A recruiter's terms of business are a contract. Most firms read the fee and skim the rest. The rest is where the money and the risk sit. It decides what counts as an introduction, how long it lasts, what a rebate needs and whether you may use anyone else.
This guide is neutral. It explains each clause, what to ask and what to push back on. It does not say what a fair percentage is, because there is no standard one. Published terms quoted here belong to the agencies named, with their dates. For the published ranges, read how much legal recruitment agencies charge first.
What does a recruiter's terms of business usually contain?#
Nine clauses carry most of the weight. The table puts each in plain words, with the question to ask. The REC's guide says terms for permanent work should be agreed in writing before the agency first provides services. They should cover the type of service, how fees are calculated and how a refund or rebate is worked out. That is guidance to its members, not a rule for every agency.
| Clause | In plain words | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | What you owe on a hire, usually a percentage of salary. | A percentage of what: salary only, or the whole package? Is there a minimum? |
| Introduction | What counts as the agency having put a candidate to you. | Is it a CV sent with your agreement, or any mention of a name? |
| Introduction period | How long after an introduction a hire still earns the fee. | How many months, and does it restart? |
| Exclusivity | Whether you may use other agencies for the role. | Which roles, how long and what is the exit? |
| Retained or contingent | Whether you pay in stages or only on a hire. | What is paid at the start, and is any of it refundable? |
| Rebate | Money back, or a replacement, if the hire leaves early. | Which dates, what share and what must I do to claim? |
| Payment | When the invoice is due. | On start date or on acceptance? Are instalments allowed? |
| CV rules | How CVs reach you and who else may see them. | Does each candidate agree first? What happens to a duplicate? |
| Non-solicitation | Whether either side may approach the other's staff. | Is it mutual, and for how long? |
What counts as an introduction, and how long does it last?#
An introduction is whatever the contract says it is. The introduction period is the time during which hiring that person still earns the agency a fee. Both come from the agency's wording, so read them before the fee.
One published example helps. Reed is a large general recruiter, not a legal specialist. This is an example, not a norm. Its permanent terms, effective 1 April 2025, define an introduction as giving the client any details of a candidate, written or oral. A client interviewing the candidate also counts. A fee is due if the client engages the candidate in any capacity within one year. It is also due if the client refers the candidate to a third party who engages them. This is the version effective 1 April 2025, and its PDF is no longer at its original address. Check Reed's current terms before you rely on any figure here.
Wording like that has three effects. A name mentioned on a call can start the clock. "In any capacity" can reach locum work. Passing a candidate to another firm can trigger the fee.
Duplicates need a plan too. The REC's guide says first come, first served is not necessarily how to decide which agency introduced a candidate. In its view, the agency you have clearly contracted with for that vacancy is more likely to be found to have introduced them. That is guidance to members, not a ruling.
What to ask for. An introduction defined as a CV sent to you, in writing, for a named role, with the candidate's agreement. A stated period. A carve-out for people already on your database or who applied to you direct.
Should you give a recruiter exclusivity?#
Only for a role that is hard to fill, such as a senior conveyancing hire, for a set period and in return for something concrete. No published guidance from the REC or the Law Society on exclusivity clauses turned up in our search, so this section is questions, not a standard.
Contingent means you pay when you hire. Retained means you pay in stages, with part due before any hire. Published examples of staged payment exist. One agency's page lists a headhunting fee from £2,000 plus VAT per vacancy, paid in advance, then 18% on a placement. Reed's permanent terms allow a deposit that is non-refundable, with the balance due when the candidate starts.
Is it a role an advert alone is unlikely to fill?
YesA limited exclusive or a retained search can make sense. Agree a period, a shortlist date and an exit.
NoStay contingent. Use more than one agency if you wish, with a rule for duplicate CVs.
Has the agency read the role and told you what the market holds?
YesIt has earned the conversation. Ask for exclusivity in writing, for this one role.
NoDo not agree yet. Ask for the market read first.
Will it commit to something in return?
YesPut it in the terms: a named contact, a shortlist date, no advert without your approval.
NoTreat exclusivity as a request, not a trade.
Can you leave if there is no shortlist by an agreed date?
YesGood. Write the date down.
NoDo not sign.
Check the edges. Does your own advert count under the clause? Do referrals from your staff? If both do, you cannot hire anyone you find yourself.
On this siteWeigh the fee against a hire that failsThe calculator shows each part of the bill, so you can see what a rebate window is worth to you. Nothing you type is sent or stored.Run the numbersWhat does a rebate cover, and what triggers it?#
A rebate is money back, or a replacement, if the hire leaves early. The REC's complaints page says agencies are not legally required to offer one. If an agency does, its terms should say clearly when and how. The window matters because early leavers are not rare.
41%
of UK employers that had selected candidates in the previous 12 months said new recruits always, mostly or sometimes resigned within the first 12 weeks. About 754 to 784 respondents answered, from a CIPD survey of 1,016 UK HR and resourcing decision-makers, April 2024, all sectors.
27%
said selected candidates always, mostly or sometimes failed to turn up on their first day. Same survey and base.
Those figures cover every sector, not law.
A directory of ten legal recruitment agencies, accurate as of June 2020, gives the spread. It is run by the Ten Percent Group, whose own agency is listed with featured placement. Rates will have moved since.
