Our story began in 2006…
… sat around a dining room table, our founders set out with a simple goal: to bring ethics, integrity and a people-first approach back to recruitment.
Over 20 years later, that belief still guides everything we do.
We’ve grown steadily over the years, not by chasing quick wins, but by building long-term relationships and making thoughtful decisions. Along the way, we’ve helped local businesses grow, supported thousands of candidates in finding work, and created opportunities for our own people to develop successful careers.
In 2021, we reached one of the biggest milestones in our history when Essential Recruitment became a 100% Employee-Owned business.
This option gave our exiting shareholders a way to protect the company they had built, retain values and operational performance whilst still making it possible to step away.
For a company known for its loyal, long serving team, employee ownership felt like a natural next step. It recognised the contribution of the people who helped shape Essential, strengthened the culture we’ve built together, and ensured the future of the business remains in the hands of those who care about it most.
You can read about our journey into Employee Ownership on our blog.
While a lot has changed since 2006, our values haven’t. We’re still committed to treating people fairly, building genuine relationships, and proving that recruitment can be done the right way.
Our History
2006
Ripley & Mansfield Offices open. Here’s our old Ripley office where we stayed until the end of 2025!
2007
Chesterfield Office Opens – originally just one floor, but by 2014 we had all 3. We stayed until 2026!
2008
Worksop Office Opens in the town centre. We later moved to The Turbine – but here’s where we started!
2011
Barnsley Office Opens. We’ve switched offices internally, we’re still here!
2011
Burton Office Opens – as with Barnsley, we’ve upgraded our pad but we are still based in the busines park.
2013
Milestone: £10M Turnover Achieved
2015
Milestone: £15M Turnover Achieved
2015
Listed in ‘Top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’
Essential completes MBO
2017
Ranked 30th in Derbyshire Growth Barometer
£20M turnover achieved
2020
Essential furloughed 219 temporary workers at a
cost of £765,000 & survive COVID-19
2021
Essential becomes Employee Owned
2026
Mansfield and Ilkeston merge to become J27
Head office moves to Tapton
