Standard
Roles up to £30,000
A 20% agency: up to £6,000
£1,500 +VAT
flat fee · payment upon instruction
- The price never moves, whatever the hire's salary
- No commission, ever
- 8 weeks, then a further 8 at no extra cost if unfilled
Fixed Fee Recruitment
Fixed Fee Recruitment: one role, one fixed fee.
One fixed fee. Sixteen weeks of work behind it. A dedicated recruiter advertises, headhunts and screens your role for 8 weeks, from £1,500 +VAT with no commission. If it isn't filled, we work it for a further 8 weeks at no extra cost.
Book a free 15-min review — soonest slot Call 0161 327 2895
One fixed fee · 8 weeks + a further 8 at no extra cost
Fee for a £38,000 roleProfessional band
Typical agency at 20% of salary£7,600
Fixed Fee Recruitment, flat fee£2,000
You pay£2,000 +VAT
Difference£5,600
Flat fee set by salary band: £30,000 to £44,999. Ex VAT.
Fixed Fee Recruitment in one line: managed recruitment for one fixed fee from £1,500 +VAT by salary band — a dedicated recruiter benchmarks, advertises, headhunts, screens, pre-interviews and shortlists for 8 weeks, and if the role isn't filled, works it for a further 8 weeks at no extra cost. Payment is upon instruction. If the role is still open after 16 weeks, the search closes and we agree any further work with you.
What's included
Everything handled for you
- A dedicated recruiter managing the whole search
- Professional advert writing
- Multi-board distribution
- Proactive headhunting beyond the job boards
- CV screening & shortlisting
- Telephone pre-screening of the strongest candidates
- Interview scheduling
- A shortlist of interviewed candidates with a presentation pack
- Offer management support
- An 8-week search, then a further 8 weeks at no extra cost if the role isn't filled
- Weekly progress reports
How it works
From brief to hired — a fixed price that never moves
Tell us the role
A short brief — the role, the must-haves, the salary you're working to. We benchmark it against the market and tell you honestly whether it's fillable at that level before you commit a penny.
Agree a fixed price up front
Your flat fee is set by salary band, from £1,500 +VAT, and it never moves. No percentage of salary, no commission, no surprise invoice at the end. Payment is upon instruction.
We advertise and we headhunt
A dedicated recruiter writes the advert, distributes it across the UK's major job boards, and proactively headhunts the people who aren't scrolling the boards — because the best candidate for most roles isn't actively looking.
You get a screened shortlist
We screen every application and telephone pre-screen the strongest, then present a shortlist of interviewed candidates with a presentation pack — not a CV flood. In week 6 we review the search with you against the market. You interview the ones you like; we manage scheduling and offers.
You hire — and if it isn't filled, we keep going
The price never changes, whatever the hire's salary. If the role isn't filled in the first 8 weeks, we work it for a further 8 weeks at no extra cost. If it is still open after 16 weeks, the search closes and we agree any further work with you.
Your sector, step by step
See exactly how we fill your roles
A sector-specific walkthrough of the whole process — the headhunt, the shortlist, the offer negotiation and the full price list. No registration needed.
Accounting & Finance — the walkthrough
The day-1-to-45 process, a real accounting & finance placement, and the price stated openly.
Construction & Trades — the walkthrough
The day-1-to-45 process, a real construction & trades placement, and the price stated openly.
Engineering — the walkthrough
The day-1-to-45 process, a real engineering placement, and the price stated openly.
Your Sector — the walkthrough
The day-1-to-45 process, a real your sector placement, and the price stated openly.
Legal — the walkthrough
The day-1-to-45 process, a real legal placement, and the price stated openly.
The anchor
What a 20% agency would charge for this role
Drop in the salary. That's what a percentage recruiter bills. Now look at our flat fee below — the same reach for a fixed price.
A typical agency would charge£9,000
Our flat feefrom £1,500 +VATfixed by salary band
Same reach, same candidates — a flat fee, not a slice of the salary.
One fixed fee · 8 weeks + a further 8 at no extra cost
Simple, transparent pricing
Flat fee by salary band. Sixteen weeks of work on every tier.
No hidden fees. No commission. No percentage of salary. Payment upon instruction — 8 weeks of search, then a further 8 at no extra cost if the role isn't filled.
