How Long Does a Recruitment Guarantee Last? What Swedish Employers Should Check

When a recruiter or agency promises a guarantee, the first question Swedish hiring managers should ask is simple: how long does the recruitment guarantee last, and what exactly happens if the hire leaves early?

Many contracts bury the answer in fine print. A three-month window looks generous until you realise the clock starts on start date, not offer acceptance — and that “guarantee” often means one free replacement search, not a refund. For Stockholm SaaS teams and Nordic scale-ups that hire under pressure, that distinction can cost months of lost momentum.

This guide walks through typical guarantee periods in Sweden, what they usually cover, what voids them, and how to negotiate terms that actually protect you.

What “recruitment guarantee” usually means

In Swedish and Nordic agency contracts, a recruitment guarantee is almost never a money-back promise. It is typically a free replacement: if the placed candidate leaves (or is dismissed for performance) within the guarantee window, the agency re-runs the search at no extra fee.

Common variants:

• Free replacement only — one new search for the same role; no cash back.
• Partial refund — rare; sometimes a sliding scale (e.g. 50% if the hire leaves in month one).
• Extended search credit — you get a credit toward another role rather than a like-for-like replacement.

Ask for the exact wording in Swedish and English. “Garanti” sounds absolute; the clause often is not.

How long does a recruitment guarantee last in practice?

In the Swedish market you will most often see:

Period	Where it shows up	What it fits
3 months	Contingency agencies, volume roles	Cheap list price; weak protection for specialist hires
6 months	Mid-market retained or hybrid deals	Common default for professional roles
12 months	Senior / leadership retained search	Stronger, but watch exclusions

A 6-month guarantee aligns loosely with many Swedish provanställning (probation) setups of up to six months under the Employment Protection Act (LAS). That does not mean the guarantee automatically covers every probation exit — agencies often carve out “mutual agreement” exits, reorganisations, and “cultural fit” disputes.

For a Stockholm product company hiring a senior backend engineer on a six-month probation, a three-month agency guarantee ends halfway through probation. If the hire fails in month five, you pay again. Match the guarantee to probation length, or longer.

What usually voids the guarantee

Read the exclusions before you sign. Typical voids include:

1. Role change — title, scope, or reporting line shifts after start.
2. Compensation cut — salary, bonus, or equity reduced without the candidate’s written consent.
3. Redundancy / reorganisation — company-driven exits often excluded.
4. Misconduct carve-outs — some clauses exclude only gross misconduct; others exclude any performance-related dismissal.
5. Late notice — you must notify the agency within 5–14 days of the exit, in writing.
6. Candidate known to you — if your ATS already held the CV, the guarantee (and sometimes the fee) can be disputed.

A Gothenburg manufacturing scale-up once lost a six-month guarantee after promoting the hire into a broader mandate at month two. The agency argued the “guaranteed role” no longer existed. Put role-change rules in writing before kickoff.

Free replacement vs refund: why the difference matters

A free replacement still costs you:

• Manager time for another round of interviews
• Delayed delivery on the team’s roadmap
• Onboarding cost you already spent

A refund (full or partial) at least returns cash. Most Swedish contingency firms will not offer cash-back as standard. You can sometimes negotiate a hybrid: free replacement in months 1–3, then a partial fee credit in months 4–6.

If the agency’s bench for your niche is thin — for example niche fintech compliance in Stockholm — a free replacement may be slow. Prefer a fee credit you can spend on another search, or switch to a model where you only pay when someone actually starts.

How Swedish employers should negotiate

Before you accept a standard PDF:

1. Align guarantee length with probation. If probation is six months, ask for at least six. For leadership, push for twelve.
2. Define “departure.” Resignation, performance termination, and mutual separation should all trigger the guarantee unless you agree otherwise.
3. Cap the replacement timeline. The agency should present a shortlist within a set number of weeks, not an open-ended “we will try.”
4. Keep the same fee basis. Replacement should use the original role profile and seniority — not a cheaper junior substitute.
5. Remove vague culture clauses. “Poor cultural fit” without documentation is a common escape hatch.
6. Get notice rules in calendar days, not “business days,” and allow email notice.

For startups hiring their first five specialists, a long guarantee on a high retained fee can still be worse economics than a pay-on-results marketplace. Run the numbers: one failed hire at 20–25% of annual salary hurts more than a slightly higher success fee that only triggers on start.

Guarantee questions to ask every agency or marketplace

Use this checklist on sales calls:

• How long is the guarantee, and when does the clock start (offer vs first day)?
• Is it free replacement, refund, or credit?
• How many replacements are included — one, or until filled?
• What exits are excluded?
• What happens if you change the JD mid-search or post-start?
• Do you guarantee the same seniority and skill bar on replacement?
• In which language is the binding contract?

If answers are vague, assume the narrowest reading will apply when you need it.

A practical Sweden example

Imagine a 40-person Stockholm SaaS company hiring a Head of Customer Success on a six-month provanställning. Agency fee: 22% of base. Guarantee: 3 months, free replacement only, excludes “organisational change” and “role expansion.”

Month four: the hire underperforms after the company adds EMEA to the mandate. Guarantee already expired; exclusion would likely have applied anyway. The company pays a second fee or runs an emergency internal stretch assignment.

Better setup: 6–12 month guarantee, explicit coverage for performance exits during probation, and a written rule that reasonable scope growth within the same function does not void protection. Or post the role on a marketplace where independent recruiters compete and you pay when the candidate starts — so a missed hire does not leave you with a sunk agency invoice and a short guarantee.

Where Recruiting Rewards fits

Traditional guarantees try to patch a fee-upfront (or fee-on-hire) agency model. Another path is to change the risk profile: post the role, let independent recruiters compete, and pay when the candidate starts. That pay-on-results structure does not replace every use of a retained search for board-level work, but for many specialist and mid-senior roles in Sweden it removes the awkward gap between a short guarantee and a long probation.

If you compare agencies this quarter, put rekryteringsgaranti hur länge on the scorecard next to price and time-to-shortlist. Length without clear coverage is marketing. Length plus written triggers, notice rules, and replacement SLAs is protection you can use.

Bottom line

Recruitment guarantees in Sweden most often last 3, 6, or 12 months and usually mean one free replacement, not a refund. Match the period to probation, read every exclusion, and negotiate notice rules and replacement timelines in writing. When the guarantee on offer is short or porous, weigh marketplace models that charge on successful start instead of promising to “make it right” after the fact.

Ask for the clause. Clock the months from day one. And make sure “garanti” in the pitch deck matches the contract you sign.