The Case

Our client had been supplying locum healthcare workers to a long-standing organisation for several years. When a senior consultant left the business and joined a competitor, our client expected some disruption. What they did not expect was what came next.

Within months, the entire pool of locum workers placed with that organisation had been transferred across to their new employer. Transfer fees totalling approximately £185,000 were raised. The other side disputed them.

Here is where it got complicated.

The organisation in question was not just one relationship. It was part of a broader group that represented a significant chunk of our client’s business. Pursuing the full £185,000 risked fracturing something worth considerably more than the invoices in dispute.

This is the kind of decision that keeps recruitment business owners up at night. Fight for what you are owed and risk the relationship or protect the relationship and take a hit on the debt.

The Result

• £110,000 settlement secured
• No court proceedings required
• Relationship protected for future business
• Evidence secured to pursue the ex-employee for breach of their restraints

The Takeaway

Not every case is about recovering the maximum possible figure. Sometimes the right outcome is a settlement that protects the business on both sides of the ledger.

What recLAW does in cases like this is give clients a clear view of where they stand legally so they can make a commercial decision with confidence. Our client knew what they could pursue. They also knew what they stood to lose. Armed with that, they made the call.

The settlement at £110,000 was not a compromise born of weakness. It was a strategic decision made from a position of legal clarity. And that is a different thing entirely.

For the other side, the signal was clear.

Transfer fees are enforceable and attempts to move workers across without settlement do not go unchallenged. What is more, the evidence gathered during this process leaves the door open to pursue the ex-employee for breach of their restraints.

That case is still to come.

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