Professional
£30,000 – £44,999
A 20% agency: £6,000 – £9,000
£2,000 +VAT
flat fee · payment upon instruction
- The price never moves, whatever the hire's salary
- No commission, ever
- 8 weeks, then a further 8 at no extra cost if unfilled
Most popular
Senior
£45,000 – £59,999
A 20% agency: £9,000 – £12,000
£3,000 +VAT
flat fee · payment upon instruction
- The price never moves, whatever the hire's salary
- No commission, ever
- 8 weeks, then a further 8 at no extra cost if unfilled
Executive
£60,000 – £79,999
A 20% agency: £12,000 – £16,000
£4,000 +VAT
flat fee · payment upon instruction
- The price never moves, whatever the hire's salary
- No commission, ever
- 8 weeks, then a further 8 at no extra cost if unfilled
Replacement Cover — optional add-on
An optional add-on. If your new hire leaves for any reason within 12 months of their start date, we run a replacement search for the same role at no further fee. £750 +VAT where the salary is £30,000 or under, £1,000 +VAT above £30,000. Bought before the hire's start date; one replacement search per hire. Offered after the core service is agreed, never a condition of it.
Hiring at £80,000 or above? That's an Executive Search role — a retained search at a flat £6,000 +VAT. Hiring continuously? See Talent Partner.
Proof, not promises
Recently filled — real placements, real numbers
A sample of managed searches. Every figure is a real fill from our own records.
14 days
brief to signed offer
A confidential Payroll Lead with around 80 client payrolls riding on the seat. 25 candidates sourced, 10 interviewed, offer signed 14 days after the brief.
Fee £2,000 vs £6,000 at 20% — £4,000 saved
Surrey · Chartered accountancy practice
45 interviews
recorded interviews & meetings
A Senior Estimator with rare fire-door-compliance experience. 14 qualified candidates identified, 6 taken to client interview, 1 hired.
Fee £3,000 vs £10,500 at 20% — £7,500 saved
Derby · Bespoke joinery manufacturer
4 roles
in four months
A hundred-year-old family food producer came back for a second production role (filled in 27 days), then a third, then a fourth.
Four repeat hires — nobody returns four times to a service that doesn't work
Galway · Family food producer
Case studies are anonymised for client confidentiality. Fees quoted +VAT; agency comparisons at a typical 20% of first-year salary.
Clients in their own words
Questions
Fixed Fee Recruitment FAQs
How and when do I pay?
Your flat fee is agreed by salary band and paid upon instruction — when you formally ask us to start the role, after the market benchmarking. It's fixed from that point and never moves, whatever salary your hire accepts.
What happens if the role isn't filled?
You pay one fixed fee, agreed upfront — never a percentage of salary. A dedicated recruiter works your role for 8 weeks: advert, search, headhunting, screening and shortlist. If the role isn't filled in that time, we keep working it for a further 8 weeks at no extra cost. If the role is still open after 16 weeks, the search closes and we agree any further work with you.
What do you need from us?
It works best as teamwork: a competitive salary, openness to transferable skills, quick feedback and fair, inclusive hiring. In week 6 we review the search with you against the market, so nothing drifts.
Is there any commission when I hire?
No. The flat fee is the whole cost, whatever salary your hire accepts. No percentage of salary, no commission, ever.
What if my hire leaves?
Add Replacement Cover. If your new hire leaves for any reason within 12 months of their start date, we run a replacement search for the same role at no further fee. It's £750 +VAT where the salary is £30,000 or under and £1,000 +VAT above £30,000, and it must be bought before the hire's start date.
Still have a question? Call 0161 327 2895 or use our contact form.
Before you decide, compare us properly
Cost comparison
Recruitment fees by salary band: agency % vs flat fee
A salary-band table of what a UK contingency agency bills at 15%, 20% and 25% against the published flat fees for the same search, from £30,000 to £75,000 — with the three cases where the percentage is still the better buy.
Our service
TalentFinder Fixed Fee Recruitment review — is it worth it?
An honest account of our own managed recruitment service — what it costs, what the 8 + 8 week search period covers and what it does not, how long roles really take, the numbers behind our filled vacancies, and the four situations where you should buy something else instead.
Cost comparison
Is flat-fee recruitment cheaper than an agency for a £45,000 hire?
Worked figures for a £45,000 UK hire — what a contingency agency bills at 15%, 20% and 25%, what the published flat fees are, what the real difference is once you count your own screening time, and the three situations where the agency is the better buy.
Employer guide
Your first professional hire as a UK small business
Making a first office-based or professional hire — the legal steps, the realistic timeline, what it costs to advertise or to have the search done, and the mistakes that cost small businesses months.
One fixed fee · 8 weeks + a further 8 at no extra cost
Bring us a role — we'll tell you honestly if we can fill it
Book a free 15-minute Hiring Cost Review for the soonest slot — as soon as today or tomorrow. We'll benchmark the role, tell you the flat fee versus a typical 20% agency charge, and whether the talent is genuinely there.
Book your free review — soonest slot Call 0161 327 2895
Not ready to talk? Run the free Recruitment Health Check and see how you look to the people you want to hire first.