Transaction in Own Shares

Hays PLC
08 August 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:                                        08 August 2005

Number of ordinary shares purchased:                     759,253

Highest price paid per share:                            130.75p

Lowest price paid per share:                             129.75p

Volume weighted average price per share:                 130.5166p

Hays intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.



Following the purchase of these shares, Hays holds 115,923,223 of its ordinary
shares in treasury and has 1,619,967,899 ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares).





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