Terms of business
Introduction of candidates to clients for direct employment or engagement. These are our standard terms, published in full so you can read them before you call rather than after you have agreed to them.
This page is a faithful summary, not the contract. The executed Terms of Business are the signed document we will send you, and they govern. Every figure and clause number below is taken from that document so you can check one against the other; where the two ever differ, the signed document is the one that counts.
First Achieve Ltd, a company incorporated in Scotland under company number SC482585, registered office 4 Spiersbridge Way, Spiersbridge Business Park, Glasgow G46 8NG.
Fees and invoicing
| Clause | Term | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Introduction fee | 25% of the candidate's Remuneration for the first 12 months of the engagement, plus VAT where applicable. |
| 1 | What counts as Remuneration | Base salary or fees, guaranteed and anticipated bonus and commission, and any other guaranteed payments. Where a company car is provided, a notional £5,000 is added to the salary for the purpose of calculating the fee. |
| 5.2 | How long an introduction lasts | A fee is due where you engage a candidate we introduced, directly or indirectly, within 12 months of that introduction. |
| 6.2 | Payment terms | Within 7 days of the candidate's commencement date. |
| 5.6 | Fixed terms under 12 months | The fee applies pro-rata on a minimum period of six months, with a further fee if the engagement is extended or the candidate re-engaged within 12 months. |
| 5.7 | Withdrawn offers | Where you withdraw an offer already made to a candidate, a minimum fee of 4% of Remuneration is payable for the work done up to that point. |
| 8.6 | Our liability | Save as required by law, our aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the terms is limited to £10,000. |
| 9.2 | Ending the arrangement | Either party may terminate for convenience on 3 months' notice in writing, or immediately on insolvency. |
Rebates
Where a candidate’s employment ends inside the periods below, and every condition in clause 7.2 is met, this proportion of the introduction fee is rebated.
| Duration of employment | Percentage of fee rebated |
|---|---|
| Less than 2 weeks | 90% |
| 2 weeks to less than 4 weeks | 75% |
| 4 weeks to less than 8 weeks | 50% |
| 8 weeks to less than 12 weeks | 25% |
The conditions in clause 7.2
All of the following must be true for a rebate to be due.
- You tell us the employment has ended within 7 days of it ending, or within 7 days of notice being given, whichever is earlier, and tell us why.
- Our invoice for the fee was paid within the payment terms in clause 6.2.
- The employment was not ended by reason of redundancy, re-organisation or a change in your strategy.
- The employment was not ended for poor performance before any induction or training period had finished.
- Where the employment ended for misconduct, a rebate is due only where that misconduct was reasonably foreseeable by us.
- The candidate did not leave because the actual work was substantially different from what you described before they accepted.
- The candidate did not leave as a result of discrimination or other acts against them.
- The candidate had not been employed or hired by you, directly or indirectly, at any time in the 12 months before the employment started.
Where a client re-engages the candidate afterwards, on any basis, any rebate already paid is repaid to us immediately (clause 7.3).
Contingent + members rebate at 100% inside four weeks, stay covered to 16 weeks rather than 12, and are offered a free replacement search before drawing on any of it. The conditions above are unchanged.
See Contingent +Data protection
Candidate data is the most sensitive thing that moves between an agency and a client, so this clause is set out in full rather than summarised in a line.
We are a data controller. So are you. We are not joint controllers.
First Achieve is a data controller in respect of a candidate's personal data and provides that data to a client in accordance with data protection legislation for the purposes anticipated by the terms. A client is a data controller in its own right. The parties are not joint controllers as defined within data protection legislation, unless a specific agreement is made to that effect.
Both sides process lawfully, and both sides protect it
Each party warrants to the other that any personal data relating to a data subject, whether provided by the client, by us, or by the candidate, will be used, processed and recorded in accordance with data protection legislation. Both parties take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect all personal data against accidental loss, destruction or damage, alteration or disclosure.
We can refuse to share data, and we will
A client that requires personal data not already in its control must set out the legal basis for the request, and accepts that we may refuse to share or transfer that data where, in our reasonable opinion, doing so would not comply with our obligations under data protection legislation. A client must not cause us to breach ours.
A breach is reported to us immediately
A client that becomes aware of an actual or reasonably suspected personal data breach notifies us immediately, with a description of the breach, the categories of data involved and the identity of each data subject affected. It then assists us, at its own expense, to investigate and defend any claim or regulatory investigation, to remedy the breach and to prevent future breaches, and it publishes nothing about the breach without our prior written approval.
Candidate data is used for the vacancy and nothing else
A client agrees it will only process a candidate's personal data for the agreed purpose of introduction for a vacancy under the terms, and will provide evidence of its compliance on request.
Introductions are confidential
A client warrants that it will not, and will procure that its employees and agents will not, pass any information concerning a candidate to any third party. Introductions of candidates are confidential, and passing a candidate on without our prior written consent may put us in breach of the Conduct Regulations and of data protection legislation.
How we handle the personal data of candidates and site visitors is set out separately in our privacy policy.
Our obligations, and yours
We use reasonable endeavours to introduce at least one suitable person for each vacancy, and to make sure the information we give you about a candidate is accurate. We cannot guarantee to fill every vacancy, and we accept no responsibility for matters outside our knowledge, and you must satisfy yourself as to a candidate’s suitability (clauses 3 and 4.1). Work permits, medical checks, criminal-record and background checks and any other legal requirement in the country of work are the client’s responsibility.
If you already hold a candidate’s details from another source, tell us in writing within 3 working days with evidence that the earlier receipt relates to this vacancy, and no fee is due for that candidate. Without that notice, a fee is payable if you engage them (clauses 4.5 and 4.6).
Equal opportunities
First Achieve is committed to equal opportunities and expects every client to comply with all anti-discrimination legislation as regards the selection and treatment of candidates. A client must not, and must not seek to cause us to, unlawfully discriminate in relation to the services we provide.
Confidentiality
These terms are confidential and are not to be shared beyond a client’s own employees and professional advisers. No candidate’s details may be passed to a third party without our prior written consent, and where a third party then engages that candidate within 12 months, the full fee is payable with no entitlement to any rebate (clauses 5.1 and 11).
Liability
We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, and our aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these terms is limited to £10,000. Nothing in them excludes or restricts liability for personal injury, death or fraud directly caused by us (clause 8).
Governing law
These terms are construed in accordance with Scottish law, with the Courts of Scotland having exclusive jurisdiction. For the purposes of the terms, First Achieve acts as an employment agency as defined within the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
Getting a copy
We will send the full executed document before we start work on a vacancy. Ask any consultant, or get in touch and we will email it the same day. The page you are reading is a summary of that document and does not vary it.