Permanent placement checklist for recruitment agencies: first CV to invoice and rebate period

A permanent placement earns its fee over months, not on the day of the offer. The client has to have accepted the terms before the CV went over, the start date has to be on file, the invoice has to be paid on time and the candidate has to stay through the rebate period. This list follows one placement through all of it. It is written for an employment agency in England, Wales or Scotland placing candidates into permanent jobs with business clients. Use one list for each placement, starting on the day the role is taken on.

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Permanent placement checklist for agencies

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Before the CV goes to the client

Check the client's acceptance of your terms is on file before the first CV goes out Check the terms define an introduction, an engagement and the introduction period Agree terms with the candidate before you start looking for work for them Record the vacancy facts before anyone is put forward Software scores or sorts the applicants: tell candidates, and have a person read the reasons Drafting with ChatGPT: keep anything that identifies the candidate out of a personal account

The interview

Send the candidate and the client the same five facts, and file a one-line note Check the terms are accepted before the interview happens

At the offer

Confirm the candidate's identity and any qualification the law requires, and tell the client what you confirmed Remind the client that the right to work check is theirs, and is due before the first day Do not keep copies of the candidate's documents longer than your retention policy allows Get the salary the fee is worked from confirmed in writing Work out the fee and the VAT from the confirmed salary

The start date and the invoice

Confirm the start date with the client in writing on the day the candidate starts Raise the invoice when your terms say the fee falls due, usually the start date Print the rebate table with the date each band ends and file it with the accepted terms Diary the invoice's due date and the day after it

If the invoice is not paid on time

Send a plain reminder the day after the due date, with the invoice and the accepted terms attached Add statutory interest and the fixed sum, and send a new invoice for them Price the court claim before the final letter threatens one

During the rebate period

Candidate leaves: count the days from the start date to find the week and the percentage Check the rebate conditions before you pay one Invoice paid late: check whether the rebate has been lost Keep the placement records for at least 12 months after your last work-finding service

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A working list, not a certificate and not advice: the rule behind each step, with its source, is set out below.

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Before the CV goes to the client

Check the client's acceptance of your terms is on file before the first CV goes out. Since regulation 17 was removed on 8 May 2016 no regulation makes a hirer sign terms, so terms sent after the first CV leave you arguing for a fee nobody agreed to. Get a signature; failing that, a reply email saying agreed. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003; regulation 17 omitted on 8 May 2016 by SI 2016/510. The working is in Recruitment agency terms of business.

Check the terms define an introduction, an engagement and the introduction period. Fee disputes turn on those three definitions. The introduction period is typically twelve months; shorter ones lose fees to candidates who are found again on LinkedIn ten months later. Source: our terms of business guide; the period is contract, not statute. The working is in Recruitment agency terms of business.

Agree terms with the candidate before you start looking for work for them. GOV.UK says terms must be agreed with the work-seeker before any work-finding services are provided, and charging a work-seeker a fee for finding work is prohibited outside entertainment and modelling. Source: GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

Record the vacancy facts before anyone is put forward. GOV.UK's list includes the hirer's identity, the nature of its business, the start date and likely length, the position, the location, the hours, any health and safety risks and the qualifications needed. Source: GOV.UK, Employment agencies and businesses, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

Software scores or sorts the applicants: tell candidates, and have a person read the reasons. The ICO expects the privacy notice to say that AI assists screening, that a person decides and how to ask for a human-only review. A consultant who clicks through a ranked list has not reviewed it. Source: ICO, audit outcomes for AI recruitment tools, November 2024. The working is in AI CV screening and the ICO's rules.

Drafting with ChatGPT: keep anything that identifies the candidate out of a personal account. OpenAI's policy page, updated 13 March 2026, says conversations on its plans for individuals may be used to train its models unless the user opts out. A data processing addendum is offered only for its business plans and the API. Source: OpenAI, How your data is used to improve model performance. The working is in ChatGPT for recruiters.

The interview

Send the candidate and the client the same five facts, and file a one-line note. Date and time, length, format and place, interviewer, and what to prepare. Two emails written separately drift, and the file note is the record if either side later says they were told something else. Source: our interview confirmation template. The working is in Interview confirmation email template for recruiters.

Check the terms are accepted before the interview happens. With accepted terms the interview is itself evidence of an introduction under terms the client agreed. An interview arranged before terms are agreed is the one the client later says was free. Source: our interview confirmation template. The working is in Interview confirmation email template for recruiters.

