Cost & Pricing
Recruitment fees are not a market with one price. They are a market with several models, each priced differently, and the choice of model matters more than the number. This guide explains the dominant fee models used in UK commercial recruitment, what each model actually buys, and how to think about value rather than headline price when hiring for an intralogistics vendor.
When to use this guide
Use this guide when you are about to engage a recruitment partner for a commercial role and want to understand what you are paying for before you sign.
Any figures, fee bands, salary ranges or percentages quoted on this page are indicative narrative guidance from Evara's operator-led practice in 2026, not a formal benchmark or audited statistic.
Commercial recruitment fees fall into three broad models. Retained search is a fixed engagement fee paid in stages, with the recruiter exclusively engaged and accountable for the outcome. Contingent recruitment is a percentage of first-year remuneration, paid only on placement, often with several agencies working the same brief. Embedded or RPO is a day-rate or monthly retainer for ongoing capacity inside an in-house team. Each model exists for a reason and each fits a different class of seat.
Retained search suits the senior and specialist commercial seats that define an intralogistics vendor's growth: Sales Director, Commercial Director, Head of Sales, Managing Director, and the technical field-sales and key-account roles where the talent pool is narrow. The fee is fixed when the brief is agreed, not pegged to the candidate's package in any honest practice, and it pays for a structured, mapped process rather than a stack of CVs.
Contingent fees are quoted as a percentage of first-year remuneration and paid only on placement. The model suits volume, well-defined seats with a deep pool of active candidates. On a senior commercial search the headline fee can look similar to a retained engagement, but the work the recruiter does for it is materially different. Pay attention to what is included in the engagement, not just the number.
Embedded recruiters and RPO arrangements are priced as a day rate or monthly retainer for ongoing in-house capacity rather than a single search. They make sense when you have sustained, high-volume hiring to run. Below a steady flow of hires, a mix of retained search and in-house effort usually serves a vendor better than a standing embedded arrangement.
On a serious retained search, you are paying for role definition, market mapping, structured outreach to passive candidates, two-stage commercial screening, written shortlist preparation, offer-stage support, and protection if the hire does not work out. On a contingent search, you are paying for speed of CV submission and the recruiter's existing network of active candidates. On an embedded engagement, you are paying for ongoing in-house capacity and the relationship between the recruiter and your hiring managers. The mistake is paying retained-search fees for contingent-search work, or the reverse.
Treat the following as red flags. A retainer that is fully payable up front with no staged delivery and no protection if the hire leaves early. A contingent fee with no replacement guarantee. A vague engagement letter that does not specify the named consultant, the shortlist commitment, or the timeline. A serious firm of any model will give you a clean engagement letter with specific deliverables and dates.
Evara works on a two-payment structure. A commitment deposit is paid up front to start the search and covers the strategic work: role profiling, market mapping, employer value proposition, attraction pack and adverts. A completion fee, set as a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year remuneration, is invoiced on day 60 of employment. That sixty-day delay is the guarantee. If the candidate leaves inside the window, no completion fee is charged. We do not run contingent searches, and we quote both the deposit and the completion fee in writing before any work begins.
Indicative ranges
Evara commitment deposit
Paid up front at kick-off
Covers the strategic work: role profiling, market mapping, employer value proposition, attraction pack and adverts.
Evara completion fee
Percentage of first-year remuneration
Invoiced on day 60 of the placed candidate's employment. The sixty-day delay is the guarantee. If the candidate leaves inside the window, no completion fee is charged.
Ranges are indicative narrative guidance based on Evara's view of the UK market in 2026, not a formal benchmark. Quoted ex-VAT.
FAQs
Often comparable on the headline, sometimes lower on a senior search. The honest answer is that retained search and contingent recruitment are different services. Compare them on the work actually done for the fee, not just on the number on the engagement letter.
A clear two-payment structure works well: a commitment deposit that covers the strategic work up front, and a completion fee that sits behind a delay tied to the placed candidate's employment. Avoid arrangements that are fully payable up front with no staged delivery and no protection.
Sometimes the structure is, less often the underlying value. A serious firm will hold its fee because it reflects the cost of doing the work properly. Negotiating a retained fee down hard usually means you have negotiated the work down with it. Better to push on scope clarity, the replacement guarantee and named-consultant time than on the headline price.
All UK recruitment fees are quoted exclusive of VAT, and VAT is added on the invoice.
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Email Rachel Lunn for a written fee quote on your specific search. We will scope the work, quote the fee, and walk you through what is and is not included.
Email Rachel LunnSpecialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn