Recruiter Guarantee Periods: What Employers Should Ask

Refund vs replacement guarantee

Most guarantees take one of two forms, and some agreements combine them.

• A replacement guarantee means the agency runs a new search for the same role and does not charge a second fee for the replacement. You pay nothing extra, and you get no money back.
• A refund guarantee returns some or all of the fee. Some agreements refund in full inside the window. Others prorate the refund, so the amount goes down the longer the hire stayed.
• A credit is a middle option: the agency keeps the fee but applies some of it to a future placement.

A 2025 article in Insurance Journal by a search consultant advises that the contract should state which form the guarantee takes, a free replacement or a refund, and notes that higher fees tend to come with bigger guarantees. A replacement is only useful if the agency can actually fill the role again, so ask how long the original search took before you rely on one.

Common guarantee lengths and what starts the clock

There is no standard length, and published sources disagree. The same Insurance Journal article says guarantees start on the candidate's first day of employment and run between 30 and 180 days. A review of agency agreements by the law firm Gordon Feinblatt, written in 2017, said most agency contracts gave only a 30 or 60 day window and recommended that employers ask for six months to a year. Treat any figure you see as a starting point for negotiation.

The start date matters as much as the length. Check whether the clock starts on the offer date, the acceptance date, the first day of work or the date the invoice is paid. A 60-day guarantee that starts when the offer is accepted can be half gone before a hire with a long notice period walks in the door.

• Ask whether the window is counted in calendar days or working days.
• For hourly and shift roles, ask whether a hire who never shows up on day one counts as a placement at all.
• If you hire several people from one search, confirm that each hire has its own window.

Exclusions and conditions to read closely

Most of the risk sits in the exceptions. A generous window means little if the reason your hire left is excluded.

• Reason for leaving. Some guarantees cover resignation and dismissal for performance or conduct but exclude layoffs, restructuring or the role being eliminated. Gordon Feinblatt's review suggested seeking a refund if the employee resigns or is terminated for reasons other than lack of work.
• Changes to the job. If you change the pay, hours, location or duties after the hire starts, some agreements treat that as voiding the guarantee.
• Payment terms. The Insurance Journal article advises checking for late fees, interest charges and conditions that void the guarantee. Paying an invoice late can cancel your protection under some contracts.
• Notice to the agency. Some agreements require you to tell the agency within a set number of days after the hire leaves.
• Rehiring. If the candidate later comes back to you, or joins a related company, check whether a fee becomes due again.

Our guide to how contingency recruitment works covers the rest of a typical agreement, including when the fee is earned and how candidate ownership works.

When is a recruiter's fee due?

The payment date and the guarantee work together. Gordon Feinblatt's review noted that some agreements require payment as soon as the candidate accepts the offer, and recommended paying the full fee within a set number of days after the employee begins work instead. If the fee is due before the start date and the hire never arrives, you are relying on the agency's refund process to get your money back.

Ask for the payment trigger in writing, alongside the guarantee clause, and make sure the two do not contradict each other.

What to do if a placed hire leaves early

1. Check the agreement the same day: the window, the remedy, the covered reasons and the notice deadline.
2. Tell the agency in writing, with the hire's start date, last day and the reason they left if you know it.
3. Ask what went wrong. A good recruiter will want to know whether the issue was the schedule, the pay, the work or the team, because that changes how they search again.
4. Agree the timeline for a replacement search, or the refund amount and date, in writing.
5. Look at your own first weeks. Sometimes the cause is the first weeks on the job. Our guide to reducing early turnover among hourly employees covers what to check.

Questions to ask before you sign

• How long is the guarantee, and on what date does it start?
• Is the remedy a replacement, a refund, a prorated refund or a credit?
• Which reasons for leaving are covered and which are excluded?
• What would void the guarantee, including late payment or changes to the role?
• How quickly do I need to notify you if a hire leaves?
• When is the fee due, and is it due before or after the start date?
• How long did similar searches take, if you need to run a replacement?

Ask the same questions of every agency you talk to, so you are comparing like with like. Our article on using a recruitment agency vs hiring in-house can help you decide which roles to outsource in the first place.

How Optihire Staffing sets its terms

Optihire Staffing works on a contingency basis: you pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to terms we agree with you in writing before any work starts. Those terms cover the fee, when it is due and what happens if a placement does not work out. Ask us to walk you through them, and use the questions above when you do.

See our recruitment services and the employer page for how we work, or submit your hiring requirements and we will follow up with our terms for your roles.