Guarantee period: how placement guarantees work
What a placement guarantee period is, why the clock should start on the first day of work, what it covers and the conditions that usually void it.
By the Recruiting ATS team (How we write)Published 4 min read
A guarantee period is the window after a placement during which the agency promises to make things right if the hire resigns or is dismissed for performance. It protects the client against a bad fit, not against its own business decisions.
You agree the length with each client. The number of days matters less than three details around it: when the clock starts, what it covers and what switches it off.
In practice
Example: you place a finance manager. She accepts the offer on Monday, August 17, 2026, works four weeks' notice and starts on Monday, September 14. Your terms say 90 days from the first day of work, counting that day as day 1, with the fee due 30 days after the start.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Offer accepted | Mon, Aug 17, 2026 |
| First day of work (day 1) | Mon, Sep 14, 2026 |
| Fee due (start plus 30 days) | Wed, Oct 14, 2026 |
| Last day of the guarantee (day 90) | Sat, Dec 12, 2026 |
Now run the same 90 days from the offer date instead. The guarantee would end on Saturday, November 14, and she'd have been at work for only 62 of those days. The other 28 she spent at her old employer. Clients notice, and they're right to push back.
Start the clock on the first day of work and say so in writing. It's also the easiest date to prove. A candidate who never starts belongs in a separate line of your terms (for example, the fee is due only once the person starts), not in the guarantee.
What it covers
One of two events inside the period triggers the guarantee:
- The hire resigns.
- The client dismisses the hire for performance or conduct.
The remedy sits in the same clause: a replacement search for the same role, a credit or a partial refund. Choosing between them is its own decision, compared on one example fee in replacement, refund or pro-rata guarantees.
A guarantee isn't a probation period, even when the two have the same length. Probation is an employment term between the client and the hire, governed by their contract and the employment law where the hire works. The guarantee is a commercial term between you and the client, with its own conditions.
Sample wording
Example wording to adapt. It's general information, not legal advice: contract rules differ by state and country, so have a lawyer check your terms.
Guarantee period. The guarantee period is 90 calendar days, counted from the Candidate's first day of work with the Client, which is day 1. If within that period the Candidate gives notice or is dismissed for reasons of performance or conduct, the Agency will provide the remedy set out in these terms, provided the Client notifies the Agency in writing within 7 days of the notice or dismissal.
The guarantee applies only if the fee was paid in full by its due date. It does not apply if the role is made redundant, if the Candidate is dismissed for reasons unrelated to performance or conduct, or if the Client materially changes the role, salary, reporting line or location after the start date.
Conditions that usually void it
- Late payment. The fee wasn't paid by the due date. This one matters most: without it, a client can hold the invoice until the guarantee is nearly over and pay only if the hire is still there.
- Changed role. New duties, a different manager, a pay cut, part time instead of full time, another city. It's no longer the job you recruited for.
- Redundancy or restructuring. The role disappears, the team is cut or the office closes.
- Dismissal unrelated to performance. Budget cuts, a reorganization, a new manager who wants their own people.
- Late notice. The client tells you after the window in your terms, often once the hire is already gone.
Where it goes wrong
- "Three months" instead of a number of days. From September 14, three months can be read as ending on December 13 or December 14. With 90 days and day 1 defined, everyone gets December 12.
- Calendar or working days. Ninety working days from the same start runs to mid-January 2027, before you take out public holidays. If your terms just say "days", expect the client to read the longer version. Write "calendar days".
- Notice date or last day. A hire who gives notice on day 85 and works four weeks' notice leaves well after day 90. If your terms don't say which date counts, the client will use the one inside the period. The clause above settles it on the notice date.
None of this helps if nobody wrote the start date down. In Recruiting ATS, each client and job carries its guarantee, and each placement shows the date its guarantee expires, with an alert before it ends: a good moment to call the hire.