Cancellation is the clause almost nobody reads and the one that decides what happens when an assignment ends early. Here is what to look for before you sign, and what to do if it happens.
Comparing agencies usually means comparing packages. But the difference between two agencies is rarely visible in the weekly number — it shows up when something goes wrong, and cancellation is the most common thing that goes wrong. A contract that ends in week three costs you the assignment, the housing you committed to and the time you spent credentialing for it.
Every travel contract can be terminated early. The question is never whether cancellation is possible; it is who bears the cost when it happens, and that is written down before you sign.
The facility withdraws the requisition after you have accepted but before day one — usually because census fell or a permanent hire was made. You may already have given notice on housing, turned down other roles and paid for a licence application. Most contracts say nothing at all about this window, which is precisely why it is worth asking about.
The facility ends the contract early. Notice periods are typically short and are often mutual, meaning the same notice applies if you leave. This is the situation guaranteed-hours language is written for.
Attendance, documentation, a compliance failure or a clinical concern. Protections that apply to a census cancellation generally do not apply here, and the definition of “cause” is worth reading closely because it is usually broader than expected.
Sometimes necessary and sometimes the right call, but it is the situation with the fewest protections and the most durable consequences for future placements. Notice, in writing, through your recruiter, is the minimum.
Five clauses do almost all the work. Ask for the full contract, not the offer summary, and read these specifically.
Notice period. How many days, and is it the same in both directions? A contract that lets the facility end with two days’ notice while requiring four weeks from you is not unusual and is worth knowing about in advance.
Guaranteed hours. The most valuable clause in the document and the most inconsistently applied. Find out how many hours are guaranteed per week, what happens if the facility sends you home early, whether the guarantee survives a low-census week, and — the part most often missed — whether it survives the cancellation itself.
Housing. If the agency arranged housing, ask what happens to it on cancellation and who pays for the remainder of the term. If you arranged it, ask whether any assistance exists at all. This is frequently the largest single cost of an early end.
Travel reimbursement. Many contracts make travel reimbursement conditional on completing the assignment, and require repayment on early termination. Find out whether that applies when the facility is the one cancelling.
Reassignment. Does the agency commit to anything — finding you another role, continuing pay for a defined period, covering housing during the search? Some do, some do not, and the difference is real. This is the single most useful question to ask while you still have a choice of agency.
These are better asked when you are deciding between agencies than after something has gone wrong.
How often are your contracts cancelled early, and what usually causes it? What does the agency do for a therapist whose contract is cancelled in week two? Is guaranteed-hours language standard in your contracts, or negotiated per assignment? If housing was arranged through the agency, who carries the remaining lease? Does travel reimbursement have to be repaid if the facility cancels?
Specific answers are a good sign. Reassurance without detail is not an answer, and “that hardly ever happens” is a way of not answering.
Get it in writing. Ask for the effective date, the stated reason and the last day to be worked, by email. A verbal cancellation is not something you can act on later.
Read the two clauses that now matter. Guaranteed hours and notice. If the contract guarantees hours through the notice period, that is money owed, and asking for it is not a confrontation.
Deal with housing the same day. Whether you or the agency holds the lease, the cost stops accruing only once someone acts. This is the item that gets expensive while people wait for clarity.
Confirm what happens to health coverage. Coverage tied to an assignment can end sooner than you expect. Ask for the exact last date and whether continuation is offered, in writing, immediately.
Ask what the agency will do next. Then decide whether the answer is enough. A cancellation is a reasonable moment to reconsider the relationship, and it is also the moment when an agency that handles it well earns the next few years of your work.
A therapist accepts a thirteen-week assignment, gives notice on a month-to-month rental, and pays for a licence in the new state. Eleven days before the start date the facility withdraws the requisition after filling the role permanently. The contract is silent on cancellation before day one, so no notice provision applies, no guarantee applies, and the licence fee is not recoverable. The agency finds a replacement assignment three weeks later. Nothing improper happened at any point — the gap exists because the pre-start window was never addressed in writing, and it is the one window that most contracts leave undefined. A single question before signing, about what happens if the facility cancels before day one, would have surfaced the whole thing.
Agencies differ far more on this than on pay. The ones worth staying with tend to share a few traits: they put cancellation terms in the contract rather than leaving them to custom, they honour guaranteed hours without being chased, they say plainly what they will and will not cover on housing, and they start looking for a replacement assignment before you ask.
None of that is visible in a package comparison. It is visible in the contract, and in how an agency answers a direct question about it. Our ranking methodology explains what else we weigh, and switching agencies covers what to do if the answer you get is not good enough.
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