Put your referral terms in writing for recruitment and HR work

This service centres on the agreement itself. We draft a referral contract for your HR or recruitment consultancy based on your referral model, including points such as when a fee is earned, whether repeat placements are covered, how long referral protection lasts, and who owns the client or candidate relationship after an introduction. The fixed-fee covers the drafting work and the inclusions listed on this page. It does not cover ongoing HR management, representation in disputes, technical implementation or tax advice connected with the arrangement.

Referral arrangements in this sector can become messy quickly if the document does not deal with real-world scenarios. Common pressure points include disputed fee entitlement, overlapping introductions, direct approaches to candidates, and disagreement about whether a placement came from the referral partner's efforts. A written agreement helps record the commercial deal before those issues arise. It can also address confidentiality and privacy handling where candidate or employee information is shared, although the service helps you assess and reduce risk rather than promising compliance in every situation.

Most agreements in this area cover the referral process, what counts as a successful introduction, when referral fees are payable, invoicing and payment timing, exclusivity or non-circumvention terms if relevant, confidentiality, privacy-related obligations, liability allocation, and termination. Depending on your model, the document may also deal with candidate ownership, client ownership, replacement periods, restrictions on direct dealing, and what happens if the same lead is introduced by more than one source. The right approach depends on the working arrangement, documents and factual context.

The drafting usually turns on how your consultancy operates in practice. For example, there is a difference between referring business leads to another consultancy, introducing candidates to a recruiter, or passing client work between HR advisers with different service lines. We will usually need to know who makes the introduction, what information is shared, whether fees are one-off or recurring, how success is measured, and whether there are existing client terms in the background. Those practical details often matter just as much as the wording of the referral clause itself.

Off-the-shelf wording can help you see the usual structure, but it may not deal with the facts that make your arrangement different. However, it often stays too generic for recruitment and HR arrangements. It may not deal properly with candidate ownership, repeat placements, replacement periods, privacy handling, or situations where the parties both have contact with the same client. Templates also tend to assume a simple referral chain when the real arrangement is more layered. A tailored agreement is useful where your fee model, information flows or relationship boundaries are commercially important, especially if sensitive candidate or employee information may be shared between businesses.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Recruitment And HR Referral Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.