A terms of business template for recruitment agencies.
Plain-English terms for permanent placements, written for Australian agencies. Copy them or download them, fill in the highlighted blanks with your own numbers, and have a lawyer check them before you send them to a client.
01Before you use it
This is a starting point, not legal advice. Terms of business are a contract, and the right wording depends on your agency, your clients and your state or territory. Fill in the highlighted blanks, read every clause against how you actually work, and have a lawyer who knows recruitment review the result.
It covers permanent placements only. Temporary and contract placements need their own terms.
02The template
Copy it into your own letterhead, or download it as a text file. Everything in [square brackets] is yours to fill in.
[Agency name] Terms of Business
These terms apply to the permanent recruitment services that [Agency name] (ABN [ABN]) (“we”, “us”) provides to [Client name] (“you”).
Acceptance
- These terms apply as soon as you engage us, ask for details of a candidate, or interview a candidate we have introduced, whichever happens first.
- These terms apply instead of any terms you put forward, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Placement fee
- Our placement fee is [fee]% of the candidate’s first-year remuneration package, plus GST.
- The remuneration package is the base salary plus superannuation, and any bonus, commission, allowance or other benefit offered to the candidate for their first year.
- We invoice when the candidate accepts your offer. The fee is due within [number] days of the candidate’s start date.
- The fee applies if you, or a related entity, employ or engage a candidate we introduced within [12] months of the introduction, in any role and whether or not you do so through us.
Cancellation
- If you withdraw an offer after the candidate has accepted it, a cancellation fee of $[amount] plus GST applies.
Guarantee
- If the candidate leaves, or you end their employment, within [number] days of their start date, we will search for a replacement at no further fee, as long as:
- you paid our fee in full and on time;
- you tell us in writing within the guarantee period;
- the role was not made redundant or changed significantly in duties or pay; and
- you give us [28] days to find the replacement before you use another agency.
- The guarantee applies once per placement. If we can’t find a suitable replacement, we will [describe what you offer, such as a credit of the fee to use within a set time].
Candidates and confidentiality
- Candidate details we give you are confidential. You must not share them with anyone else without our written consent.
- If you pass a candidate’s details to another person or business that then employs or engages the candidate, you must pay our placement fee as if you had employed them.
- You must not contact a candidate’s referees or current employer without the candidate’s consent.
Your responsibilities
- We take care in selecting candidates, but we don’t guarantee their performance, conduct or how long they stay.
- You are responsible for confirming a candidate’s qualifications, work rights and suitability before you employ them.
General
- Either of us may end our arrangement by notice in writing. Fees already earned remain payable.
- These terms are governed by the laws of [state or territory].
- If any part of these terms is invalid or can’t be enforced, the rest continues to apply.
- These terms are the whole agreement between us about our services and replace anything said or written before.
- Notices must be in writing and may be sent by email to the addresses each of us provides.
Agreed for [Client name]
Signature
Name and position
Date
03Filling in the blanks
- Fee: a percentage of the first-year package. Keep the definition of the package as it is: “salary” alone is the most common thing fees are argued over.
- Payment days: counted from the start date, not the invoice date, so a slow start doesn’t eat into your terms.
- Introduction period: how long after an introduction a hire still earns your fee. Twelve months is common; pick a period you’d be comfortable defending.
- Cancellation fee: a fixed amount you’d accept for the work done when an accepted offer is withdrawn.
- Guarantee: the number of days, and what happens if no replacement is found. Say exactly what you offer, whether that’s a credit, a refund or another search.
- State or territory: usually the one your agency is based in.
04Clauses you may want to add
- Retainers, if you charge part of the fee up front for a search
- Exclusivity, if a client agrees to brief only you for a period
- Expenses, such as advertising or candidate travel you pass on
- Disputes, setting out how you’ll try to resolve one before going to court
- Temps and contractors, in a separate schedule with charge rates, timesheets and a conversion fee
05Getting it agreed
Send your terms to a named person who can agree to them, with that client’s own numbers filled in, before you send candidates. Keep the exact version they agreed to, and a record of who agreed and when. Our terms of business checklist goes through each clause and what it should answer.
Electronic signatures are valid for most business contracts in Australia under the Electronic Transactions Acts, provided the method identifies the signer and shows they intended to agree, is reliable enough for the purpose, and the other party consents to signing electronically.
Get your terms signed, not just sent.
Upload your terms and Koho splits them into clauses, fills in each client’s fee, payment days and guarantee, and keeps a full record of every signature.