Contract vs FullTime

[mcfly]

What is the name of your state? CA

I apologize for my ignorance here.. I'm going to use two terms, which I'm sure are imprecise. "Full Time" I mean full-time, at-will employment with a company. "Contract" I mean full-time employment under a formal contract for specific services (I think this would be called a for-cause employment as opposed to at-will?) but I don't know.

I am in a situation where I am leaving my current "full time, at-will" employment by my choice to seek employment somewhere else. I found something suitable, however I did so with the help of a recruiter who cold-called me. He set up the interview and all that.

The problem is the company wants to hire me (the company). A good problem to have However, the recruiting firm (the recruiter) is saying I need to do a 3 month contract through his company (where I'd be "assigned" to the company that wants to hire me). The company wants to hire me full time. I want to be hired full time. Recruiter is insisting I need to contract first.

The question is.. what kind of hold on the company could the recruiter have? In order words, could the recruiter sue or otherwise prevent the company from hiring me full time?

Certainly, I wish to avoid any unfairness or legal action -- as the recruiter provided a valuable service and I would want him to be compensated for it. I am hoping to help convince the recruiter and the company to come to some kind of agreement. I just want to understand what rights and powers the recruiter has so that I can be as informed as possible about all my options.

Thanks!

 

[Beth3]

The question is.. what kind of hold on the company could the recruiter have? In order words, could the recruiter sue or otherwise prevent the company from hiring me full time? Only if the recruiter and the employer entered into an agreement whereby anyone he placed with the employer would work on a "temp to hire" basis. That is, the new person would be on the staffing agency's payroll for a period of time before being hired directly by the employer. That's a fairly common arrangement but I don't think it was very ethical of the recruiter not to tell you about the agreement with the employer right up front.

You may want to speak to the employer directly just to make sure what the recruiter is telling you is on the "up and up." If it is, then it's entirely up to you to decide whether to accept the job on the terms being offered. If it's not, then let the employer handle it. Any legal problems would be between the employer and the recruiter, not the recruiter and you unless you signed an agreement with the recruiter obligating you to work as a contract employee if he placed you somewhere.