- Up to 8 weeks4 agencies
seven or eight weeks
- 10 to 13 weeks3 agencies
- 100 days1 agencies
about 14 weeks
- 6 months1 agencies
- 12 months1 agencies
Source: Directory of legal recruitment agency fees, June 2020
The directory shows two ways of repaying. One agency offers a replacement first and a refund only if it cannot supply one. Another allows 13 weeks to find a replacement before it refunds. Ask which remedy you get.
Conditions matter as much as the window. Reed's published terms show how a scale can look.
| Service level | Fee on salary | Full rebate if the hire leaves | Half rebate if the hire leaves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 22% | In the first 2 weeks. | After week 2, up to week 8. |
| Advanced | 25% | In the first 4 weeks. | After week 4, up to week 12. |
| Premium | 27% | In the first 6 weeks. | After week 6, up to 26 weeks. |
The same terms attach conditions. No rebate is due if the person leaves through redundancy or a material change to the role. None applies if the invoice is unpaid, or if the client does not tell Reed in writing within seven days of the person leaving.
What to ask for. A sliding schedule, not a single cliff. A notice requirement of weeks, not days. A choice between replacement and refund. Wording on what happens if the replacement also leaves.
How do payment terms, CV rules and non-solicitation work?#
Payment terms say when the invoice is due and what else you may owe. CV rules say how candidates reach you. Non-solicitation says who may approach whose staff.
Payment. In the 2020 directory, invoices fell due from 7 to 30 days, and minimum fees ran from £1,000 to £3,500. Reed's permanent terms set payment within 14 days of receipt and a minimum fee of £2,000. They charge 50% of the fee if the client withdraws an accepted offer. They define salary to include commission, bonuses and benefits. Check how salary is defined and what is owed if the candidate never starts.
CV rules. The REC's guide tells members to confirm with clients that every candidate they submit has given permission. It adds that agencies sending unsolicited CVs may be breaching the REC Code. Ask for CVs to arrive only for a named role, with the candidate's agreement.
Non-solicitation. The REC's guide tells members to have a policy on not targeting client companies for search, ideally for 12 months after last providing services. The clause can run the other way: an agency's terms can charge the client for hiring one of the agency's own staff. Ask for the clause to be mutual and to say how long it lasts. A firm keeping its conveyancers has good reason to ask.
What does UK law say about these terms?#
Very little about a permanent placement fee. GOV.UK calls fee levels a commercial business-to-business agreement. The Conduct Regulations do not set the amount, and the rule that required employment businesses to agree terms with hirers has been removed.
That rule was regulation 17. As made in 2003 it applied to agencies and employment businesses alike. From 1 October 2010 it applied to employment businesses only, which supply temporary workers. It was omitted from 8 May 2016. GOV.UK describes no standard set of terms for hirers.
One rule does bite if you use temps or locums. Under regulation 10, a transfer fee for taking a temporary worker on directly is unenforceable outside the relevant period. That is the later of eight weeks after the worker last worked for you through the agency, or 14 weeks from the first day of work. GOV.UK adds that you must be offered an extended period of hire as an alternative. It applies to employment businesses, not to permanent introductions.
The REC says it cannot get involved in contractual disputes, so negotiate before you sign. This is a guide, not legal advice. A law firm has people who read contracts for a living. Use one.
What can you negotiate, and what are the red flags?#
Much of it, though a large agency may not move. Ask, then record every change in writing. The REC's guide says a verbal change should be confirmed in writing with the date it takes effect. It also says members should try to get a signed agreement.
What to challenge
- An introduction that includes any spoken mention of a name.
- An introduction period with no stated end, or one that restarts.
- Fee due on acceptance with no refund if the person never starts.
- A rebate that ends in a few weeks and lapses if you tell them late.
- Exclusivity across all roles with no exit.
- Terms that bind you by dealing with the agency, as Reed's published terms do.
- Non-solicitation that binds only you.
What to ask for
- An introduction defined as a CV sent with your agreement for a named role.
- A fixed period, in months, from the date the CV was sent.
- Fee due on the start date.
- A sliding schedule, a fair notice period and a choice of refund or replacement.
- One role, a stated period, a shortlist date and a way out.
- Terms agreed in writing before any CV is sent.
- A mutual clause with a stated length.
Which questions should you ask before you sign recruiter terms?#
Ask the fourteen below, and ask for the answers by email.
At Wilson Mannion, a named person looks after your role and terms are agreed in writing before any CV is sent. A written market read comes before a firm pays anything. This article does not set out those terms, and it is not a quote. The right terms depend on the role and the firm. See the case studies for how searches have run. The checklist for law firms covers the rest of the comparison. For the lawyer's side of the same questions, read what to ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV. The employers page says how a search runs.
On this siteTalk through your terms in a 30-minute meetingBring any terms you have been sent. You get a written market read before you pay anything.Book a callSources
- GOV.UK: Overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003 (page updated 22 June 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 10 (restriction on charges to hirers)
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 17 (omitted from 8 May 2016)
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 28 (confidentiality)
- REC: Code of Professional Practice, guide to compliance (PDF; its file properties show October 2020)
- REC: Compliance Assessment Guidance (PDF; its file properties show July 2022)
- REC: Complaints FAQs
- Reed: Employment Agency Terms of Business, permanent staff section (version effective 1 April 2025; original PDF no longer online, link removed)
- Directory of legal recruitment agency fees, rates accurate as of June 2020 (run by the Ten Percent Group)
- Ten Percent Legal Recruitment: its own published fees (page shows copyright 2024, no update date)
- CIPD with Omni RMS: Resourcing and talent planning report 2024 (survey by YouGov, April 2024)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.