A placed candidate quit during the guarantee: what to do next
A placed candidate quit inside the guarantee period. A 48-hour checklist, a client call script and the check-ins that help prevent the next early exit.
By the Recruiting ATS team (How we write)Published 7 min read
The email lands on a Tuesday morning: "Sam handed in her notice yesterday. Can we talk?" Sam started 52 days ago and your guarantee runs 90. What you do in the next 48 hours decides whether you keep the fee, the client, or both.
The order matters. Get the facts, read your own terms, talk to the candidate, then call the client with a plan. The fastest way to give away more than you owe is to agree to something on the phone that the contract never required.
Get the facts before anyone gets defensive
Write down four things before you call anyone:
- The dates. Start date, the day notice was given and the last working day. Your terms should say which one counts against the guarantee. If they don't, expect the client to use whichever date falls inside the period.
- Why they left. Resigned, dismissed for performance, or let go in a restructure. A well-written guarantee treats each one differently.
- Payment status. Was the fee paid, and was it paid on time?
- What changed. Is it still the role, manager, salary and location in the offer?
The 48-hour checklist
First four hours
- Reply to the client in writing: you've seen it, you'll call today.
- Pull the signed terms and read the guarantee clause word for word.
- Check the invoice: amount, due date, date paid.
- Work out the guarantee window and where the notice date and last day fall in it.
- Call or message the candidate.
Same day
- Call the client (script below).
- Agree the remedy in principle: replacement, credit or refund, whatever the terms say.
- Write down what each side told you, with the date, in the candidate's and the placement's records.
Within 48 hours
- Send the client a written summary: what happened, what the terms say, what you'll do and by when.
- Reopen the search and book a short intake with the hiring manager.
- Contact the runners-up from the original shortlist.
- If a credit or partial refund applies, issue a credit note. Don't quietly edit the old invoice.
Hold the facts against your clause before you promise anything
With the facts written down and the signed terms open, match one to the other:
| What you found | What it means for the guarantee |
|---|---|
| The fee is unpaid, or was paid after the due date | If your terms tie the guarantee to on-time payment, it doesn't apply. Say so in writing, calmly, before anything else. |
| The client changed the role, salary, manager or location after the start | It's no longer the job you recruited for. Excluded if your clause covers material changes. |
| Redundancy, restructure, or a dismissal unrelated to performance | Not a placement failure. Excluded if your clause says so. |
| The client told you later than the notice window in your terms | Read the exact wording. Refusing a guarantee over a few days' delay will usually cost you the client. |
| None of the above | The guarantee applies. |
If your terms say nothing about one of these cases, they won't protect you now. Make a note to add it before the next client signs.
If the guarantee applies, honor it quickly and without haggling. A client who watched you stand behind your guarantee without a fight is a client who briefs you on the next role. If you're rethinking which kind of guarantee to offer from now on, compare replacement, refund and pro-rata guarantees.
Talk to the candidate first
Call the candidate before the client if you can. You want their side: what was promised, what turned out to be different, whether they already have another offer, whether anything could change their mind. Now and then a resignation is a reaction to one bad week, and a conversation with the manager fixes it.
Don't rush to place them with another client this month, even if your terms allow it. The client will hear about it, and it will look as if you pulled the hire out.
Keep the tone kind. You may want to place this person again in two years, and how you treat them this week is what they'll remember.
The client call: a script
Adapt it, don't read it.
Open: "Thanks for telling me straight away. I'm sorry this happened. Before we talk about next steps, can you walk me through the last few weeks from your side?"
Ask: "When did she give notice, and what's her last day? Did anything change in the role or the team since she started?"
Share what you heard: "I spoke with Sam this morning. Her version is that the job turned out to be mostly [X], not the [Y] we talked about at intake. Does that match what you're seeing?"
State the terms plainly: "She's inside our 90-day guarantee, so we'll run a replacement search at no fee. I'd like to start this week."
Fix the brief: "Before I go back to the market, is there anything about the role we should change? If the job is different from the one we briefed, I'd rather find the right person than the same profile twice."
Close with dates: "I'll send you a summary today and aim to have candidates to you by [date]. Who else should be in the loop?"
If the client asks for money back instead of a replacement, don't argue on the call. Say you'll check the terms and come back the same day, then answer in writing with what the contract says and what you can offer.
Run the replacement search
Start with what you already have. The runners-up from the first shortlist were interviewed recently, and some may still be available. Call them before you source anyone new.
Then question the brief. If the first hire left because the job wasn't what the client described, the same brief will produce the same result. Ask what the person actually does day to day, who they really report to, and what the first hire struggled with.
Agree in writing how long the replacement search runs and whether the replacement hire carries a guarantee of its own. One free replacement per fee is a fair line.
Adjust the invoice the right way
- Replacement, fee already paid: no change to the invoice. Link the new placement to the original in your records so nobody invoices it twice.
- Fee still unpaid or overdue: settle that before the replacement search starts. If your terms tie the guarantee to on-time payment, it may not apply at all.
- Credit or partial refund: issue a credit note for the exact amount that references the original invoice. Your accountant gets a clean trail and so does the client.
Check-ins that help prevent the next one
A resignation on day 52 often started as a bad week on day 20. Scheduled check-ins give you a chance to hear about it while you can still help. Example schedule for a 90-day guarantee:
| When | Ask the candidate | Ask the client |
|---|---|---|
| End of week 1 | Is the job what you expected? Do you have what you need: access, equipment, a first project? Have you had a real conversation with your manager yet? | How was the first week? Anything we should pass on? |
| Day 30 | What takes up most of your time? Is anything different from what you were told at the offer? Is anyone else approaching you about roles? | Is performance where you expected? Anything you've raised with them that hasn't changed? |
| Day 60 | If a recruiter called you tomorrow, would you take the call? What would make you stay two years? | Any changes coming to the team, the role or the reporting line? |
| A week before the guarantee ends | A short call: how is it going? | Confirm everything is on track, and ask about the next search |
Put these dates in your calendar on the day the candidate starts. The exact questions matter less than the habit: a hire who knows you'll call on day 30 tells you about the problem on day 30, not on the day they resign.
Recruiting ATS shows the guarantee expiry on every placement and alerts you when a guarantee is about to end and when a start date is coming up, so the first and last check-ins don't depend on someone remembering. Notes on the candidate keep what each side said in one place, in case the guarantee is ever questioned.