Fee disputes: how to prove you presented a candidate first

An agency presents a candidate in March. In June, the client hires them "through another channel" and refuses the fee: the candidate was already in their database, they say. This scenario is one of the most frequent disputes in the profession, and it is won or lost on a single question: can you prove who presented whom, to whom, and when?

What the contract says

Most agency terms include an introduction clause: any candidate presented and hired by the client within a given period, often twelve months, triggers the fee, whatever the hiring channel. The clause is solid. Its weakness lies elsewhere: the proof of the presentation itself.

What proves nothing, or next to nothing

• A memory or an untraced phone call.
• A note in your ATS: it proves you knew the candidate, not that you presented them to this client, nor when. It is editable, therefore contestable.
• A CV attachment with no proof of receipt or opening.

What constitutes proof

Solid proof of prior presentation combines four elements, frozen at the moment of presentation:

1. The candidate's identity and the content presented, ideally through a digital fingerprint of the CV (a hash), which demonstrates the document has not been modified since.
2. The recipient: the client, by name.
3. The timestamp: date and time, in a tamper-evident format.
4. An integrity seal: a cryptographic signature computed over the previous elements by a third party or a system independent of the agency, verifiable by anyone.

To these four elements, add the trace of the client's views: first and last opening of the file or portal. A client who viewed the shortlist on 12 March at 9:42 will struggle to claim they did not know the candidate.

Prima facie evidence, not perfect proof

Such a record may constitute prima facie evidence: it does not replace the signed engagement contract, but it tips the balance. Faced with a timestamped, sealed certificate verifiable online, many disputes settle before any proceedings. That is precisely the intended effect.

The method in practice

• Present your candidates through a channel that automatically timestamps and seals each presentation, rather than a plain attachment.
• Keep the certificate with the engagement contract for the whole duration of the introduction clause.
• Restate the clause in the presentation message: "Candidate presented on … under our terms of business".
• In the event of a dispute, send the certificate and the verification URL before any discussion on the merits.

What the tool brings

Modern recruitment software should produce this proof with no extra effort: every shortlist shared with a client seals the presented candidates (CV fingerprint, client, date, user), records the client's views and generates a printable certificate with a public verification URL. A seal altered by a single character is detected. The consultant can simply get on with their job.

This article is informational and does not constitute legal advice. Your terms of business and the law applicable to your contract prevail.

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