Terms of Business – 2026
Definitions
- 1.1 In these Terms the following definitions apply:“Agency” means Pybus Recruitment Ltd.
“Applicant” means the person Introduced by Pybus Recruitment Ltd to the Client for an Engagement.
“Client” means the person, firm or corporate body together with any subsidiary or associated person, firm or corporate body (as the case may be) to which the Candidate is introduced;
“Engagement” means the engagement, (including the Candidate’s acceptance of the Client’s offer), employment or use of the Candidate by the Client or by any third party to whom the Candidate has been introduced by the Client, on a permanent or temporary basis, whether under a contract of service or for services; under an agency, licence, franchise or partnership agreement; or any other engagement; or through a limited company of which the Candidate is an officer, employee or other representative; and “Engage”, “Engages” and “Engaged” shall be construed accordingly;
“Engagement Commencement” means the commencement of an Engagement.
“Introduction” means (i) the passing to the Client of a curriculum vitae or information which identifies the Candidate or (ii) the Client’s interview of a Candidate (in person, by telephone or by any other means) following the client’s instructions to Pybus Recruitment Ltd to search for a candidate, and either case, which leads to the engagement of the candidate and “Introduces” and “Introduced” shall be construed accordingly.
“Introduction Fee” means the fee payable by the Client to the Agency on an Engagement calculated in accordance with clause 3.3.
“Basic Salary” includes annual gross base salary.
“OTE” refers to the advertised overall earnings for the vacancy.
“Terms” means these terms of business.
1.2 Unless the context requires otherwise, references to the singular include the plural and the masculine includes the feminine and vice versa.
1.3 The headings contained in these Terms are for convenience only and do not affect their interpretation.
The Contract
- 2.1 These terms of business and the attached Schedule(s) (“the Terms”) constitute the contract between the Agency and the Client for the introduction of permanent or contract staff (to be engaged directly by the Client) and are deemed to be accepted by the Client by virtue of an Introduction or the Engagement of a Candidate, or the passing by the Client of any information about a Candidate to any third party following an Introduction.
2.2 These Terms replace all previous agreements and contain the entire agreement between the parties in relation to the subject matter hereof and shall prevail over any other terms of business or purchase conditions (or similar) put forward by the Client. The Client acknowledges that it has not relied on any statement, promise or representation made or given by or on behalf of the Agency which is not set out in these Terms.
2.3 No variation or changes to these Terms shall be valid unless the details of such variation are agreed between a member/s of the Agency and the Client and are set out in writing and a copy of the varied terms is given to the Client stating the date on or after which such varied terms shall apply.
2.4 The Agency acts as an employment agency (as defined in Section 13(2) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973) when Introducing Candidates to the Client for direct Engagement by that Client.
2.5 It is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that only one agency is engaged in respect of the Engagement of a Candidate. The Client must inform the Agency immediately (and in any event prior to 12pm on the next business day) where it receives details of a Candidate from the Agency which it has already received from another agency.
Notification and Fees
- 3.1 The Client agrees to:
3.1.1 notify the Agency at once of the terms of any offer of an Engagement which it makes to the Candidate;
3.1.2 notify the Agency straight away that its offer of an Engagement to the Candidate has been accepted and to provide details to the Agency of the Basic Salary agreed with the Candidate together with any documentary evidence as requested by the Agency; and
3.1.3 pay the Introduction Fee, to be calculated in accordance with the provisions of this clause 3, by the due date of the payment as agreed by the agency and client.3.2 The Introduction Fee shall be payable if Engagement Commencement takes place within the period of 12 (twelve) calendar months from the last date of (i) the Introduction (ii) the Client’s withdrawal of an offer of Engagement (iii) the Candidate’s rejection of an offer of Engagement (iv) the last interview or other meeting or communication between the Client and the Candidate in the 6 (six) months following the Introduction.
3.3 The Introduction Fee is payable on Engagement Commencement and is calculated as follows:
| Fee calculated as a percentage of Basic Salary (or OTE if applicable), conditional on employment. | Rate |
|---|---|
| Standard Search Fee (Basic Salary up to £99.99k) | 12.5% |
| Executive Search Fee (Basic Salary over £100k) | 20% (10% on delivery of shortlist) |
* For a permanent (full-time or part-time) Engagement, Basic salary shall refer to annual Basic Salary (i.e., 12 months from Engagement Commencement).
For a fixed term (full-time or part-time) Engagement, Basic Salary shall refer to the Basic Salary for the relevant fixed term.
3.4 Where the actual Basic Salary is not known, the Agency will charge an Introduction Fee calculated in accordance with clause 3.3 based on either OTE or its determination of the Basic Salary considering the market rate level of Basic Salary applicable for the position in which the Candidate has been Engaged and regarding any information supplied to the Agency by the Client and/or comparable positions in the market generally.
3.5 Where before Engagement Commencement the Agency and the Client agree that the Engagement will be based on a fixed term of less than 12 months, the Introduction Fee will apply pro-rata. If the Client extends the Engagement beyond the initial fixed term or re-Engages the Candidate within 12 calendar months from the date of termination of the agreed period of the fixed term Engagement, then the Client shall be liable to pay a further Introduction Fee (pro-rata) based on the additional Basic Salary applicable for the extended hire period or the period of the second and any subsequent Engagement.
