Your Tech Recruitment Partner for Lower-Risk Hiring
Deerfoot is a UK technology recruitment consultancy that shares the risk of a hire rather than passing it on. If a permanent hire leaves within six months you get 100% of the fee back, and you pay in two milestones as the hire proves out.
Hiring the right technology professional can transform an organisation. Hiring the wrong one is costly, disruptive and distracting. These terms exist to take the uncertainty out of the decision.
Six months. 100% refund. No sliding scale.
Our standard risk-sharing terms
Most agency rebates taper off inside the first twelve weeks. Ours does not. If a permanent hire resigns or is dismissed for performance within six months, you get the whole fee back, and you only pay in the first place once the hire is proving out. These are our standard permanent terms, backed by a 94% retention rate and a quality-first process.
What that means if a hire leaves in month four
The difference between a rebate and a refund shows up at exactly the point most hires go wrong: month three to month six, after the honeymoon and before the role has bedded in.
A typical agency rebate
Most rebates run on a sliding scale and are gone inside three months:
- Weeks 1 to 4: 100% of the fee
- Weeks 5 to 8: 50%
- Weeks 9 to 12: 25%
- Month 4 onwards: nothing
A month-four leaver usually means the fee is spent and the search starts again from zero.
Schedules vary by agency. This is a common pattern, not a specific competitor.
With Deerfoot
One flat guarantee for the whole settling-in period:
- Months 1 to 6: 100% of the fee refunded if the hire resigns or is dismissed for performance
- A month-four leaver: the whole fee back
- Billing: 50% at four weeks, 50% at three months, nothing before
- After month six: the settling-in risk has largely passed, and the guarantee has done its job
You decide whether to re-brief us. Nothing is owed until the next hire is in and proving out.
Why we can back these terms
Terms like these only work if hires stay. Ours do: in our most recent audited period, 94% of the permanent hires we placed were still in post twelve months later.
- 19 years' average experience per consultant
- UK technology recruitment specialists since 1997
- Candidate networks built over decades, not pulled from job boards
Every shortlist comes from full market mapping of active and passive candidates, a multi-step assessment, and vetting of references, qualifications and background before you see a CV. Short video interviews are available on request.
A partnership, not a transaction
Risk-sharing only works when both sides hold up their end. We put time and money into mapping the whole market for every brief and keep you informed in good faith; in return we ask for a few things that keep the process moving. Neither list is long.
What we commit to
- Map the whole market for every brief, active and passive candidates
- Multi-step assessment and full vetting before you see a CV
- Straight, regular updates, including when the news is not good
- Short video interviews on request
What we ask of you
- 14 days' informal exclusivity on the brief
- Prompt feedback on every candidate we send
- Interviews within five days of shortlisting
- A ten-minute catch-up each week while the search is live
Questions about the guarantee and billing
What is the difference between a rebate and a refund guarantee?
A rebate is a sliding scale: the agency returns a shrinking share of the fee the longer the hire lasts, and most schemes reach zero inside three months. A refund guarantee is flat. If the hire leaves within the guarantee period, the whole fee comes back. Ours runs for six months.
When do I pay?
Nothing on the start date. 50% of the fee is invoiced after four weeks and the remaining 50% at three months. If the hire has already left by either point, that invoice is not raised.
What happens if the hire leaves in month four?
You get 100% of the fee back, whether they resigned or you dismissed them for performance. You then decide whether to brief us again. If you do, nothing is owed until the replacement is in post and proving out.
Does the refund apply if we withdraw or change the role?
The guarantee covers the hire leaving or being dismissed for performance within six months. If the role itself is withdrawn or changes materially, talk to us. We would rather agree something fair than hide behind small print.
Does it cover contract and interim staff?
The refund guarantee applies to permanent placements. Contractors are engaged through FCSA-accredited arrangements with the IR35 position settled before they start, and are billed on timesheets in the normal way.
Is there a catch?
Only the commitments above: 14 days' informal exclusivity, prompt feedback, interviews within five days of shortlisting and a weekly ten-minute catch-up while the search is live. There is no minimum fee level and no extra charge for the guarantee.
How is the 94% retention figure measured?
It is the share of permanent placements still in post twelve months after their start date, across our most recent audited period. It is checked as part of our ISO 9001 audit by BSI.
How we do business
Deerfoot is a Certified B Corporation™ and a Living Wage Employer, ISO 9001 certified and audited by BSI, a REC corporate member, an FCSA Recruiter Partner and Cyber Essentials certified. Every CV we send funds a £1 donation to the Born Free Foundation, our carbon is offset through Ecologi, and each month we fill one IT vacancy for a UK charity or non-profit fee-free. More about how we work.
A smarter way to de-risk your next tech hire
If you are comparing UK IT recruitment agencies, ask each one the same two questions: what happens to the fee if the hire leaves in month four, and when do you invoice? Our answers are a full refund and not until the hire is proving out.
Partner with Deerfoot for candidates who are not on the job boards, hires that stay, and terms that put our fee at risk before yours.
