Even in Tough Times, Fair Business Still Matters

The past few years haven’t the easiest for most businesses financially. The rising cost of living paired with rise in salaries that has come with the current economic state of the world, has made The conversations we’re having across recruitment, construction and logistics are all emphasising this feeling and for businesses, that pressure can make every pound feel like it matters more than ever.

And while it’s only natural to look for ways to save money, some of the behaviours we’ve seen recently go beyond sensible cost control and start creating bigger problems for everyone involved.

When late payments become long delays

Take payment delays, for example. It’s nothing new for invoices to take time. Every business has its own approval process, cashflow pressures, or month-end cycles to work through. As a recruitment company, we’re used to that. It comes with the territory.

We have a standard time frame that we have always worked with, but in recent months, we’ve seen more cases where those delays go far beyond what’s reasonable. Payments being pushed back for months without explanation along with the natural follow on of excuses replacing communication. And in some cases, companies actively holding off on paying until they’re chased multiple times.

But as we say, as ridiculous as late payments are, this is unfortunately relatively normal for our industry, so we’ll move onto the even more confusing situations.

When agreed terms are suddenly up for debate

One of the more surprising situations we’ve seen recently is clients asking to renegotiate agreed terms after the work’s already been completed.

The process usually starts as normal. A business asks for our help, maybe their internal team’s struggling to fill a role, so we send over our terms of business and look forward to working together. They’re signed, we begin our search, we find someone suitable and the client confirms they want to move forward. All straightforward.

But after we’ve done our part and completed the job we were asked to do, we’ve had businesses come back asking to renegotiate the very terms they agreed to.

It’s worth saying at this point that recruitment is one of the few industries where you can do all the work and still not earn a penny from it. We can search, screen, interview, consult and advise clients through the entire process, but unless that candidate is placed, we don’t get paid. We’re not trying to complain about that, it’s the nature of the beast and we love the job.

But when terms that were already agreed (and often generous to begin with) are suddenly up for debate after success has been delivered… come on now.

Imagine agreeing a fee, delivering the service exactly as promised, and then being told weeks later that the rate needs to be “revisited.” It’s not a discussion about future work or long-term partnership; it’s an attempt to rewrite history after results have already been delivered. This really does chip away at our trust towards that business. It sends the message that the hard work of finding, screening, and managing talent isn’t valued highly and will demotivate us to work with them in the future.

Renegotiating a paid perm fee? 

But as it goes, we’ve had this type of situation go even further recently when a client actually started asking for reductions on fees that were already settled, even after successful placements.

One example that really took us by surprise was when a contractor we’d supplied had been with a client for several months. They liked him enough to bring him on permanently, which of course means a temp-to-perm fee, completely standard in recruitment and agreed from the outset.

Everything was wrapped up smoothly until a few months later, while the hire we found is still doing a good job for them, we got a call asking if that fee could be reduced. You can imagine the reaction in the office. After five months of solid work from the candidate, a smooth transition, and a long-term hire for the client, it’s not exactly the kind of request you expect to receive.

So at this point we want to reiterate that we understand it’s a tough time for many at the moment and as cliché as it sounds, it’s not about the money, it’s about principle. Once work has been delivered and agreements honoured, trying to claw something back after the fact just doesn’t sit right. It shifts the focus away from partnership and fairness and into something that feels a bit desperate.

We’re a commercial business too

Because at the end of the day, we’re a commercial business too. We’re trying to grow, survive, and progress like everyone else. We’re not a job centre and we’re certainly not here to take the hit every time someone else’s cashflow gets uncomfortable.

Let us paint a picture for you. If an M&E subcontractor or a logistics haulier is paid to do a job by a main contractor, they complete it to a good standard and everyone’s happy. Then a few weeks later, that main contractor tries to renegotiate the payment and lower the fee. How would that make them feel?

That’s the position we’re being put in. And it’s not about being defensive, it’s about fairness. We want to build partnerships with our clients, the kind of partnerships where both sides benefit and work together long term. The best recruitment work always happens this way.

So when things get tough and belts tighten, it’s frustrating to feel like we’re suddenly treated as a cost that can be cut rather than a partner who’s played a genuine role in keeping things moving.

Recruiters have a role to play too

But there’s another side to this as well. Recruiters need to be strong too and not just appease for the sake of a quick win. Because every time we agree to reduced or unfair terms, we make it easier for that behaviour to become the norm.

If businesses see that some agencies are willing to cut their fees just to keep a deal alive, they’ll start expecting the same from everyone else. Before long, it becomes a race to the bottom where no one is the winner. Not the recruiters, not the candidates, and not even the clients in the long run.

Standing your ground isn’t about being awkward or difficult. It’s about protecting the value of the work we all do. Because fair terms, mutual respect and long-term relationships will always deliver better results than short-term savings and awkward conversations after the fact. As usual we’ll say, honesty is the best policy.

Okay rant over…

To finish, we want to make it clear that this isn’t us sitting here complaining.

We fully appreciate that the market has been tough for a extended time now. We know margins are tighter, costs are higher and that every business is looking for ways to save money. That’s just the reality of the economy we’re all operating in. But as we’ve said throughout, we’re a business too. A business built on relationships, delivery, and trust. When agreements are made in good faith, they have to mean something. 

Otherwise, the whole foundation of partnership starts to crumble.

Recruitment works best when everyone involved respects the process and each other’s value. The client gets the right person, the candidate finds the right opportunity and the recruiter continues to invest time, energy and care into making it happen again.

So of course, let’s all be conscious of costs and smart about spending. But let’s also remember that cutting corners or clawing back what’s already been agreed helps no one in the long run.

At Streamline, we’ll always prioritise honesty and fairness, because even in a tough market, those principles are what keep business moving forward.