You have found someone you want to hire. Making the offer should be straightforward. It often becomes complicated because the business and candidate have been having slightly different conversations all the way through.
The offer is not the moment to reveal the real salary, a different job title or a condition nobody mentioned. It should bring together what both sides already understand.
Check what you are actually offering
Before you call, confirm who has approved the offer and the terms you are authorised to discuss. Check the job, responsibilities, salary, hours, location, benefits and intended start date.
If development or progression has been part of the conversation, be clear about what is agreed and what remains a possibility. Do not turn a hopeful discussion into a promise you cannot deliver.
A job title matters when it changes somebody’s understanding of responsibility or status. So does a working pattern. Small print is not a good way to introduce a substantial change.
Deal with important conditions before they become a surprise
I have seen an offer include a requirement to obtain a driving licence by the sixth month. I have also seen someone given four weeks to find a company car, unable to get the credit they needed and then lose the job.
Those experiences are why I ask employers to think through what a condition actually means for the person accepting it. They are recollections of recruitment situations, not legal judgments about those cases.
If driving or access to a vehicle is genuinely necessary for the work, explain the requirement early and consider what the job actually needs. A condition which sounds simple in the office may depend on time, money or circumstances the candidate cannot change on demand.
This is not an argument against legitimate checks. It is an argument for relevant, clear conditions and a proper conversation before someone reorganises their life around a new job.
Make the conditions clear and get the checks right
State any conditions expressly, such as satisfactory references, a necessary qualification or a required right-to-work check. Explain what needs to happen, who is responsible and how progress will be communicated. Complete the required right-to-work check before employment starts.
Do not assume that adding “subject to checks” removes every contractual risk. An accepted offer can create a binding contract, including through a verbal agreement. The wording, conditions and what has happened all matter.
The candidate also needs to understand the position before making decisions about notice. Do not assure them that any written offer automatically makes it safe to resign. Be clear about what remains outstanding and allow them to make an informed decision about their own obligations.
Probation is not a period without rights
A probation period can set out how you will review performance and support someone settling in. It is not permission to disregard the contract or employment rights.
Length of service affects some claims, but not every claim. Discrimination and certain automatically unfair dismissal protections are important examples of why “they have not been here long” is not a safe decision-making process.
Rules can change, and the position differs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Use current guidance and take advice on an individual case rather than relying on an old recruitment article as a dismissal policy.
Have the conversation, then confirm it accurately
Make the offer personally where you can. Explain why you want them, the agreed terms and the next step. Give them room to ask questions rather than treating acceptance as something they owe you for reaching the final interview.
If they ask for a change, establish what matters and check what the business can actually authorise. Do not make a promise on the phone and hope someone will approve it afterwards.
Follow up promptly in writing, consistently with the conversation. Include the relevant terms, the conditions, the proposed start arrangements, how to accept and who to contact. The offer letter and the required written statement of employment particulars are related documents, but sending an offer does not remove the employer’s separate obligation to provide the required particulars on time.
Agree a reasonable decision timetable. There is no universal 24-hour rule. Equally, leaving an approved offer sitting on somebody’s desk for days creates avoidable uncertainty.
Talk sensibly about counteroffers
An existing employer may try to keep the person. Ask what they wanted to change when they first considered your role, and whether the new offer addresses that.
Sometimes money is central; sometimes it is the work, manager, location or development. Do not decide the answer for them or attack their current employer. Help them compare the actual choices.
If you change your own offer, it should be an approved decision you can stand behind, not a number invented to win an auction. There is no need for a sweeping statistic about what happens to everyone who accepts a counteroffer. The individual circumstances matter.
Keep in touch after acceptance
Acceptance is not the end of recruitment. Confirm the remaining checks, agreed start arrangements and who will stay in contact during notice. Tell the candidate if something changes.
Prepare the first day and the support discussed during the process. Make sure the manager knows what has been promised. A good welcome does not need to be elaborate, but somebody should know the person is coming and what they will be doing.
Then follow through on the first 90 days. If the hiring decision depended on development, provide it. If expectations need adjusting, have the conversation early.
That is the point of the whole series: a clear job, an honest process and an offer both sides understand. The work you put into the earlier stages should still be visible when the person arrives.
The Employer Recruitment Pack brings the practical resources together. If the hire forms part of a longer-term handover or capability gap, read the succession planning article as well.