Right to Represent

Why RTRs exist

In contract and IT staffing especially, several agencies may chase the same requisition and approach the same candidates. Without a clear record, a candidate can be submitted twice, or submitted without knowing it, which annoys the client, can disqualify the candidate and leads to fee disputes between suppliers. Many client contracts and VMS programs therefore require proof of the candidate's consent with each submittal, and a first-to-submit rule decides which agency owns the candidate for that role.

An RTR also protects the candidate. It records the rate or salary they agreed to, the client and role they approved, and that they will not be sent elsewhere without their say.

What an RTR should say

A typical RTR is a short email or one-page form confirming:

• Candidate's full name and contact details
• The agency or recruiter granted the right
• The client name (or, where the client is confidential, a clear description) and the job title or requisition number
• The pay rate or salary the candidate agreed to be submitted at, and the employment type (W-2 contract, corp-to-corp, temp-to-hire, direct hire)
• The period of exclusivity, often 30 to 90 days or the life of the requisition
• A statement that the candidate has not been submitted, and will not submit themselves or through another agency, to this role during that period
• Date and signature or a clear written reply

You can use our right to represent form as a starting document and our right to represent email when consent by reply is enough.

How it works in practice

A recruiter at a staffing agency finds a Java developer for a bank's contract role at $78 an hour on W-2. Before submitting, she sends an RTR email naming the bank, the requisition number and the rate, and asks the candidate to reply "I agree." He replies within an hour. She uploads the profile to the bank's VMS with the RTR attached.

Two days later another supplier submits the same candidate at $72 an hour. The VMS flags the duplicate. The bank checks timestamps and RTRs, keeps the first submission and rejects the second. Had the candidate signed RTRs with both agencies, many programs would disqualify him from the role altogether, which is why recruiters ask candidates up front where else they have been submitted.

Legal status and limits

An RTR is mainly a commercial and consent document, not an employment contract. How enforceable an exclusivity promise is against a candidate depends on the wording and on state law, and disputes between agencies usually turn on the client's supplier agreement rather than on the RTR itself. RTRs also hold personal data, so store them securely and keep them only as long as your retention policy and privacy laws, such as state privacy statutes or GDPR for candidates in Europe, allow. Have counsel review the template if you rely on it for fee claims.

Common mistakes

• Blanket RTRs that cover "any role with any client," which many clients will not accept and which candidates rightly distrust
• Not stating the rate, so the candidate later disputes the submitted figure
• Pressuring candidates with long exclusivity periods for a single role
• Collecting the RTR after submitting, which defeats the point
• Leaving RTRs in personal inboxes instead of the ATS, so nobody can find them when a dispute comes up