Recruitment Backdoor hiring- episode 1
Back door hiring effects many recruitment firms. This is where an employer takes on a candidate that you have introduced, without telling you, in an attempt to avoid paying the agreed fee
Backdoor hires like this can happen if you have sent a CV with the candidates’ personal details on them. It can also happen after the employer has interviewed a candidate. However it happens, you as the recruitment company are left feeling cheated.
I was previously a Credit Manager for a national recruitment firm who provided temps and perms to construction, engineering, and IT industries.
Subsequently, CMG UK has worked for many recruitment firms, with an excellent track record of getting our clients paid for backdoor hiring. As well as improving their ‘Order to Cash’ process, resulting in significant reductions in debtor days.
In this series of blogs, I will go through some case studies to show how we have helped our clients get paid for back door hiring with advice on how you can protect your own company and make sure you get paid.
The Debtor – Firm of solicitors
The Role – PI Solicitor
The debtor and our client entered discussions to provide candidates to expand the debtor’s PI department. The role was discussed, fees were agreed and one CV for a possible candidate was sent to the debtor. The CV was rejected by the debtor claiming the candidate did not have enough relevant experience.
Some months later the candidate was found to be working for the debtor in the role that was previously discussed with our client. An invoice was therefore raised for the discounted terms initially agreed.
The debtor refused to pay the fee stating they had initially rejected the candidate and they were entitled to subsequently change their mind, without incurring any fees from my client. They also stated the candidate was reintroduced to them by a friend of the candidate, who was an employee of the debtor.
Furthermore, our client’s terms and conditions stated that if a fee was not paid to terms, any discounts negotiated would be cancelled and the full fee at the contractual rate would be due. A second invoice was therefore raised for the difference between the contractual amount and the discounted amount.
A well worded Letter Before Action was sent to the debtor detailing what our client would rely on in court, bringing their attention to relevant clauses of our client’s terms and conditions.
There followed a rather heated email exchange between ourselves, acting on behalf of our client, and a director of the debtor. The debtor stated they would rigorously defend any claim and also claim their costs of dealing with the matter.
In a final attempt to shut our client’s claim down, the debtor said that the candidate had not given our client permission to submit his CV to the debtor and they would call the candidate as a witness if the matter went to court. The debtor was trying every bullying tactic in the book.
However, our client had taken our advice to confirm every conversation in writing and produced an email from the candidate, agreeing for his CV to be sent to the debtor. Once this email was received, the debtor paid the initial fee by bank transfer. This was followed by an email to our client stating the payment was in full and final settlement of the debt. On our advice, our client did not respond to the email but awaited confirmation that the payment had been received in their bank.
Once received a further Letter Before Action was sent to the debtor for the outstanding interest, compensation, and the 2nd invoice.
The debtor again objected saying they had made payment in final settlement; we confirmed that the final settlement had not been agreed and therefore the balance was due. They very reluctantly paid the balance of the whole outstanding debt including compensation & interest.
Important points
- Keep detailed notes & emails not only with your prospective client but also with candidates. Confirm conversations in emails.
- Ensure your terms and conditions state that acceptance of them are on receipt of any information that you provide, that identifies a candidate.
- Make sure that any discounts you agree from your standard rates are conditional on payment being received to the agreed payment terms. This will give you more leverage when negotiating payment.
If you are currently experiencing a situation such as described in this series of blogs, you might want to consider outsourcing your credit control to us.
We can also provide a review of your systems and processes and assist you to strengthen underperforming areas. Furthermore we can coach your staff to ensure you will always get paid for any back door hiring, whilst also promoting best practice. We can also assist you with specific back door hiring debts
Please contact us to discuss our services further on 03332 413 203. contact@cmgroupuk.com
Look out for our next case study with more advice to help you get paid for back door hiring.
