Free Job Order Form Template

A job order is a document that turns a company’s hiring need into a clear, written description of one role. The client company fills it in, or gives the details to the agency’s recruiter, before the agency starts looking for candidates. It records the job title, number of openings, placement type, worksite, schedule, duties, requirements, pay range, and who handles interviews and screening.

With a job order form template, the agency recruits against a clear written spec, not against notes from a phone call. Later, if there is a question about what was requested, both sides can check the same document.

A job order describes one role. It is not an employment offer and not an agreement between the client company and the agency. Bill rates, placement fees, replacement guarantees, and temp-to-hire conversion fees are set in the contract with the agency, such as a recruitment agreement. The job order form can point to those terms, but it does not create new ones. It is a mistake to assume that once the order is signed, the fees are settled.

On the client company’s side, two people usually take part:

The placement type decides whose employee the worker is and how the agency gets paid:

The type chosen in the job order should match the agency agreement, because conversion and placement fees depend on it.

The worksite matters even for remote jobs. The place where the work is actually done decides which state and city rules apply, including pay, overtime, leave, and pay range disclosure. For a remote role, the job order should name where the work may be done, not only the client’s office. For example, a Chicago company hiring a remote bookkeeper who lives in New York City may need to follow New York City’s rules for that role.

For temporary workers, the agency pays based on the hours the client company confirms. So the job order should name a worksite supervisor and a scheduling contact who will actually confirm hours, and note the expected overtime. It also helps to agree on how extra time requested on site reaches the agency. Approval rules do not change one thing: if the worker works extra time, it must be paid, even if no one approved it in advance.

The main duties come first, and the requirements follow from them. Skills, experience, education, and licenses should include only what the duties actually need.

Some requirements sound neutral but can screen people out unfairly. “A recent graduate” can exclude candidates by age, and “a native English speaker” – by national origin. A job-related alternative works better: “Writes clear customer emails in English.”

An agency that follows a client’s discriminatory request is liable together with the client. “The client asked for it” is not a defense. If a client asks for something like “no one over 40,” the agency and the client should agree on a job-related standard instead. Protected characteristics, such as age, race, religion, or disability, do not belong in a job order.

The physical tasks listed in a job order matter after hiring, too. If a worker with a disability later asks for changes to their job, the written job order can be used to show which tasks are really part of the job. If a task that happens only once in a while is listed as a main task, it becomes harder to adjust the job for that worker.

A common belief is that safety is only the agency’s job because the agency employs the temporary worker. In practice, the client company and the agency usually share responsibility for a temp’s safety. The client controls the worksite, so it is expected to provide site-specific training and protective equipment. Neither side can pass its core safety duties to the other by agreement.

The job order should list the physical tasks, working conditions, hazards, and required protective equipment the worker will face, for example, “Works in a cold storage area at 35°F; steel-toe boots and insulated gloves required.” With this information, the agency can look for candidates with the right experience and plan training. Workers cannot be required to buy the protective equipment the job requires or have its cost taken from their pay.

Some states make this information a legal requirement. In Illinois, for instance, the client of a day and temporary labor agency must inform the worker about expected job hazards and provide site-specific training. Before the first day, the client company and the agency agree on who supplies the equipment and training, and the client names a contact for safety questions at the worksite.

A job order has two different money fields, and they should not be mixed up:

The pay range often ends up in job ads, so it has to be a range the client would really pay. Several states and cities require a good-faith pay range in job postings, and some of these rules also apply to agencies. In New York City, for example, employment agencies must include the range in the listings they publish, including for jobs done partly in the city or from a home there. A real minimum and maximum, such as “22–26 per hour,” works; “competitive pay” does not.

The job order should not include a candidate’s salary history. Many states also ban salary-history questions asked through an agent, so recruiters working on the order do not ask for it either.

Screening and onboarding steps need a clear owner, for example, “Agency: background check and drug test; client company: skills test and final interview.” Whoever orders a background check must first give the candidate a separate written notice and get a background check authorization form.

Once the job order is signed, the agency starts recruiting and sends candidates to the named interview contact, using the agreed submission method, such as email or the client’s hiring system.

A job order is not a one-time document. It should be updated whenever the duties, pay, location, number of openings, or start date change. Otherwise, the agency keeps recruiting against old terms, and both sides lose time on candidates who no longer fit.

If you’re a business owner needing people for similar positions regularly or a recruiter, you do not have to keep notes and create a separate folder for every position or candidate. In Loio, you can manage job orders – from the first draft to the final version – in one place. Here’s how it works: