Compare the models

SUS vs traditional recruitment fees

Both models pay for the same work: finding, assessing and introducing someone you go on to employ. They differ in when the money leaves your business, and in what happens if that person does not stay.

Side by side

Example figures use a £60,000 salary, a 20% traditional fee and a 17.5% SUS monthly fee. They are illustrative only, not a quotation.

Comparison of traditional recruitment fees and the Startup Staffing monthly model.
Aspect	Traditional fee	SUS monthly model
When you pay	A single fee invoiced at the point of hire, usually payable within days of the start date.	An agreed percentage of gross monthly salary, invoiced each month while that employee remains employed.
Cash in month one	£12,000 on a £60,000 salary at 20%.	£875 on the same salary at 17.5% of gross monthly salary.
If the employee leaves	Typically a rebate on a sliding scale within a limited window, then nothing.	Billing for that employee stops from their final date of employment. There is nothing left to recover.
Total cost over a long tenure	Fixed and closed off on day one.	Continues while the employee stays: at these example figures, month 14 is the first full month above the traditional fee (exact breakeven about 13.7 months), and it keeps rising after that.
Flexibility later	None needed — the cost is already settled.	The buy-out value, or the basis for calculating it, is agreed with you in writing in your commercial terms at the outset, for each hire. You can exercise that pre-agreed option later under those terms, without a fresh commercial negotiation. Once it is paid, future monthly billing for that hire stops. Other hires are unaffected.
Who employs the person	You do.	You do. SUS is a payment model for permanent recruitment, not an employer of record or umbrella arrangement.
Recruitment work involved	Search, assessment, introduction, offer management.	Identical. The delivery is the same permanent recruitment process — only the way the fee is paid changes.

When you pay
Traditional
A single fee invoiced at the point of hire, usually payable within days of the start date.
SUS
An agreed percentage of gross monthly salary, invoiced each month while that employee remains employed.
Cash in month one
Traditional
£12,000 on a £60,000 salary at 20%.
SUS
£875 on the same salary at 17.5% of gross monthly salary.
If the employee leaves
Traditional
Typically a rebate on a sliding scale within a limited window, then nothing.
SUS
Billing for that employee stops from their final date of employment. There is nothing left to recover.
Total cost over a long tenure
Traditional
Fixed and closed off on day one.
SUS
Continues while the employee stays: at these example figures, month 14 is the first full month above the traditional fee (exact breakeven about 13.7 months), and it keeps rising after that.
Flexibility later
Traditional
None needed — the cost is already settled.
SUS
The buy-out value, or the basis for calculating it, is agreed with you in writing in your commercial terms at the outset, for each hire. You can exercise that pre-agreed option later under those terms, without a fresh commercial negotiation. Once it is paid, future monthly billing for that hire stops. Other hires are unaffected.
Who employs the person
Traditional
You do.
SUS
You do. SUS is a payment model for permanent recruitment, not an employer of record or umbrella arrangement.
Recruitment work involved
Traditional
Search, assessment, introduction, offer management.
SUS
Identical. The delivery is the same permanent recruitment process — only the way the fee is paid changes.

When traditional makes more sense

You have the cash available and want the recruitment cost closed off on day one.
You are hiring one senior person and expect a very long tenure.
Your finance team would rather carry a single known cost than a monthly commitment.

When SUS makes more sense

Working capital is tight and a large fee at the point of hire is painful.
You are building a team, where several fees would land in the same month.
You want the recruitment cost to track whether the hire actually stays, rather than the introduction alone.

Three ways a recruitment fee can be structured

A one-off fee is not the only alternative to SUS. Some recruiters spread a fixed total fee over a capped number of monthly instalments. All three are described here as categories, not as named suppliers or quoted rates.

Comparison of a one-off recruitment fee, a capped monthly instalment plan and the Startup Staffing monthly fee.
Aspect	One-off fee	Capped monthly plan	SUS monthly fee
Shape of the fee	A single percentage of first-year salary, invoiced once at the point of hire.	A fixed total fee spread over a set number of monthly instalments, usually twelve, then it ends.	An agreed percentage of gross monthly salary, invoiced monthly while that employee remains employed.
Cash at the point of hire	The largest single outflow of the three, close to the start date.	One instalment, not the whole fee.	One monthly fee, not the whole fee.
Total cost if the hire stays a long time	Fixed and closed off on day one.	Fixed once the instalment term completes.	Keeps rising while the employment continues, so it can end up higher than either of the others.
If the employee leaves early	The fee is already paid; recovery depends on the rebate clause in that agency's terms.	Depends on the contract. Some plans continue to fall due for the remaining instalments even after the person has gone — ask.	Billing for that employee stops from their final date of employment.
When the supplier has finished earning	At the introduction.	At the end of the fixed instalment term.	Never in advance: the fee stays aligned with the hire staying in role.
Route to stop future charges	Not applicable — nothing further is due.	Not usually applicable; the instalment schedule runs to its end.	The buy-out value, or the basis for calculating it, is agreed with you in writing in your commercial terms at the outset, for each hire.
Who employs the person	You do.	You do.	You do. SUS is a payment model for permanent recruitment, not an employer of record or umbrella arrangement.

