Can Your Headhunter Get You Sued?

In today's competitive job market, professionals are grasping at straws when it comes to finding the perfect corporate position. Headhunters can seem like a dream come true, but can your headhunter get you sued? According to several consumer advocate websites, the answer is "yes", especially if you are a skilled tradesman or a high-level executive with whom everyone wants an interview. In this scenario, those with the most skills and the best track record are in the most danger of getting sued because of their headhunter.

In order to understand this concept, you'll have to know how a headhunter works. Essentially, headhunters are recruited by major companies to find acceptable bodies to fill their positions. The headhunter is paid a portion (usually around one-third) of the successful candidate's first year salary, but the applicants don't have to pay the headhunter anything. This is a great deal for both headhunters and applicants and the employer wins too because they get the best people for their jobs.

The problem is that, even with non-compete agreements, headhunters have a tendency to create rivalry between competing businesses. When a headhunter sets an executive up with an interview for a business in the same industry, the original employer becomes incensed and is likely to take legal action against the headhunter, the new employer and even the employee. Unfortunately, this legal maneuvering has standing under the concept of inevitable disclosure, which means that if someone moves from one corporation to another, he will inevitably leak secrets about his old employer to the new one.

The problem is that headhunters won't warn their clients about the potential to be sued, which leaves the employee in a legal bind as well as a predicament concerning employment. The new employer may choose to cancel the employee's contract to avoid a legal battle, thus leaving the employee without a job. The old employer won't extend a new employment contract and the headhunter gets to keep his or her "finder's fee".

So how do you avoid letting your headhunter get you sued?