Recruitment firms & headhunters

Electronic signature for recruitment firms

Job offer letter, search mandate, placement contract, candidate confidentiality agreement, secondment contract: coordinate three-way signature between recruitment firm ↔ client company ↔ candidate without mail or in-person meetings. Compliant with the Labor Code, CNIL recruitment resolutions, the eIDAS regulation and Article 1366 of the Civil Code.

Use cases in a recruitment firm

From search mandate to final placement, each step involves at least two parties to coordinate: the firm almost never signs alone.

Search mandate (exclusive or non-exclusive)

Mandate signed with the client company before the mission starts: scope, fees, exclusivity, replacement guarantee. Signature in less than 24 hours to start the search without waiting for a mail response.

Three-way employment promise

Reciprocal promise signed by the client company, countersigned by the firm (in its capacity as mandatary), then accepted by the candidate. The dual-channel OTP formally identifies each party and traces the date of acceptance — enforceable under Article L1221-1 of the Labor Code.

Candidate confidentiality agreement (shortlist NDA)

Before sharing the confidential client brief with shortlisted candidates, an NDA protects the advertiser's identity and job terms. Mobile signature in less than 2 minutes from the candidate's side.

Placement contract & fees

Placement agreement signed between the recruitment firm and client company: payment terms, replacement guarantee conditions (typically 3-6 months), termination provisions. 10-year archival with probative value for Urssaf audits and fee disputes.

Personnel provision agreement (temporary, staff leasing, CDD-trampoline)

Personnel provision: tripartite agreement between recruitment firm ↔ user company ↔ employee, coordinated signatures in a single envelope with common timestamp. Compliant with Code du travail sections L1251-42 and following.

RPO & sourcing engagement letter

For Recruitment Process Outsourcing or fixed-fee sourcing missions: engagement letter specifying deliverables, KPIs and reporting. Advanced electronic signature for formal commitment from the client.

Why Certyneo for recruitment firms

Six garanties pensées pour la spécificité du recrutement : signature tripartite, mobilité candidat, GDPR strict et délais ultra-courts.

Native tripartite signature

A single envelope coordinates the client, the firm and the candidate, configurable signature order (sequential or parallel), automatic notification of the promotion, and a single path for all three parties.

Mobile signature candidate without account creation

Applicants often on international mobility or in employment sign from their phones in less than 2 minutes, without downloading an app or creating an account.

Audit trail admissible to the Board of Directors

Each signed promise produces a time stamped certificate: identity of the candidate (OTP email + SMS), date of acceptance, SHA-256 imprint of the document.

According to the CNIL recruitment deliberation

Données candidats chiffrées (TLS 1.3 + AES-256), hébergement 100 % UE, suppression sur demande, traçabilité des accès. Conforme à la délibération CNIL n°2002-017 et au GDPR pour le traitement des données personnelles en recrutement.

10 years of archiving for the Urssaf checks

The contracts and mandates are kept for 10 years as evidence, the recommended period for Urssaf checks and fee litigation.

API and ATS integrations

Webhooks, Zapier and Make to connect Certyneo to your ATS (LinkedIn Talent Hub, Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, Beetween, Flatchr). Automatically create an envelope when validating an offer on the ATS side, update the candidate status for signing.

Probative value of the signed job offer

Since the Court of Cassation ruling of September 21, 2017 (Cass. soc., no. 16-20.103), the unilateral job offer no longer constitutes an employment contract until the candidate accepts it — but acceptance immediately binds the employer. The acceptance date therefore becomes the triggering event for all rights: probation period, seniority, withdrawal.

Certyneo issues for each signed offer a audit certificate embedded in the PDF, which brings together all technical evidence:

Candidate identity (verified email, phone confirmed by OTP)
Exact date and time of acceptance — qualified, enforceable timestamp
SHA-256 fingerprint of the offer as accepted, which demonstrates the absence of subsequent modification
Log of consultations (how many times the candidate opened the offer before accepting)
Identification of the offer author on the client company side (countersigned signature)

This body of evidence protects the recruitment firm and client company against typical disputes ("I never accepted", "the offer was modified", "the acceptance date is later") and secures defense before the Labor Court.

Code du travail, CNIL recrutement et GDPR

Recruitment processes particularly sensitive data (CV, family situation, mobility, salary expectations) that require a strict compliance framework.

Labour Code placement and making available

Article L5321-1 covers paid placement activities, Article L1251-42 et seq. covers temporary work and the making available of staff.

The Commission has also adopted a proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

The CNIL requires transparent information from the candidate, a purpose limited to professional evaluation, a proportionate retention period.

GDPR — base légale & droits du candidat

Base légale = exécution de mesures précontractuelles à la demande du candidat (article 6.1.b du GDPR). Droits du candidat (accès, rectification, effacement, portabilité) implémentés nativement. DPA standard disponible au signup pour formaliser le rôle de sous-traitant.

Replacement warranty & fees

The advanced electronic signature formally traces the date of hiring of the candidate placed starting point of the guarantee period (generally 3-6 months).

Electronic signature guide·eIDAS guide·Certyneo security·Free contract templates

Frequently asked questions from recruitment firms

Is a promise of employment signed electronically enforceable?

Yes. The promise of employment can be signed on any medium (article 1366 of the Civil Code : electronic writing has the same evidentiary force as paper writing). Since the judgment Cass. soc. of 21 September 2017 (no. 16-20.103), it is the acceptance of the candidate that forms the contract Certyneo traces this acceptance with a qualified time stamp that can be challenged to the Conseil de prud'hommes.

How do you manage the three-way signature firm client candidate ?

A single Certyneo envelope coordinates the three parties.You set up the order of signing (e.g. client first, then firm to countersigner, then candidate), each party receives its link at the right stage, and a single audit trail traces the three signatures with their respective time stamps.

How much time do we have to get a signing of a promise of employment?

There is no legal deadline for the signature on the client's business side, but once the promise is sent to the candidate, the latter must accept it within a reasonable time (in practice 7 to 10 days depending on the case law).

Les données des candidats sont-elles conformes au GDPR ?

Oui. Hébergement 100 % UE (IONOS Allemagne), chiffrement TLS 1.3 en transit et AES-256 au repos, isolation stricte des données par cabinet. La base légale du traitement est l'exécution de mesures précontractuelles à la demande du candidat (article 6.1.b GDPR). Une DPA standard est disponible et conforme à la délibération CNIL n°2002-017 sur le recrutement.

Can a contract for the provision of services (interim, portage) be signed?

Yes, contracts for employment (Articles L1251-42 et seq. of the Labour Code) require a tripartite signature: firm/agency user company employee.

What are the ATS Certyneo integrations?

Native connectors via Zapier and Make for LinkedIn Talent Hub, Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, Beetween, Flatchr. Our REST API allows automatic envelope creation to validate an offer in your ATS, and updating the candidate status to sign the pledge. Full documentation at certyneo.com/developers.

How long are promises and contracts kept in the archives ?

Our plans include a 10-year probative archiving, recommended length of time for Urssaf inspections, fee litigation and prud'homal actions.

Does the candidate have to create a Certyneo account to accept a promise?

No. The candidate receives a direct link via email, opens the appointment on their phone, verifies their number via an SMS code (OTP), signs with their name and finger without downloading an app, without creating an account, without CB. UX-wise, the experience is designed to create no friction within 7-10 days of acceptance.

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