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Recruiter loses dispute over unpaid temp-to-perm fee

A recent tribunal ruling over a recruiter's unpaid placement fee serves as a "101" lesson in avoiding temp-to-perm disputes, a lawyer says.

The case involved a "small claim" lodged by labour hire company For Staff Solutions (FSS), after one of its clients directly employed a former on-hire employee but failed to pay a placement fee.

FSS had on-hired the particular employee (and others) to its client in October 2019, and the relevant invoice was paid, although the client did not sign FSS's contract until December that year.

In March 2020, the client ceased using FSS to provide its workers and subsequently, in about September 2020, FSS learned that the client had hired the worker directly as its employee.

FSS argued a placement fee of $5,187.60 was payable, based on a term in its contract...