Client Terms and Conditions of Business

Talk Recruitment Limited (“Talk Recruitment”, ‘we”, “our”, “us”, “Company”) provides recruitment matching services (“Services”) between temporary workers (“Candidates”) and ECE centres, schools, educational organisations and Healthcare facilities (“Clients") via our website (www.talkrecruitment.co.nz) and web and mobile applications (each a “Site”). All use of the Services and a Site is subject to these Terms & Conditions. References in these Terms & Conditions to “you” shall be deemed to mean Client unless the context otherwise requires. We may from time to time amend these Terms & Conditions.

1. Acceptance of Terms & Conditions

The introduction of a Candidate constitutes acceptance of the Terms & Conditions by the Client.

2. Definitions

For purposes of clarification the following definitions apply :

“Candidate” – any persons introduced to the Client by Talk Recruitment, for the purposes of temporary or permanent position/fixed term (Part-Time or Full-Time). The candidate is also used interchangeably with the word Temporary.

“Temporary” – means any person supplied by Talk Recruitment for the purposes of hire labour services. All Talk Recruitment Temporary workers are independent contractors.

“Client” – any person or organisation who has engaged the services of Talk Recruitment

“Placement Fee” – means the fee payable by the Client to Talk Recruitment for any Permanent or Fixed Term Placements. All Placement Fees are calculated based on a Full-Time position equivalent.

“Part-Time” – means that a Candidate has worked less than 1.0 FTE

“Full-Time” – means that a Candidate works 1.0 FTE. For the purposes of this Talk Recruitment Terms & Conditions, Full-Time is 40 hours per week.

“FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)” – It is a way to describe how many hours a Part-Time position will involve. For example, 0.8 FTTE means the role involves four full working days of teaching per week. Another example, 0.8 FTE could also mean working 32 hours per week, considering the standard Full-Time hours per week is 40 hours.

“FTASE (Full-Time Annual Salary Equivalent)” – used for the purposes of calculating Placement Fees for Candidates in a Part-Time position. FTASE calculates the Full-Time annual salary equivalent for a Candidate in a Part-Time position.

“Services” – means any recruitment matching work (relief work, permanent placement or fixed-term placement)

“Third Party” – means a person or organisation besides the two primarily involved

“Introduction” – means the act of introducing, either verbally or in writing any information pertaining to the Candidate

3. Temporary Placement Services

• Talk Recruitment gives no guarantee of the continued availability of any Candidate and will not be liable to you should a confirmed Candidate become unavailable for a confirmed job.  
• Candidates are VCA compliant and/or Registered and ready for work with a client.
• Any cancellations or changes of a confirmed job booking must be made with no less than 8-hours notice from the start of the confirmed job booking. A minimum booking of 4-hours on a day applies, shifts cannot be changed to 4-hours if booked for longer on the day, the booked shift applies and will be charged, unless 8-hours notice to a change is given.
• If Clients wish to offer any Candidates an employment/position (Full-Time or Part-Time), the Client shall agree to pay the Company a Placement Fee. This also applies to Candidates who were previously employed by the Client.  Failure to inform Talk Recruitment of any such employment will result in a Placement Fee and Overdue Payment Charge.​
• Talk Recruitment issues a fortnightly invoice (every second Monday) to the Client based on the Candidate’s timesheet. Invoices are to be paid within 7 working days. The hourly charge out rate for Temporary's are listed in the Talk Recruitment client pay rates sheet and are subject to change at any time with notice.
• All timesheets will need to be approved by Friday 6pm each week by the centre using the Talk App. The Client can edit and approve timesheets in the app and adjust start, end times and breaks as needed. Please note that post the Friday 6pm deadline no adjustments can or will be made by Talk due to the volume to timesheets being processed. We encourage all Clients to work with their regional consultant to make sure they can edit and approve timesheets as needed.
• Talk Recruitment may vary the pay and charge rates at any time with notice.
• By agreeing to Talk Recruitment's terms of business, you agree to settle all invoices within 7 days of receipt. Late fees will be added to the invoice for payment by the client. At all times we encourage clients to pay on time to avoid late fees.
• Talk Recruitment reserves the right to engage any debt collection agency to retrieve any monies owed. Any additional costs incurred as a result will be borne by the Client.

