As an employer in the UK, you are responsible for recruitment fees. You can be forgiven for trying to find the cheapest service. Most recruitment businesses charge a percentage rather than flat fee. Hopefully, your decision won’t come down to a price war.
Regardless of the business you choose, fees are likely to be around 15-20% of the base salary. This could be up to 30% for niche or executive positions. You may want to shop around and negotiate a little BUT don’t make your decision purely a financial one.
Recruitment fees are usually categorised as:
- Contingent: The most common and straightforward. This is where a recruitment business only gets paid once a candidate accepts and starts the job.
- Retained: The fee is staggered throughout the process and allows the recruiter to spend more time delivering a high-quality service with the best options for you; as opposed to someone from their database.
