Contract work - non-solicitation clause (employee, interview, payment, employer)

[mr_one_off]

I was contacted recently by a recruiting/staffing company to interview for a contract they're trying to fill. The interview went great and the recruiter contacted me and said they want to hire me for the contract position. I got the paperwork from the recruiting company and most of the contract is pretty standard stuff. It sets the wage, hours, says I can't steal anything, sexually harass anyone, etc. The part that has me worried is the non solicitation clause:

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Employee agrees that he/she is solely a representative of Employer and the Employer’s Client. For a period of six (6) months from date of termination from Employer, Employee agrees not to solicit, contact, approach or accept personal business or employment from the Client or any third party that Employee may become aware of as a result of Employee’s employment with Employer.

Employee also agrees that Employee is not eligible for permanent hire by Client (except as otherwise agreed upon in writing) for a period of six (6) months from project hire date and if Employee becomes an employee of Client, Employee agrees to pay an amount equal to 25% of the Employee’s first year annual wages.
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So, the first part is a bit confusing. It seems like I'm signing myself over to the recruiting company and I won't be able to work for anyone other than the recruiter for at least 6 months after the contract ends. Obviously, that would not be acceptable since I can't rely on this one company to give steady work for the foreseeable future.

The second part though has me just as worried. Basically if I ever get a job with the "client" company then I would have to pay the recruiter 25% of my first year's salary. This is my first experience with contract work, but it seems to me that generally the EMPLOYER is the one that pays the recruiting fee.

Is this normal as far as contract work goes? Could anyone let me know if it is typical for the employee to pay a recruiter fee? Also, any general insight on the recruiting process would be nice.

Thanks!

[Grizzly Addams]

Originally Posted by mr_one_off

I was contacted recently by a recruiting/staffing company to interview for a contract they're trying to fill. The interview went great and the recruiter contacted me and said they want to hire me for the contract position. I got the paperwork from the recruiting company and most of the contract is pretty standard stuff. It sets the wage, hours, says I can't steal anything, sexually harass anyone, etc. The part that has me worried is the non solicitation clause:

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Employee agrees that he/she is solely a representative of Employer and the Employer’s Client. For a period of six (6) months from date of termination from Employer, Employee agrees not to solicit, contact, approach or accept personal business or employment from the Client or any third party that Employee may become aware of as a result of Employee’s employment with Employer.

Employee also agrees that Employee is not eligible for permanent hire by Client (except as otherwise agreed upon in writing) for a period of six (6) months from project hire date and if Employee becomes an employee of Client, Employee agrees to pay an amount equal to 25% of the Employee’s first year annual wages.
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So, the first part is a bit confusing. It seems like I'm signing myself over to the recruiting company and I won't be able to work for anyone other than the recruiter for at least 6 months after the contract ends. Obviously, that would not be acceptable since I can't rely on this one company to give steady work for the foreseeable future.

The second part though has me just as worried. Basically if I ever get a job with the "client" company then I would have to pay the recruiter 25% of my first year's salary. This is my first experience with contract work, but it seems to me that generally the EMPLOYER is the one that pays the recruiting fee.

Is this normal as far as contract work goes? Could anyone let me know if it is typical for the employee to pay a recruiter fee? Also, any general insight on the recruiting process would be nice.

Thanks!

I think yes. Basically they are trying to cover there asses in the event that you work for a month as a contractor then quit to go full time with the end client. In the case of contract to hire the employer will pay the recruiting fee, but it sounds as though the recruiting firm doesn't have that type of account with the end client.

[MSchemist80]

That is pretty standard. The company can't hire you directly without owing a fee to the recruiter/agency unless they negotiate a temp-to-hire clause in their contract with the agency or there is a 6 month break in your service to that company. That is pretty light actually I had one that specified 2 years.

[sware2cod]

If your contract ends and you go to a different employer that isn't the original client or company that you work directly with in this current gig then you should be good. Typically when the contract ends they cannot stop you from working anywhere else because you need to be able to support yourself. Most case law supports this.

what you shouldn't do is get a job directly with the client. If this looks like it might happen then you try to negotiate a payment with the firm or work with the end client to get them to pay it. Or you wait 6 months and then are free to get hired without owning a fee.