HOW TO HIRE · EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

How to hire a corporate event planner in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Corporate event planners need no licence in the UK. Here is what to check, what to ask and what the proposal must say.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a corporate event planner in five steps

  1. Ask the fee modelFlat fee, day rate or a percentage.
  2. Ask about commissionsDisclosed in writing.
  3. Agree data handlingDelegate data stored, shared and deleted as agreed.
  4. List the licencesAlcohol, music, entertainment — who arranges each.
  5. Agree deliverables and payment stagesIn the contract.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Nobody licenses corporate event planners in any of the four UK nations, and the law asks for no training or qualification. Delegate data, licences and supplier contracts are the parts that carry legal weight.

Ask the corporate event planner for references from the last few months and read the written terms before paying.

Licences the event needs, and the suppliers the corporate event planner books

Selling alcohol, live or recorded entertainment, or hot food after 11pm at a place with no premises licence in England and Wales needs a Temporary Event Notice under the Licensing Act 2003. Scotland uses an occasional licence from the Licensing Board for alcohol outside licensed premises; Northern Ireland needs a district council entertainment licence for indoor entertainment. Music in public needs TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS, usually held by the venue. Each supplier has its own rules: a caterer must be registered with its council as a food business; HSE expects a hired bouncy castle to carry a PIPA tag or ADIPS declaration and a yearly inspection; contracted door supervisors and security guards need an SIA licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

Ask the corporate event planner to list, in writing, every licence or notice the event needs and who is responsible for each. Ask the corporate event planner to send each supplier's registration, tag, licence or insurance, not just a name. gov.uk →

Delegate data and the ICO

Registering delegates means handling personal data. A business processing personal data must pay the ICO data protection fee unless exempt, so a corporate event planner running registration should be on the ICO's register.

Ask the corporate event planner how delegate data is stored, who sees it and when it is deleted, and agree it in the contract. gov.uk →

Trader status and cancellation terms

Booking a corporate event planner who does this for a living means dealing with a trader: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies, including the duty of reasonable care and skill. What usually does not apply is a cooling-off period — regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 takes services for leisure activities or catering on a fixed date outside it — so read how the corporate event planner handles cancellation and deposits.

Get the corporate event planner's terms on cancellation, date changes and illness on one page before you commit. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Event planning for a business is standard-rated at 20%, and a registered planner shows it on each fee stage. Corporate event planners over the £90,000 registration threshold have to charge VAT and list it separately from the price.

Ask for the planner's VAT number and a VAT invoice showing the 20% on each fee stage. gov.uk →

“How do you charge — fee, day rate or percentage?”

A good answer: A clear model in the corporate event planner's proposal.

“Do you take supplier commissions?”

A good answer: A plain answer, disclosed in the corporate event planner's proposal.

“How will you handle delegate data?”

A good answer: Storage, access and deletion set out, and ICO registration.

“Who arranges licences for the corporate event?”

A good answer: A named person and dates.

“How do you check suppliers?”

A good answer: Insurance, registrations and risk assessments collected by the corporate event planner.

“Who is on site on the day?”

A good answer: Names and roles of the corporate event team.

“What are the cancellation terms?”

A good answer: Written, with stages.

Getting the quote right

  • The corporate event planner's fee and model
  • Deliverables and team on site
  • Commissions, if any
  • Payment stages
  • The planner's VAT number, with VAT shown on each payment stage
  • Cancellation and postponement terms
  • Who actually attends on the day — the planner, assistants or freelance crew — and whether they are employed or subcontracted

Walk away if

  • No data handling plan for delegates
  • Undisclosed commissions
  • Licences left vague
  • No written proposal

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Corporate event planners near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. BriefThe corporate event planner agrees objectives, audience and budget.
  2. Venue and suppliersSourced, checked and contracted.
  3. DelegatesRegistration and communications handled.
  4. On siteThe team runs the programme.
  5. ReportAccounts and any feedback delivered.

Day rate
A fee per day of the planner's time.
Delegate
A person attending a conference or event.
AV
Audio-visual — sound, screens and projection.
ICO data protection fee
The fee most businesses processing personal data pay.
Run sheet
The timed plan for the event.
Supplier commission
A payment from a supplier to the planner.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the contract and supplier fileEverything the corporate event planner arranged.
Confirm data deletionDelegate data deleted or returned as agreed.
Review the budgetAgainst the proposal.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked jobs, which is why one about the corporate event planner carries weight. If something went wrong, the make-it-right step comes first: the corporate event planner is asked to put it right before the review goes live.

STEP 1Put it to the corporate event planner in writingExplain in writing what fell short — suppliers missed, delegate data mishandled, a disorganised event — and whether you want part of the fee back or the work redone. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 builds reasonable care and skill into the contract; for a one-off occasion, a reduction in price is the usual remedy.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the corporate event planner below four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through, then your review is published.
STEP 3Advice and Trading StandardsComplaints about corporate event planners have no regulator to go to. If the trader will not engage, Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) covers England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) covers Scotland, and Consumerline (0300 123 6262) covers Northern Ireland; each can pass a complaint about corporate event planners to Trading Standards.
STEP 4Money the corporate event planner will not returnWithout a solicitor, a refund from the corporate event planner can be pursued up to £10,000 on the small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in the sheriff court in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a corporate event planner: questions people ask

No. No licence or register applies to corporate event planners in any UK nation. The event may need licences — a Temporary Event Notice, an occasional licence, an entertainment licence — and the corporate event planner should say who arranges each.

No law requires it, but venues commonly ask for public liability cover. Ask the corporate event planner for the certificate, and for each supplier's.

No UK publisher sets out a price range for corporate event planner, so this guide prints none. Ask two or three corporate event planners for a written quote on the same brief — date, hours, numbers, travel — and compare them line by line.

No; but they handle delegate data, so ICO registration matters.

The venue usually; anything else should be named in the proposal.

It can be; compare it with a flat fee on the same scope.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in events & entertainment

How to hire: Event PlannerHow to hire: Event Staff & HostessesHow to hire: Event SecurityHow to hire: PA & Sound System HireHow to hire: Stage HireHow to hire: CatererHow to hire: MC / ToastmasterHow to hire: Event Lighting HireAll 701 hiring guides →

Corporate event planners near you

Corporate event planners in LondonCorporate event planners in ManchesterCorporate event planners in BirminghamCorporate event planners in GlasgowCorporate event planners in BelfastAll corporate event planners on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — Temporary Events Notice
  2. gov.scot — Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 guidance: occasional licences
  3. gov.uk — entertainment licence (Northern Ireland)
  4. gov.uk — licence to play live or recorded music
  5. gov.uk — food business registration
  6. HSE — bouncy castles and other play inflatables
  7. gov.uk — check security staff have a licence
  8. gov.uk — pay the data protection fee
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  10. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  11. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  12. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money
  13. nidirect — small claims process
  14. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  15. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register