4. Roles/Responsibilities of a Temporary

• For clarification purposes, all Talk Candidates are independent contractors.
• The role of a Talk Recruitment Temporary is to support the staff and team members at a Client facility.
• Different Clients will have different needs/requirements from a Talk Recruitment Temporary. Likewise, a Talk Recruitment Temporary may also have different expectations when relieving at a Client facility.
• Talk Recruitment Temporary Workers are told to be respectful and attentive to the needs of the Client. We appreciate the same courtesy to be shown to our Temporary.

5. Non-Performance

• If you are unhappy with the caliber or performance of any Temporary, please notify us as soon as possible. Talk Recruitment will have the Temporary removed and endeavour to find a replacement.  
• Failure to report any dissatisfaction will mean that you agree to continue engaging with the Services of the Candidate and be charged for Services rendered.

6. Paid/Unpaid Breaks (Centres)

• Only lunch breaks are considered unpaid breaks.
• If a Temporary is on an 8-hour/day work shift or longer, they are entitled to a 10-15min morning tea and evening tea break each. These are paid breaks.​
• If a Temporary is on a 6-hour/day work shift, they are entitled to one 10-15min break, either morning tea or evening tea (depending on the shift). This is a paid break.
• If a Temporary is on a 4-hour/day work shift or less, they are not entitled to a 10-15min break.

7. Permanent Placement Services

• The Client acknowledges and agrees that information published by Talk Recruitment is intended to provide general information in summary form. In providing the Services, Talk Recruitment relies on the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by the Candidates including, without limitation, the identity, qualifications, employment history and their references.
• It is solely the Client’s responsibility to evaluate and verify the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of all opinions, advice, services and other information provided through a Site or on the Internet generally, including in relation to any Candidate or Client.
• In no event will we be liable to the Client or anyone else for any decision or action taken by you or anyone else in reliance upon any information contained on or omitted from a Site.
• The Client agrees that by Talk Recruitment introducing the candidate the client regardless of ever having met the candidate in any other capacity accepts the full placement fee is due and payable to Talk Recruitment.
• The Client will notify Talk Recruitment in writing if they have employed a Candidate within 48 hours after the event occurrence.

1. Temporary to Permanent Placement

• We will share all jobs with the Talk Temporary Worker pool. Placement fees are charged by the company for Talk Temporary Workers that move from 'temp' roles to permanent positions upon the request of a Client or a Temporary Worker takes a permanent job with a client.
• A worker must have worked at a specific centre for three calendar months consecutively to count as a temporary to permanent placement
• The invoice will be raised upon the confirmation of the job offer by the Client
• The Client agrees that it will perform their own due diligence to meet their own guidelines/requirements, including where such work has been performed by Talk Recruitment on behalf of the Client.
• No Guarantee Period is given by the Company with respect to Candidates initially placed by the Company on a Temporary or fixed-term position who then go on to accept a permanent position with the Client or an associated party of the Client.

2. Permanent Placement

Talk offers a permanent placement service where we source and place a Candidate at a Client facility in two ways. When you work with Talk, your Consultant will support you through the hiring process and provide quality customer service. Their number one mission will be to source and vet potential candidates and find the best teacher available who is a good fit for your team.

Traditional Permanent Placement Service

Talk works with client centres to take a job brief with a detailed job description provided by the client centre. Talk will then source and present suitable candidates for interview. If a client centre offers a contract to a candidate and the candidate accepts the job offer a placement fee is due.

All Placement Fees are calculated based on a Full-Time position equivalent. Minimum fee of $5000

Exclusive Agreement:  Job vacancies must be placed exclusively with Talk Recruitment for a minimum of 3 months before engaging other agencies. If the Client engages other agencies at any time prior to 3 months, the fee due upon placement will reflect the Non-exclusive fees. Under an Exclusive agreement, Talk covers the costs for advertising. If the role moves from Exclusive to Non-exclusive agreement, the Client will be billed for advertising costs incurred.   

Non-exclusive agreement:  the Client may choose to engage other agencies. The Client agrees to keep Talk updated with the status of the role, and any other candidates they’re interviewing/considering for the role. All advertising in SEEK, Trademe and other media is client paid unless otherwise agreed.

When Talk Recruitment formally puts a candidate forward, the Client agrees to respond within 24 hours as to whether they’d like to proceed with the candidate.  The Client agrees to interview the candidate within 4 business days, unless otherwise discussed and agreed upon with Talk Recruitment. 

Service fee: 5% fee of the starting salary or $3,000, whichever is greater, is payable to Talk Recruitment.  

