Freelancer Left Mid-Assignment: Do We Owe Full Payment and How to Handle Contract Clauses?

I have engaged a freelance recruiter for an urgent HR assignment. The recruiter left in the middle of the work due to personal reasons and did not complete the tasks of negotiating salary and following up on documentation. He is claiming a full percentage of his work despite only completing half of it. Are we liable to pay the full amount in this case?

Exit clause in a freelancer contract

Can someone guide me on the exit clause that I can include in a contract?

Handling indiscipline or negligence

In case of indiscipline or negligence in work, what measures can we take concerning a freelancer's contract?

Dear Monika,

Did you make a contract with the recruiter (sub-contractor or service provider)? If yes, please share the verbatim of the contract related to the completion of the assignment. If the contract was not made, then on what basis is the service provider asking for payment? How was the payment decided? Was it for the time spent handling the assignment or for the completion of the specific assignment?

Suppose a person hires a tutor. The tutor provides tuition for a child. For some reason, the tutor leaves in between. However, as the tutor had provided services daily, he/she asks for payment for the days when tuition was given. Was your arrangement something of this kind?

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Application of Quantum Meruit

When the contract is partially performed, the principle of "Quantum Meruit" applies, meaning the party should be paid in proportion to the work completed. Since negotiation of salary, documentation, and follow-up are yet to be done, approximately 25% of the work remains. Therefore, you can negotiate and agree on a mutually acceptable percentage as the major steps have been completed.

Freelance Recruiter Engagement Terms

Further to our discussion, please find attached the terms below for the role of a Freelance Recruiter. We would like to engage for a period of one month, effective from March 1, 2020.

We currently have two positions in Bangalore from NBFCs and are looking for suitable resumes urgently.

Tasks and Activities

- Data sourcing and calling from Naukri, Facebook, and other social media sites.
- The freelance recruiter shall maintain a proper tracker or MIS sheet.
- Handle the sourcing of profiles from Naukri and LinkedIn.
- Manage the entire recruitment cycle from sourcing to onboarding, including salary negotiation.
- Post and edit job postings on LinkedIn, free sites, and social media.
- Understand the client's job description and deliver quality resources within the stipulated time frame.

Payout

The freelance recruiter shall be paid 15% of the billing amount without GST charges.

- 50% of the commission shall be paid once the client has released payment, approximately 45 days after joining.
- The remaining 50% shall be paid after the candidate has completed 90 days.

In case of duplicate profiles, the freelance recruiter shall be informed within two days of receiving the profile. Sharing of the portal is strictly not allowed.

The firm shall pay a one-time fee of Rs 1500 towards phone and internet charges during the tenure of our contract.

Let me know if you have any more queries.

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Exit Clause Inquiry

The recruiter left after sending the CV of a candidate who got selected and was not present during salary negotiation and document arranging. Could you please mention "Exit Clause" terms that I can use for future contracts to avoid this trouble? This means in case of indiscipline, misuse of information, rude conduct, or absence before the completion of the project, what language can be used to make it clear? Hope I am able to express myself.

Thanks,

Monika

Dear Dinkar Sir, thanks for your replies. I still need to ask: "Could you please mention the 'Exit clause' terms that I can use for future contracts that I make with freelance recruiters in order to avoid issues pertaining to indiscipline, misuse of information, misuse of the Naukri portal, rude conduct, or absence before completion of the project? What language can be used to make it clear? Let me know."

Thanks, Monika