Transaction in Own Shares

Hays PLC
16 December 2005



                                    Hays plc

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                             Purchase of own shares

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Hays plc announces that it has purchased the following number of its ordinary
shares of £0.01 each on the London Stock Exchange via UBS Investment Bank.


Ordinary shares:

Date of purchase:                                         16 December 2005

Number of ordinary shares purchased:                      3,000,000

Highest price paid per share:                             124.5p

Lowest price paid per share:                              123p

Volume weighted average price per share:                  123.8724p

Hays intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.


Following the purchase of these shares, Hays holds 146,065,601 of its ordinary
shares in treasury and has 1,503,030,965 ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares).




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