Large companies are the worst at paying their bills, recruitment agencies have claimed.

A survey by Cattles Invoice Finance found PLCs were twice as likely as small companies to delay payment of invoices.

The study involved in-depth interviews with 300 business owners and found long- standing overseas customers were the best payers.

Only 10% of recruitment companies reported a problem with payment from these types of customers. But 31% reported consistent late payment from larger companies.

Government bodies were the second worst payers, provoking late payment complaints from 17% of recruitment agencies.

On average, it took 24 days for firms to pay, but 43% of recruitment companies reported delayed payments of up to 60 days.

And the problem is getting worse, with 29% of recruitment companies reporting that invoices were taking longer to be paid than 12 months ago.

Doug Crawford, managing director of Cattles Invoice Finance said: “Government legislation for late payment is not working and our findings highlight the extent of the problem.”