• A service fee is payable if a client does not fully provide an exclusive job listing when under an Exclusive agreement with Talk, that is, if the centre lists or fills the job with another agency, within the 3 month exclusive period. A service fee is payable if the client cancels the vacancy without reasonable cause, or does not provide reasonable explanations for decisions not to proceed with presented candidates.  
• The client agrees to promptly respond to all agency communication, acknowledging its importance throughout the recruitment process; failure to do so, resulting in the loss of suitable candidates, will incur a service fee.
• Placement fees must be paid in full before a candidate can start the position at the client centre

Guarantee period: 12 weeks.  In the event of candidate departure within the specified guarantee period, the agency offers to promptly provide a replacement candidate at no additional cost. A refund will only be issued if a suitable replacement cannot be found.

 Refund Scheme:

• Departure within 2 weeks from start date 100% refund of placement fee*
• Departure within 3-8 weeks from start date 50% refund of placement fee
• Departure within 9-12 weeks from start date 25% refund of placement fee

* An admin fee of $500 applies to placements that end within 2 weeks

** Temp to permanent placements are non-refundable

Refund exclusions: The client acknowledges that certain circumstances may exempt them from receiving a refund, including but not limited to instances where the candidate's departure is due to workplace bullying, harassment, inadequate training or support, misalignment with the contract or job description, or if the client breaches the terms outlined in this agreement. 

Specialist Consultancy Service

Our consultancy service is a pay-as-you-go recruitment service, and we take pride in calling it the best way to recruit new employees for hard-to-fill positions. Talk matches you with your own recruitment consultant who can take care of any or all parts of the recruiting process, thereby taking the stress out of finding your team’s next member.

Please contact your permanent consultant for Consultancy options and fees.  All placements will be agreed upon with the signing of a Job Engagement Form. 

8. Client Obligations

• Clients are responsible for familiarising themselves with and complying with their obligations under all health and safety statutory requirements (including the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and applicable regulations).
• The Client’s obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 includes being responsible for ensuring the well-being of Candidates who are working for them.  From the time the Candidate shows up for duty, they are deemed to be under the supervision and direction of the Client for the duration of the assignment and agree to be responsible for all their acts and/or errors. That will include ensuring the Candidates are familiar with, understand, and comply with any health and safety policies, procedures, training, and inductions that apply at the Client’s workplace. Failure to provide these instructions to the Candidate is the Client’s risk to undertake. The Client is responsible for the Candidates Health and Safety.
• If an accident, incident or other event occurs at the Client involving a Candidate that is required by law to be notified to WorkSafe, then the Client will immediately notify both WorkSafe and the Company of that event.
• The Client agrees to indemnify the Company against any loss, damages or expenses that may occur as a direct/indirect result of the Candidate.

9. Limitation of Liability

• We provide no warranty to the Client that the Services generally available through Talk Recruitment will be error/fault-free.
• The Client will indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all damages, losses, and expenses of any kind (including any legal fees and costs).
• We shall not be liable to you by reason of any implied warranty, condition or other terms, or any duty at common law, or under the terms of this contract, for indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of business or future business or loss of information or data (in each case whether direct or indirect).

10. Payments

• The Client will pay all charges and fees plus GST (if any) which have been invoiced to them by the Company.
• By agreeing to Talk Recruitment's terms and conditions, you agree to settle all invoices within 7 days of receipt. Late fees will be added to the invoice for payment by the client. At all times we encourage clients to pay on time to avoid late fees.
• Permanent placements are to be paid in full upon the centre offering a job to a candidate and the candidate signing a centre contract and before a candidate starts the job.
• If a debt collection agency is engaged for the collection of any outstanding fees, all associated fees will be borne by the Client.
• All charges and fees shown under this agreement are exclusive of GST. GST shall be calculated and shown in the Company’s invoice and must be paid by the Client receiving the benefit of the Company’s Services.
• Any dispute or set-off claim raised by a Client does not entitle the Client to withhold payment of any money owed to the company.

