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"My friend's boyfriend, who works in the IT dept. of a very prominent
national magazine, recently told me that he's broke this year because when
his headhunter placed him in the job, the headhunting firm got 25% of his
first year's salary.
I always thought that the company that hires the employee paid the
headhunter fee out of their own pocket, _not_ out of the hiree's actual
salary..."
***
Your friend's boyfriend definitely got a raw deal, but not necessarily by
the headhunting firm. For a headhunter to get a 25% commission on a new
hire is common, but you are correct that the company should ALWAYS pick up
the bill. I think your friend may have an issue with his employer though.
You see, the headhunters will get their 25%; that's their fee. But if your
friend's employer is the one who took the money out of his salary to pay
the bill, it is the company that is "shafting" their own employee. When
the company made their initial offer, they may have rolled the headhunter
fee into the salary with the intention of paying it out. Unless your
friend authorized a payroll deduction, I can't see how they could legally
take money out of his paycheck for the headhunter. He may also want to
re-read his offer letter or contract to make sure it wasn't mentioned in
there (i.e. the fine print).
