Three UK agencies publish permanent-hire fees of 12.5% to 20% of first-year salary, usually invoiced at the start date, with refunds that shrink through year one. We'd pay the fee when you can't reach the people yourself, and compare routes on what you'd still lose if the hire fails at month 3. If your doubt is fit, try contract-to-hire.
What does the fee actually buy?
An introduction, not an employee. Aaron Wallis, a general UK recruiter that quotes in pounds, calls it an "Introduction Fee" in its 2026 standard terms. The base is first-year remuneration, which includes guaranteed bonuses and guaranteed commission. A guaranteed bonus in your offer raises the fee.
Aaron Wallis and Hurren & Hope both charge the top of that range for a permanent hire, and Hurren & Hope drops to 18% when you give it three or more roles. Ashdown Group's service document asks 12.5% if you give it five working days of exclusivity and 17.5% if it competes with other agencies.
What does it cost, and what comes back if they leave?
Say a €80,000 salary.
| Fee level | Fee on €80,000 |
|---|---|
| 12.5% | €10,000 |
| 17.5% | €14,000 |
| 18% | €14,400 |
| 20% | €16,000 |
Aaron Wallis invoices the whole fee when the applicant starts, payable within 30 days, and Hurren & Hope says UK agencies usually take the full fee on day one. What you get back depends on the rebate clause. This is Aaron Wallis's clause 4.3 at 20%:
| Hire leaves in | You get back | Net fee |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-4 | One free replacement | €16,000 |
| Months 2-6 | 40% (€6,400) | €9,600 |
| Months 7-12 | 20% (€3,200) | €12,800 |
| After 12 months | Nothing | €16,000 |
A rebate needs the invoice paid within 30 days and written notice within 7 days of the departure. In months 2-6 the agency may agree to a replacement search instead of the rebate, not both.
If you end the engagement yourself, the clause changes. You get a discount on your next invoice from that agency: 75% if it ends within three months, 50% in months 4-6, 25% in months 7-12. It has no cash value and expires after 12 months. A credit is worth something only if you hire from the same agency again.
Can I pay less without changing route?
Often, yes, because the terms vary more than the headline percentage suggests. Four things to negotiate:
- Exclusivity. Ashdown charges less when you give it a head start.
- Volume. Hurren & Hope lowers its rate from three roles.
- Rebate length. Ashdown promises to re-run the search within 13 weeks and refund 100% if it can't replace the hire. Hurren & Hope protects for 12 months and refunds per month after a notified departure.
- Payment timing. Hurren & Hope offers "Pay While They Stay", which spreads the fee over 12 instalments instead of day one.
A quote with a flat fee due on day one and a short rebate window is the weakest version of the same service.
Which route fits which situation?
Contingency recruiter, one role
Pick this when the role is defined, you have no network or time to search, and you're filling one seat. The catch is paying the full fee before you know how the person performs.
Ask for the share of the agency's placements still employed at 12 months, and for two clients with a senior engineering hire you can call. The fee documents above give no retention figures, so that's the only way to learn whether they send better engineers than you'd find yourself.
Retained search
Retained executive search runs 25-35% according to Hurren & Hope. Pick it for an executive or confidential search. For one senior engineer we'd use contingency instead, because retained search is the wrong tool for a single individual contributor.
Contract-to-hire through staff augmentation
Pick this when the risk you're paying a recruiter to remove is "will this person work out". You engage the engineer through a vendor, test them in real work, then convert them to your payroll. The costs are the vendor's margin during the trial and a conversion fee at the end.
On HighCircl's terms there's no recruitment fee. The margin is capped at 20% on top of what the engineer earns, so it's at most one sixth of the rate. Across the €45-105/hr range, which already includes it, that's up to €7.50 an hour at the low end and €17.50 at the high end. The permanent-hire buyout is 18% of annual gross, which on €80,000 is €14,400.
At 160 hours a month:
| Trial before converting | Hours | Margin paid (at the 20% cap) | Margin plus buyout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | 480 | €3,600-8,400 | €18,000-22,800 |
| 6 months | 960 | €7,200-16,800 | €21,600-31,200 |
The last column is the cost above the engineer's pay. Against the €16,000 recruiter fee, a three-month trial that ends in conversion costs €2,000-6,800 more. If the person stays, the recruiter is the cheaper route. What the trial buys is three months of watching them work before you pay the buyout.
If they leave at month 3, the 20% recruiter terms above leave €9,600 of the fee spent, against €3,600-8,400 of margin on the trial. If you end it yourself, the full €16,000 stays spent and you hold a 75% credit toward a next invoice from that agency.
Ask any vendor whether the conversion fee changes with months served, and what it says about replacements. Vendors differ, so how staff augmentation fees and markups are built is worth reading before you compare quotes.
Sourcing it yourself
Pick this when you have a network and founder time. The saving is the whole fee only if the search takes fewer of your hours than the fee is worth. Price those hours yourself, then add the employer-side cost of a permanent hire.
What this means for your hiring plan
You hold a quote and need to choose a route for a senior hire. Before you sign anything, get the rebate table, confirm what the fee base includes, and ask whether a rebate comes as cash or as credit.
Our take: if your problem is reach, pay the recruiter and trade exclusivity for a lower rate. If your problem is fit, price the trial at the premium above and decide whether three months of evidence is worth it. In our judgment a failed hire can cost more than the fee, so what a failed hire costs is the next thing to read before you pick. The software development cost guides and what a European team costs in total put the other routes on one page.
Hiring a senior engineer through HighCircl
If you doubt fit more than reach, price the trial route before you pay a placement fee. HighCircl charges no recruitment fee, and if an engagement isn't working it replaces the engineer at no additional recruitment cost. A wrong fit then costs you a replacement search, not a second fee. The page on hiring senior engineers through HighCircl has the rates and how a match works.
FAQ
What is a typical recruiter fee for a senior software engineer?
Fees are set by each agency. On €80,000, these three agencies' fees come to €10,000 to €16,000 for a permanent hire, depending on exclusivity and volume.
Is a tech recruiter worth the fee?
When you can name the role but can't reach the people, and the search would otherwise cost you weeks of founder time, yes. When your doubt is fit, the fee buys an introduction and a partial rebate, not a trial. Ask for the 12-month retention share first.
What is a recruiter rebate?
Money back if the hire leaves within the guarantee window. Under Aaron Wallis's terms it's a free replacement in the first four weeks, then a falling share of the fee over the first year, and nothing after 12 months. The rebate table above has the figures.
What is a contract-to-hire conversion fee?
A one-off charge for moving a vendor's engineer onto your payroll, on top of the vendor's margin during the trial. Get it in writing before the engagement starts.
What is the difference between contingency and retained search?
Contingency fees usually fall due when the hire starts; Hurren & Hope says most UK agencies invoice the whole fee on the start date. Retained executive search runs 25-35% according to Hurren & Hope, and we'd keep it for executive or confidential roles.