Transaction in Own Shares

Hays PLC
02 September 2005


                                    Hays plc
                         ------------------------------
                             Purchase of own shares
                         ------------------------------


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:                                           02 September 2005

Number of ordinary shares purchased:                        1,400,000

Highest price paid per share:                               132.3438p

Lowest price paid per share:                                132.3438p

Volume weighted average price per share:                    132.3438p


Hays intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.



Following the purchase of these shares, Hays holds 142,954,168 of its ordinary
shares in treasury and has 1,592,936,954 ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares).




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange