Find out first whether the client is disputing the fee or simply hasn't paid it, because each leaves you with a different decision. Then check your terms of business, put the position in writing with a date to pay, and decide whether a part payment plan gets you further than holding out. A letter before claim and a court claim are usually the last step.
In this article
The short version
- Find out first whether the client is disputing the fee or just hasn't paid it.
- Reread your terms, especially the rebate clause, which some agencies tie to paying on time.
- A part payment accepted on account, with a dated plan for the balance, keeps the full debt alive.
- Escalate in steps: personal message, accounts team, final reminder, letter before claim.
- Court claims are the last step, and you can pause automated chasing while a fee is disputed.
Is the client disputing the fee or just not paying it?
An unpaid placement fee usually falls into one of two camps. Either the client thinks it doesn't owe the full amount, often because the candidate left in the first few weeks or the role changed, or it accepts the fee and hasn't paid it yet.
It's worth asking before you decide anything. A short message to your hiring contact, something like "Is anything holding up the invoice for Sam's placement?", tends to tell you which camp you're in. If it's a dispute, you're deciding what, if anything, you'll concede. If it's a slow payer, you're deciding how hard to push a client you may want to place with again.
What your terms of business give you
Reread your terms before you reply. Published agency terms commonly invoice the fee on the candidate's start date, with payment due 7, 14 or 30 days later. Check three things.
- The due date, and whether the client has passed it.
- The rebate or guarantee. Rebate periods commonly run 8 to 12 weeks on a sliding scale, and several large agencies' published terms only give the rebate if the client paid the fee on time.
- Your evidence that the client accepted the terms, such as a signed copy or an email agreeing to them before you sent CVs.
Keep the introduction email, offer, start date, invoice and any messages about the candidate leaving in one place. If the dispute is about an early leaver, set the leaving date against your rebate scale and work out what the client would be due if they'd paid on time. Offering that figure can end a dispute quickly. Holding to the full fee keeps your margin but may cost you the relationship.
Because your client is a business, statutory late payment interest runs from the due date at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, 11.75% a year at the moment, plus fixed compensation, unless your terms set a different rate. Some agencies add it straight away to make paying now the cheaper option. Others mention it and waive it once the fee arrives, because adding it to a disputed fee can harden the client's position.
Should you take a part payment or hold out?
Sometimes a client offers a small amount, say £500 against a £6,900 invoice, with no date for the rest. Taking it gets some cash in and keeps the conversation open. It can also become the new normal, with the balance drifting for months.
Holding out keeps the pressure on, but you may get nothing for weeks. Many agencies land in between, accepting it on account and proposing a plan for the balance, such as two payments of £3,200 over four weeks. Whatever you accept, confirm in writing that it's a payment on account and the rest is still due.
If you'd rather not track instalments by hand, Adfin lets clients pay part of an invoice through the same payment link, with a minimum you set as a percentage of what's outstanding or a fixed amount, so a token £50 isn't an option. Each part payment is matched to the invoice and synced to Xero or QuickBooks, and statutory late payment interest can be added to overdue invoices automatically and waived for a client you're negotiating with.
When to escalate and how far
Waiting has a cost of its own. Every week a placement fee sits unpaid, someone in your team spends time on it, and the people who remember the placement may move on. Escalating too early can lose you a client who'd have paid. Many agencies move up these steps in order and stop when the money arrives.
- A personal message to the hiring manager from the founder or the consultant who made the placement.
- A call to the client's accounts team to ask what they need to pay: a purchase order number, supplier set-up, or a different contact.
- A final written reminder with the amount, how it's calculated and a date to pay.
- A letter before claim, setting out the claim, the facts and how the amount is calculated, and giving the client 14 days to reply in a straightforward case.
If none of that works, you can claim through the courts. The small claims track covers claims up to £10,000, and Money Claim Online takes fixed sums under £100,000. Where a company owes more than £750, a statutory demand is also possible, but it's a serious step that's best taken with advice.
While a fee is in dispute, automated reminders can make things worse. Adfin lets you pause chasing for one client, or switch it off entirely, whenever a dispute or a relationship calls for it, while its AI Customer Agents carry on chasing everyone else within the rules you've approved.
Common questions
Can a client refuse to pay because the candidate left in the first week? It depends on your terms. Published agency terms commonly deal with early leavers through a rebate or replacement, and some only offer it if the fee was paid on time.
Can I charge interest on an unpaid placement fee? Yes, if your client is a business. Statutory interest is 8% above the Bank of England base rate, currently 11.75% a year, unless your terms set a different rate.
Should I accept a small part payment from a client who owes a large fee? It's your call. Accepting it on account, in writing, with a dated plan for the balance keeps the full debt alive while getting some cash in.
What goes in a letter before claim? The basis of the claim, a summary of the facts, the amount and how it's calculated, and a deadline to reply, usually 14 days in a straightforward case.
How much does it cost to make a court claim for a placement fee? Court fees depend on the claim value. A claim between £5,000.01 and £10,000 costs £455, and claims over £10,000 cost 5% of the claim.
Can I stop sending candidates to a client who hasn't paid? That's a commercial decision for you. Some agencies pause new introductions until an overdue fee is paid, and say so plainly to the client.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: charging interest on commercial debt (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt
- Ministry of Justice - Practice Direction: Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct
- GOV.UK - Make a court claim for money: court fees (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees
- Reed - Employment Agency Terms of Business (accurate as of October 2026) https://resources.reed.com/hubfs/Website/Documents/Terms%20of%20Business/Employment%20Agency%20Terms%20of%20Business%20-%20REED.pdf
