
- Apollo Home Healthcare: UK specialist provider of complex care staffing in home settings, including pediatric and adult complex packages. Comparable to Cucumber's complex care staffing line and similar specialist-trained workforce model.
- Sensecare Nursing Agency: UK nursing and care staffing agency placing RGNs, RMNs, HCAs, and support workers across NHS, care homes, and private clients. Comparable mid-sized peer with similar multi-segment healthcare staffing approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cucumber Recruitment social profiles
Digital presenceCucumber Recruitment compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Cucumber Recruitment financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cucumber Recruitment leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cucumber Recruitment funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cucumber Recruitment M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cucumber Recruitment
What does Cucumber Recruitment do?
Cucumber Recruitment is a UK healthcare staffing agency that places pre-screened nurses, healthcare assistants, support workers, midwives, and specialist care staff into temporary, bank, urgent, and permanent positions for NHS trusts, care homes, private hospitals, mental health services, community healthcare, and children's services across England and Scotland. The company operates from offices in Manchester, Glasgow, and Plymouth, maintaining a 5,000+ professional database with continuous NMC, DBS/PVG, and SSSC compliance verification at every placement.
Is Cucumber Recruitment a public or private company?
Cucumber Recruitment is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Cucumber Recruitment founded?
Cucumber Recruitment was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cucumber Recruitment based?
Cucumber Recruitment is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cucumber Recruitment make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Temporary Healthcare Staffing is the primary driver. The others are permanent Nurse Recruitment and specialist Care Staffing.
Who are Cucumber Recruitment's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HCL Nursing, Pulse Nursing at Healthierside, Thornbury Nursing Services, Medacs Healthcare, Newcross Healthcare and Scottish Nursing Guild. Broad incumbents are Hays Healthcare and REED Health. Emerging players are Apollo Home Healthcare and Sensecare Nursing Agency.
Does Cucumber Recruitment have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cucumber Recruitment.
What industry is Cucumber Recruitment in?
Cucumber Recruitment's product category is Healthcare Staffing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAH, Healthcare Clinical Direct Hire (Nursing/Allied/Physicians). Its NAICS code is 56132 and its SIC code is 7361.