3.6 All fees are subject to be paid by 14 days after date of invoice. An additional charge of 2%pm of the outstanding balance is payable for any late invoices.
12 Weeks Placement Guarantee
4.1 In order to qualify for a free replacement, the client must pay the agency fee within 14 days from date of invoice. The client must also notify the agency in writing of termination of engagement.
4.2 If, after Engagement Commencement, the Engagement is terminated by either the Candidate or the Client before the expiry of 12 weeks from the date of Engagement Commencement then subject to the terms of clause 4.4, the Agency will refund an amount calculated as set out below:
4.4 In order to qualify for a free replacement set out in clause 4:
(A) the Candidate must not terminate/leave the Engagement because he/she reasonably believed that the nature of the actual work was substantially different from the information the Client provided before the Candidate accepted the offer of Engagement.
(B) the Candidate did not leave the Engagement as a result of discrimination or any such acts that effect the candidate’s rights and employment.
(C) the Candidate was not at any time in the 12 months prior to the Introduction employed or hired (whether on a permanent or contract basis) by the Client.
(D) the Engagement cannot have terminated (or offer of Engagement have been withdrawn) due to the role being made redundant.
(E) the Client must: (i) have complied and continued to comply with the provisions of clauses 3.1 and 3.6;
(ii) notify the Agency in writing of the termination of the Engagement within seven days of its termination.
4.5 If the client re engages the candidate within a period of 12 calendar months from the date of termination the rebate fee must be paid back in full to the agency. The client is no longer entitled to receive any further refunds in relation to that candidate.
Third Parties
The introduction of all candidates is strictly private and confidential between client and the agency. If at any time within the period of 12 calendar months the client discloses the candidate’s information to a third party, this shall be deemed as a third-party introduction. Under these circumstances the client will be liable to the agency for payment of an introduction fee subject to clause 3.
Suitability Checks
6.1 The Agency endeavours to ensure the suitability of Candidates Introduced to the Client to work in the position which the Client seeks to fill by taking reasonably practicable steps to:
(A) Confirm that the candidate is willing to work in the role offered by the client.
(B) Ensure that nothing is detrimental in the interest of either the candidate or client.
(C) Ensure that both the Client and Candidate are aware of any requirements imposed by law or by any professional body.
(D) Obtain all relevant documentation, outlining, the candidate’s identification, qualifications and authorisations that the client sees necessary by law or a professional body.
6.2 Notwithstanding clause 6.1 the Client shall be obliged to satisfy itself as to the suitability of the Candidate for the position they are seeking to fill. The Client is responsible for the following:
(A) Ensure that the candidates satisfy all necessary requirements and permission to work within the UK.
(B) taking up any references provided by the Candidate before Engaging the Candidate (Unless agreed otherwise by both client and the agency)
(C) arrangement of medical examinations and/or investigations into the medical history of any Candidate
(D) satisfying any medical and other requirements, qualifications or permission required for the Candidate to work in the Engagement.
6.3 In order to enable the agency to comply with its obligations under clause 6, as above, the Client undertakes to provide to the Agency details of the position which the Client seeks to fill, including the following information:
(A) The location and hours of work
(B) Type of work that the candidate is required to do
(C) Commencement date of employment
(D) The duration of engagement
(E) Any Health and safety risks that may affect the candidate’s employment, and steps that have been taken by the client to prevent or control these risks
(F) the minimum rate of Basic Salary, expenses and any other benefits that would be offered
(G) All expenses and other benefits that may be offered to the candidate
(H) the intervals of payment of Basic Salary
(I) The notice period required to be given by both client and candidate
(J) the experience, training, qualifications and any authorisation which the Client considers necessary, or which are required by law or any professional body for the Candidate to possess in order to work in the position.
Confidentiality & Data Protection
7.1 All the candidate’s information that is provided to the client is confidential and subject to Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
This information is provided solely for the purpose of providing work-finding services to the Client. Such information shall not be used or divulged to any third parties. The client agrees to abide by DPA and the provisions of GDPR in receiving and the processing of any data provided by the agency.
7.2 The Client undertakes that information relating to the Agency’s business is confidential and must be kept confidential and not divulged to any third party, except information which is in the public domain (through no fault of the Client or breach of this clause 7) or is required to be disclosed by law.
Liability
8.1 The Agency shall not be liable under any circumstances for any loss, expense, damage, delay, costs or compensation (whether direct, indirect or consequential) which may be suffered or incurred by the Client arising from or in any way connected with the Agency seeking a Candidate for the Client or from the Introduction of any Engagement of any Candidate by the Client or from the failure of the Agency to introduce any Candidate. Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude the Agency’s liability for death or personal injury arising from its own negligence or for any other loss which it is not permitted to exclude under law.
Notices
9.1 All notices which are required to be given in accordance with this Agreement shall be in writing and may be delivered personally or by first class prepaid post to the registered office of the party upon whom the notice is to be served or any other address that the party has notified the other party in writing, or by email. Any such notice shall be deemed to have been served: if by hand when delivered, if by first class post 48 hours following posting and if by email, when that email is sent.
9.2 If any of the provisions of these Terms shall be determined by any competent authority to be unenforceable to any extent, such provisions shall, to that extent, be severed from the remaining terms, which shall continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws.
9.3 No third party is intended to have any rights under or in connection with these Terms.
Governing Law & Jurisdiction
10.1 These Terms are governed by the law of England & Wales and are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England & Wales.