Transaction in Own Shares

Hays PLC
27 April 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:                                            27 April 2005



Number of ordinary shares purchased:                         11,580,504




Highest price paid per share:                                134.5p



Lowest price paid per share:                                 131p



Volume weighted average price per share:                     133.1459p



Hays intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.



Following the purchase of these shares, Hays holds 64,427,285 of its ordinary
shares in treasury and has 1,671,463,837 ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares).




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