# Proposals, Fees, Terms and Commercial Expectations: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/proposals-fees-terms

Explain recruitment services, model their economics and prepare clear commercial discussions for proper review.

## Your deliverable
A proposal outline and commercial-assumptions checklist.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Service scope and exclusions

Your notes:



## 2. Deliverables and mutual responsibilities

Your notes:



## 3. Fee basis and worked calculation

Your notes:



## 4. Payment events and cash timing

Your notes:



## 5. Changes, cancellation and dispute questions

Your notes:



## 6. Professional review and approval

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Describe the service before the price

Draft a proposal outline for a fictional specialist search with five deliverables and three exclusions.

Your response:


Worked example: A mapping proposal promises a defined research scope and decision brief. It does not imply a complete recruitment engagement, guaranteed candidate interest or employment-business services that the provider is not set up to deliver.

Self-review guidance: Make the boundary clear enough to distinguish outputs from outcomes. Include client responsibilities and identify which legal or regulatory questions need professional review.

### 2. Explain fee mechanics transparently

Calculate three fictional fee scenarios and list the definitions needed to avoid ambiguity.

Your response:


Worked example: For illustration, a 20% fee on a defined £60,000 base equals £12,000 before any applicable tax. The example does not decide whether bonuses, allowances or other elements belong in the contractual base.

Self-review guidance: Show arithmetic and distinguish illustrative assumptions from proposed contractual terms. Include payment timing and avoid treating invoiced revenue as cash already available.

### 3. Surface risks, changes and dependencies

Create a negotiation checklist with eight questions and mark those requiring legal input.

Your response:


Worked example: A client changes the role after a finalist is selected. The parties need to determine how the new scope affects delivery and commercial arrangements under their actual agreement, not assume a universal industry rule applies.

Self-review guidance: Focus on clarity and scenario testing. Include a cancelled role, duplicate introduction and changed compensation. Do not write definitive legal conclusions from the course example.

### 4. Model sustainability and confirm agreement

Build a simple engagement cost and cash-timing model and write a go or revise decision.

Your response:


Worked example: A discounted engagement requires the same intensive research but extends payment timing. The cash model shows a funding gap. The recruiter renegotiates scope or timing rather than accepting a headline fee that cannot support delivery.

Self-review guidance: Include delivery hours, overhead assumptions, uncertainty and payment dates. State where professional accounting or legal advice is needed. A viable agreement must be deliverable as well as signed.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses](https://www.gov.uk/employment-agencies-and-businesses): UK sector context. Distinguish introducing permanent staff from supplying workers.
- [GOV.UK: Set up a business](https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business): UK starting point. Business structure and obligations depend on the circumstances.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.