Recruitment agency for permanent roles

Most permanent recruitment in the UK is on a contingency basis. The agency is paid only if you hire a candidate it introduced, usually a fee calculated on the successful candidate's starting salary. It suits roles where there is a reasonable pool of candidates, and you can brief more than one agency, although the same candidate introduced twice can cause disputes about who earned the fee.

Retained search, typical for senior and hard-to-fill roles, is paid in instalments: part at the start, part at shortlist, the rest on appointment. You get exclusivity and a structured search, including approaching people who are not looking for a job, which is what headhunting means. Executive search firms work almost entirely this way.

Recruitment process outsourcing hands part or all of your hiring to a provider for a period, often with its staff working inside your business. It is priced by the month or per hire and makes sense for high or ongoing volumes rather than a single vacancy.

The Conduct Regulations no longer prescribe the content of an agency's agreement with a client, so the terms are commercial. Read them before you receive CVs, because many terms say that accepting an introduction means accepting the terms.

The rebate or replacement clause decides what happens if your new hire leaves or is dismissed within an agreed period: a partial refund on a sliding scale, or a free replacement search. There is no standard period or scale; it is whatever you agree, and it usually applies only if you paid the fee on time.

Watch the definition of an introduction and how long it lasts. Some terms charge a fee if you hire a candidate the agency sent months earlier, even for a different role, or if the candidate joins a group company.

• fee basis: percentage, flat fee or staged retainer, and what salary it is calculated on
• when the fee is due and what triggers it
• rebate or replacement period and scale
• how long an introduction remains valid, and ownership disputes
• exclusivity, if any, and for how long
• how candidate data is handled under UK GDPR

In England, Wales and Scotland, recruitment is governed by the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. Northern Ireland has its own equivalent rules. An employment agency introduces candidates to you for permanent employment with you; an employment business supplies temporary workers it employs or engages itself. Many firms do both.

Agencies cannot charge candidates a fee for finding them work, except in a few prescribed cases, mainly in entertainment and modelling. They cannot penalise candidates for leaving them or insist on being told who their next employer is. Before introducing a candidate, the agency has to obtain enough information from you about the role, including the hours, location, any known health and safety risks and the qualifications or authorisations the job requires. It must also confirm the candidate's identity and that they have the experience, training and qualifications you consider necessary or the law requires.

Complaints about employment agencies now go to the Fair Work Agency. Outside the sectors covered by gangmasters licensing, agencies do not need a licence to operate in Great Britain, so a registered company is not proof of compliance; ask whether the agency belongs to a trade body with a code of practice.

Source: legislation.gov.uk

The Equality Act 2010 applies to the agency and to you. A job advert, a shortlist and a selection decision must not discriminate on grounds such as age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy or gender reassignment. An instruction to an agency to screen out a group of people is unlawful, and asking for it can make both of you liable. Describe the job, the skills and the requirements that are genuinely needed, and let the agency find people who meet them.

Right to work checks remain your responsibility as the employer, even when an agency has seen the candidate's documents. Do them for every new hire in the same way, before employment starts.

Source: legislation.gov.uk

Agencies work faster and fill roles better when they know what you actually need. Give the job title and a realistic description, the salary range and benefits, working pattern and location, whether hybrid or remote working is possible, the must-have skills and the nice-to-haves, the interview stages and who decides. Say how quickly you can give feedback; slow feedback is the most common reason good candidates drop out.

Be honest about difficulties. If the salary is below market or the commute is hard, the agency will find out from candidates anyway.

You tell us your company size, the job field, the number of vacancies, the type of employment, seniority and start date. After confirming your phone number with a code sent by text and your email address with a link, we offer the brief, without your name or contact details, to recruitment agencies covering your area. One agency buys it and pays Offrano; no other agency gets it after that. It costs you nothing.

We email you the agency's name, address and phone number before it receives your details, and you can withdraw consent at any time. An agency may not take the brief, and if none does within 21 days, it is withdrawn. You remain free to recruit directly or through other agencies. Offrano confirms that the agency is a registered business; its terms of business are between you and the agency.