At the offer

Confirm the candidate's identity and any qualification the law requires, and tell the client what you confirmed. Regulation 19 of the Conduct Regulations requires it even though you are not the employer. A line on a CV saying the candidate is eligible to work in the UK is the candidate's claim, not your confirmation; write what you saw and when. Source: Conduct Regulations 2003, regulation 19. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

Remind the client that the right to work check is theirs, and is due before the first day. For a permanent introduction the client is the employer and the check is the client's. A check done in week two gives no statutory excuse for week one, and a missed check can cost up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach. Source: Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

Do not keep copies of the candidate's documents longer than your retention policy allows. You are not a permanent candidate's employer, so the rule about keeping right to work records for two years after the engagement ends is not yours. Hold only what your own retention policy covers. Source: our right to work guide for agencies. The working is in Right to work check router for recruitment agencies.

Get the salary the fee is worked from confirmed in writing. The fee is a percentage of first-year remuneration as your terms define it: basic salary plus whatever else the clause lists. Where the salary is not disclosed, the terms should give a deemed figure. Source: our terms of business guide. The working is in Recruitment agency terms of business.

Work out the fee and the VAT from the confirmed salary. On a £38,000 salary at 18% the fee is £6,840, or £8,208 with VAT. The percentage is whatever your accepted terms say; no law sets it. Source: our fee and rebate calculator. The working is in Recruitment fee and rebate calculator.

The start date and the invoice

Confirm the start date with the client in writing on the day the candidate starts. Rebate bands are counted in days from the start date. A file note from the day the candidate started settles it when the client says week nine and your records say week seven. Source: our fee and rebate calculator. The working is in Recruitment fee and rebate calculator.

Raise the invoice when your terms say the fee falls due, usually the start date. For a permanent placement your terms decide when the fee falls due. Check the invoice names the right legal entity, carries any purchase order number and has the due date printed on it. Source: our late payment guide for recruitment fees. The working is in Client not paying a recruitment fee.

Print the rebate table with the date each band ends and file it with the accepted terms. A table turns a percentage for weeks five to eight into a date the client can see. Under a 100/50/25 scale a candidate who leaves in week 6 earns the client a £3,420 rebate on a £6,840 fee. Source: our fee and rebate calculator. The working is in Recruitment fee and rebate calculator.

Diary the invoice's due date and the day after it. With an agreed payment date the invoice is late the day after it. With none it is late 30 days after the client gets the invoice, or 30 days after the service was provided if that is later. Source: GOV.UK, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Client not paying a recruitment fee.

If the invoice is not paid on time

Send a plain reminder the day after the due date, with the invoice and the accepted terms attached. The first letter makes no threat and mentions no interest. It asks for payment within seven days or for the obstacle to be named, because a missing purchase order number is quicker to clear than a dispute. Source: our late payment guide for recruitment fees. The working is in Client not paying a recruitment fee.

Add statutory interest and the fixed sum, and send a new invoice for them. Unless your terms set their own rate, interest is 8% over Bank Rate, 11.75% a year for a debt that falls overdue between 1 July and 31 December 2026, plus a fixed £40, £70 or £100. GOV.UK says to send a new invoice when you add interest. Source: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; GOV.UK, Late commercial payments. The working is in Client not paying a recruitment fee.

Price the court claim before the final letter threatens one. The court fee is set by the amount claimed including interest: £455 for a claim of £5,000.01 to £10,000. On our £8,208 invoice, 45 days late, interest of £118.90 and the fixed £70 bring the claim to £8,396.90. Source: GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: court fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Client not paying a recruitment fee.

During the rebate period

Candidate leaves: count the days from the start date to find the week and the percentage. The rebate, the scale and any free replacement are whatever the accepted terms say; the law sets none of them. Scales in the trade commonly run 8 to 12 weeks. Source: our fee and rebate calculator; rebate scales are trade practice, not statute. The working is in Recruitment fee and rebate calculator.

Check the rebate conditions before you pay one. The usual conditions are that the invoice was paid within terms, the client told you in writing within seven days of the candidate leaving, and the leaving was not redundancy, restructure or a change to the role. Source: our terms of business guide. The working is in Recruitment agency terms of business.

Invoice paid late: check whether the rebate has been lost. A rebate conditional on payment within terms is lawful and common. If the invoice was paid late and the terms say so, nothing is due. Source: our fee and rebate calculator. The working is in Recruitment fee and rebate calculator.

Keep the placement records for at least 12 months after your last work-finding service. Records of candidates and clients must be kept for at least 12 months after you create them and at least 12 months after you last provided work-finding services. Source: GOV.UK overview of the Conduct Regulations 2003, read 1 October 2026. The working is in How to start a recruitment agency in the UK.

How to use the list

File the finished list with the accepted terms, the start-date note and the rebate table. If a step did not apply, such as the court claim on an invoice that was paid, tick it and move on; the point is that somebody decided. When a client disputes the fee or asks for a rebate months later, the dated list shows what was agreed, what was sent and when the candidate started. Clear the ticks and start again for the next placement.

A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for recruitment agencies: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them.