Shape of the fee
One-off fee
A single percentage of first-year salary, invoiced once at the point of hire.
Capped monthly plan
A fixed total fee spread over a set number of monthly instalments, usually twelve, then it ends.
SUS monthly fee
An agreed percentage of gross monthly salary, invoiced monthly while that employee remains employed.
Cash at the point of hire
One-off fee
The largest single outflow of the three, close to the start date.
Capped monthly plan
One instalment, not the whole fee.
SUS monthly fee
One monthly fee, not the whole fee.
Total cost if the hire stays a long time
One-off fee
Fixed and closed off on day one.
Capped monthly plan
Fixed once the instalment term completes.
SUS monthly fee
Keeps rising while the employment continues, so it can end up higher than either of the others.
If the employee leaves early
One-off fee
The fee is already paid; recovery depends on the rebate clause in that agency's terms.
Capped monthly plan
Depends on the contract. Some plans continue to fall due for the remaining instalments even after the person has gone — ask.
SUS monthly fee
Billing for that employee stops from their final date of employment.
When the supplier has finished earning
One-off fee
At the introduction.
Capped monthly plan
At the end of the fixed instalment term.
SUS monthly fee
Never in advance: the fee stays aligned with the hire staying in role.
Route to stop future charges
One-off fee
Not applicable — nothing further is due.
Capped monthly plan
Not usually applicable; the instalment schedule runs to its end.
SUS monthly fee
The buy-out value, or the basis for calculating it, is agreed with you in writing in your commercial terms at the outset, for each hire.
Who employs the person
One-off fee
You do.
Capped monthly plan
You do.
SUS monthly fee
You do. SUS is a payment model for permanent recruitment, not an employer of record or umbrella arrangement.

Cash-flow timing, not a lower total

The strongest argument for SUS is against a large one-off fee at the point of hire: it smooths recruitment cost across the months a hire is actually with you and keeps more cash in the business early on, which matters when you are protecting runway. That is timing and smoothing. It is not a claim of lower total cost — over a long, successful tenure SUS can cost more than a one-off fee.

Against a capped monthly plan, compare the actual figures

We do not claim SUS always gives better cash flow than a capped plan. If a capped twelve-month plan charges the same percentage of salary as SUS, spread equally, the monthly payment and the cumulative cost are identical through month 12. The structural difference begins in month 13: the capped plan has finished, and the SUS fee continues while the employee remains employed.

The exposure is shared over time

The economic exposure is shared over time: you only continue paying the monthly recruitment fee while the employee remains employed, and Humand only continues earning that future fee while they remain employed. The fee stays aligned with the hire staying in role. That is a structural difference from a fee that is fully earned at the introduction or at the end of a fixed instalment term.

A pre-agreed route to close out future charges

The buy-out value, or the basis for calculating it, is agreed with you in writing in your commercial terms at the outset, for each hire. You can exercise that pre-agreed option later under those terms, without a fresh commercial negotiation. Once it is paid, future monthly billing for that hire stops. Other hires are unaffected. Monthly fees already paid are not deducted, credited or refunded against the buy-out by default; they cover the months already elapsed. It is a route to close out future monthly charges for one hire, not a cap on what recruitment can cost.

Being straight about the trade-off

SUS changes when recruitment expenditure happens. It is not automatically cheaper, and over a long, successful tenure it can cost more. Payments continue while each hire remains employed under the agreed terms, so the cumulative total can pass a conventional one-off fee: at the example figures above, Month 14 is the first full month where cumulative SUS cost is above the one-off fee. The exact breakeven is about 13.7 months. The calculator shows both figures openly rather than hiding them, and your written terms already contain the buy-out you can exercise to stop future monthly charges for a hire.

Get a rate The real cost of startup hiring How SUS works

At the example figures a single £60,000 hire is £12,000 traditionally, or £875 per month under SUS — £13,125 cumulatively across 15 months. Illustrative only, not a quotation.

Keep reading

Want this compared against your own numbers?

Send us the roles and rough salaries you are planning and we will talk you through how the two models land for your business.

A specific live vacancy you are trying to fill
Hiring you are planning over the next few months
Several future hires and how they would work together
Whether SUS is the right fit for your business at all

Prefer to talk? 01865 657 000

Prefer email? joseph@humand.co.uk

SUS vs traditional recruitment fees

Side by side

When you pay

Cash in month one

If the employee leaves

Total cost over a long tenure

Flexibility later

Who employs the person

Recruitment work involved

When traditional makes more sense

When SUS makes more sense

Three ways a recruitment fee can be structured

Shape of the fee

Cash at the point of hire

Total cost if the hire stays a long time

If the employee leaves early

When the supplier has finished earning

Route to stop future charges

Who employs the person

Cash-flow timing, not a lower total

Against a capped monthly plan, compare the actual figures

The exposure is shared over time

A pre-agreed route to close out future charges

Being straight about the trade-off

Keep reading

Related reading

How to compare an upfront fee with a monthly recruitment fee

Recruitment fee models compared

What happens to recruitment fees when a hire leaves

Want this compared against your own numbers?