11. Nature of the relationship between Client and Candidate

• The Client acknowledges and agrees that any permanent Candidate provided to them by the Company becomes an employee of the Client.​
• The Client shall be responsible for complying with all employment-related legislation including the provisions of the Employment Relations Act and the Health and Safety in Employment Act (including any amendments to those enactments).
• Any Candidate that the Company puts forward to the Client shall be deemed to be found by the Company first. If the Client has past/current communications with any Candidates that the Company has put forward, the Client agrees to notify and inform the Company before engaging the Services of the Company.
• The Client is liable to pay Talk Recruitment a Placement Fee in accordance with these Terms & Conditions :
• If the Candidate is employed by the Client in any capacity within 6 months of Talk Recruitment making the Introduction.
• If the Client passes the details of the Candidate to a Third Party (including any subsidiaries/affiliations) that subsequently employs the Candidate within 6 months of Talk Recruitment making the Introduction.
• If in any way the Candidate becomes employed because Talk Recruitment made the Introduction.
• If the Client and Company agree to look for Candidates simultaneously, it is the responsibility of the Client to notify the Company of any Candidates they have shortlisted. In the event both the Client and Company have shortlisted the same Candidate, the Candidate is deemed to have been found by the Company first unless the Client has notified and informed the Company beforehand.

12. Confidentiality

• Any information supplied to the Client by the Company regarding a Candidate is done strictly on a confidential basis to enable the Client to assess a Candidate’s suitability for the position. Except where authorised or required by law, disclosure of any information to any Third Party by the Client will require express written consent from the Company.
• All information disclosed by a Client to the Company will be held confidential by the Company and will not be disclosed to any Third Party without the consent of the Client.
• Any confidential information provided by a Client to the Company may be accessed by any agent, employee or affiliate of the Company in order to complete a successful Candidate placement for the Client.

13. General

• It is agreed between the Client and the Company that all Candidates on assignment are employees of the Company and not the Client.
• If the Client breaches these Terms & Conditions, then we may at our discretion immediately suspend or terminate the use of our Services on notice to you. We will notify you by email or at the next time, you attempt to access your account.
• Any termination shall not affect those provisions intended to or capable of surviving termination and shall be without prejudice to our rights and remedies accruing prior to termination.
• No waiver by us of any breach or failure to enforce any provision of these Terms & Conditions shall in any way affect, limit or waive our right to subsequently enforce and compel strict compliance with these Terms & Conditions.
• If any provision of the Terms & Conditions is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed deleted and such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of, all of which shall remain in full force and effect to the extent permitted by law, subject to any modifications made necessary by the deletion of the invalid or unenforceable provisions.
• These Terms & Conditions will be governed by New Zealand law and subject to the jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

14. Worker Safety Checks

Workforce safety checks involve gathering a range of key information about a person and evaluating this information to determine whether they pose any risk in being employed at a Client facility.  

We provide Worker Safety Checks that meet all Vulnerable Children Act (VCA) requirements. This covers candidates for Education and Healthcare roles.

• Vulnerable Children's Act 2014 - Click Here
• Click Here for a VCA Practical Guide

Please visit:

Vulnerable Children's Act 2014

Relieving Teachers Safety Checking under the Vulnerable Children Act 2014A Resource for Early Learning Services

Types of Children's Worker Safety Checks:

New employee check:

The regulations require that the worker safety checks include:

• Identity verification
• Police vetting
• Reference checks
• Employment verification checks
• Checks with professional registration bodies or licensing authorities
• Interviews
• A risk assessment that considers the specific child safety-related risk.

Existing employee check:

For all Temporary Workers the safety check needs to be updated every three years and the following steps need to be followed when a worker is being re-checked:

• Confirmation of any name change by the worker in the past 3 years and provision of any official documents associated with any name change
• Police vet that is VCA applicable
• Check of relevant licensing/registration (person to report on their membership and then employer/engaging agency to confirm with the relevant body)
• Risk assessment and final decision.

Police Checks / Vetting:

Police Vetting will be completed by the New Zealand Police Click Here‍

Use of an Identity Referee to verify an applicant’s identity Evidence of Identity checks may be completed by an Identity Referee, outside of your organisation, where it cannot be carried out by you in person e.g. when completed consent forms are received via email, not in person. An Identity Referee must:  

• be either a person of standing in the community (e.g. registered professional, religious or community leader, Police employee) or registered with the Approved Agency.  
• be over 16 years of age.  
• not be related or a partner/spouse.  
• not be a co-resident of the applicant.

To verify an applicant’s identity, the Identity Referee must:

1. Sight the original versions of each identity document.
2. Compare the photographic image with the applicant to confirm they are the same person.
3. Sign and date a copy of each document to verify that the documents produced by the applicant relate to that person.
4. Provide his or her name and contact details.
5. Send the signed identity documents to the Approved Agency.

15. Education Clients and Documentation

All Clients sign up online and must sign the Safety Check MOU which covers the centre for all documentation required by the Ministry of Education. No documents are sent for relief teachers placed by Talk as all documents are held on behalf of the centre.