Put recruiter commission rules in writing before disputes start over placements and payouts

Recruitment incentives can become contentious when the plan does not clearly say when commission is earned, whether payment depends on invoices being paid, how replacement placements are treated, or what happens if more than one recruiter worked on the deal. A short or generic plan can leave too much to custom and practice, which is where disagreements often start. A better-drafted document sets out the rules for common agency scenarios so managers and recruiters are not left arguing about assumptions after revenue has already been booked.

That depends on your model, but common areas include eligibility, commission triggers, timing of payment, thresholds, team splits, house accounts, clawbacks, candidate refunds or drop-offs, treatment of delayed client payments, and what happens during notice periods or after employment ends. Some agencies also need the plan to work alongside bonus structures or different desk types. We look at the core document and how those rules operate together, rather than treating commission as just a single percentage on placements.

Important details include how your recruiters are engaged, what counts as a successful placement, when revenue is recognised internally, whether there are temp and permanent desks, and how your agency handles shared candidates or shared clients. The factual working arrangement can matter as much as the wording, so we also need to understand how decisions are made in practice. If your business collects, uses and shares candidate or client information in particular ways, that can also affect the surrounding drafting and risk points.

Usually that is risky. Recruitment commission plans often deal with issues that do not appear in a standard sales incentive document, such as replacement promise, fallovers, rebate periods, split ownership of a placement, and disputes over who introduced or managed the candidate. A generic template may not match your agency's workflow or records. This service helps test whether your current wording fits the actual way your team places candidates and earns commission, and whether the plan needs more precise drafting.

Timing depends on whether you need a fresh plan drafted or an existing one reviewed, and on how complex your commission model is. A straightforward plan is usually quicker than one covering multiple desks, layered incentives or several exception rules. Once we have the relevant documents and background, we can confirm likely turnaround. After the work is completed, we will talk you through the main drafting choices or review points so you can decide whether to adopt the plan as is or make further changes.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Recruiter Commission Plan 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 operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.