Commercial Lawyers for Recruitment Agencies

Terms of business, placement fee disputes, replacement guarantees, labour hire arrangements and enterprise MSAs — for recruitment and staffing businesses that want their contracts to hold when a customer pushes back.

Who we help

Common legal issues

Situations we are usually brought in on

• “A client hires your candidate directly eight months after the interview.”

  Whether you are owed a fee turns on how 'introduction' is defined, how long the ownership period runs, whether your terms were accepted, and whether the client can point to another source for the candidate. Good terms answer these before the argument starts.

• “An enterprise customer sends a 40-page supplier agreement to replace your terms.”

  It will usually include uncapped indemnities, a right to set off, a non-solicitation clause that stops you placing their staff anywhere, and payment terms of 60 days or more. Most of these can be negotiated if you know which ones matter.

• “A placed candidate resigns in week ten and the client wants a full refund.”

  The outcome depends entirely on the replacement guarantee wording: whether it offers a replacement or a refund, whether it is conditional on payment within terms, and what happens when the client cannot agree on a replacement.

• “A consultant leaves and starts contacting your clients and candidates from a new desk.”

  Your position depends on the restraint and confidentiality terms in their employment contract, and on moving quickly. Broad non-competes are rarely enforced; targeted non-solicitation clauses often are.

• “A long-term contractor argues they were really an employee.”

  On-hire arrangements attract employee-like and sham contracting scrutiny, superannuation obligations and, in some states, labour hire licensing. The contractor agreement and how the arrangement operates in practice both matter.

• “A customer's vendor management system 'accepts' your terms but its own portal terms say otherwise.”

  Conflicting documents are common in panel arrangements. An order-of-precedence clause and a signed MSA remove the ambiguity.

FAQs

Are recruitment terms of business binding if the client never signed them?

They can be, if the client accepted them by conduct — for example by interviewing candidates after receiving the terms, where the terms make that clear. Unsigned terms are harder to rely on and easier to dispute. Many fee disputes come down to whether the terms were properly incorporated, so the process of issuing and accepting them matters as much as the wording.

How long should a candidate ownership or introduction period be?

Six to twelve months is common in Australian permanent recruitment terms. Longer periods are more likely to be challenged, particularly under the unfair contract terms regime where the client is a small business. The period should match how your desk actually works.

Can a client refuse to pay because the candidate left within the guarantee period?

Only if the terms say so. A replacement guarantee usually offers a replacement candidate, not a refund, and is typically conditional on the original invoice having been paid on time. If the guarantee is silent or ambiguous, the client will argue for a refund.

Do recruitment agencies need a labour hire licence?

Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT have labour hire licensing schemes that apply to businesses supplying workers to a host. Permanent placement alone is generally not caught, but temp and on-hire arrangements often are. Whether you need a licence depends on the state and the arrangement.

What should a recruitment agency look for in a customer MSA?

Liability caps and indemnities, non-solicitation clauses that restrict your other business, payment terms and set-off rights, audit and insurance requirements, exclusivity or volume commitments, and how the MSA interacts with your own terms. We review these against a fixed fee and mark up the terms that matter.

Can we stop a former consultant from contacting our candidates?

A properly drafted non-solicitation clause covering both clients and candidates, combined with confidentiality obligations over your database, gives you a reasonable position. Whether a court will enforce it depends on the wording, the consultant's role and the time and area covered. Fast action improves the outcome.

What does it cost to have recruitment agency terms drafted?

Terms of business, contractor agreements and MSA reviews are quoted as fixed fees once we understand your desks and customer profile. Request a quote through the form and we will confirm scope and price.

Related industries

• Offshore staffing and labour hire
• Management consultants
• Professional services overview