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One-time placement fee
One-time placement fee is a commercial charge for finding and presenting a hire, paid once when someone starts, not every month for the rest of the seat. It buys a search. It does not buy the employment relationship.
Also called search fee, placement fee
How it works
The fee is consideration for work already done: sourcing, screening, a slate, interview logistics, and a start date. Somewhere-style firms often quote a percentage of first-year salary. 701am’s Dawn Hire pattern quotes a flat search fee. Either way the fee is year-one load. It should not be confused with wages, with thirteenth month, or with an EOR’s monthly administration charge. Write when it is earned. Usual triggers are signed offer, first day, or first payroll. Write what happens if the seat fails inside the guarantee window: a second search at no second fee, or a unwind. That clause is contract, not Labor Code.
Example: ₱70,000 basic, $2,400 flat search fee, start 1 March. Year-one commercial wrap is $2,400 even if the person stays three years. A 25% first-year fee on a $12,000 declared package is $3,000. Amortize it across twelve months if you want a monthly loaded view. Do not add it again in year two.
How it differs
A monthly management fee pays for paper every month. Loaded cost includes both when they exist. Replacement guarantee is the service promise attached to the fee, not a statutory probation period.
Common errors
Treating the fee as a bond you can keep if you also skip final pay. Rolling a failed search fee into the next candidate without a clause. Comparing a flat fee to a percentage fee without converting both to dollars on the same package.