What Should I Include In My Recruitment Agreement With Candidates?

As a recruiter, you want to ensure that the candidates you are working with are putting their best foot forward during recruitment campaigns. It is also important your candidates do not damage your reputation with employers in the future. Therefore, your recruitment agreement is crucial. This is because it sets out the terms on which you will represent the candidate and provide them with your services. As a result, it ensures that each party understands their expectations and obligations before entering into the relationship. So, this article will discuss what to include in your recruitment agreement with candidates. 

Accurate and Up-to-date Information

As part of your recruiting process, you represent the candidate and present them to employers as a potential new hire. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have the right information to work with. Additionally, you must ensure that you can actually rely on this information. Therefore, you should consider including an obligation on your candidates to provide you with accurate information. This information may include a candidate’s background, professional experience, qualifications and references. 

Privacy Considerations

If you are an APP entity, you will must comply with Australia’s privacy laws. Importantly, the law requires that any person or business disclosing the personal information of an identifiable individual to a third party has their consent to do so. Therefore, your recruitment agreement should include these privacy considerations. Specifically, you should include the candidate’s acknowledgment and consent for disclosing personal information. This will protect you from future claims for a breach of your obligations under the law.

Non-Circumvention Clause

A non-circumvention clause, otherwise known as a non-solicitation clause, prevents the candidate from entering into an agreement directly with the employer. It also prevents them bypassing you in an attempt to avoid paying the fees owed. Indeed, you will likely have worked hard to find appropriate candidates’ roles. Therefore, you will want to ensure that you are paid for the services you provide.

Additionally, a provision requiring the candidate to inform you if a potential employer you have introduced them to contacts them directly is important. This is because it could also have the effect of circumventing your arrangement. Ideally, this clause should survive the termination of the agreement. Moreover, you should define the length of time that any non-circumvention provisions apply for. By doing so, you will avoid a situation where a candidate directly contacts an employer you had previously introduced them to, not long after the termination of your arrangement with the candidate. 

Exclusivity

It is important to consider whether you would like the candidate to work exclusively with you during their job search. This is because they may also work with other recruiters. Therefore, requiring a candidate to work exclusively with you shows their commitment to finding a job via your services. Additionally, it also ensures that they are doing their best when participating in a recruitment campaign.

If you decide to make the arrangement non-exclusive, it is even more important to consider a non-circumvention clause as discussed above. By doing so, you avoid a situation where another recruiter receives a fee for an introduction you made.  

Payment Terms

You will need to discuss with your candidate upfront as to how your fees will be charged, and then document this in your written agreement. You should consider when and how you will charge your fees. This will include:

• whether the candidate will pay a fixed monthly fee for the services provided;
• a fee per introduction; or
• a fixed fee only at the time of a successful placement.

You should also document whether they are required to pay you a deposit, or any other applicable special conditions when it comes to payment.

Limitation of Liability

Limiting your liability as a recruiter is also a key consideration. Indeed, you are simply an agent that introduces the candidate to the employer. Therefore, you want to ensure that the candidate is not able to make a claim against you if the relationship between the employer and the candidate does not work out. This is particularly important in situations where the relationship breaks down. For instance, a candidate might provide inaccurate or misleading information. Moreover, you will also want to consider limiting your liability in situations where you cannot place a candidate for any reason. This includes, for example, where they have unreasonable expectations or have a niche skillset. 

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Key Takeaways

As a recruitment agent, it is important to have a well-drafted recruitment agreement. This agreement should address the candidate’s obligations to prevent issues arising later. It also ensures that you have full cooperation from your candidates. By doing so, the agreement works to clarify expectations. Moreover, it protects you if you have a candidate that fails to provide sufficient or accurate information. If you are a recruiter providing support to candidates in finding employment, our experienced contract lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1800 534 315 or visit our membership page.