termination with no notice - breach of contractcourt case help needed

**northernladuk** · 21 October 2011, 11:11

You will not win, it will cost you a fortune, forget it and move on. We get someone teminated with no notice on a monthly basis here and not one of them fights it. You are seriously willing to pay 100's of pounds on solicitors fee's when .... oh I can't be bothered to go on..

It is part of contracting I am afraid and you have to swallow it and move on. Do a search using the words 'termination' or something and you will see what I mean. It happens.... alot. Might be worth reading all the other threads. It will go in to detail why it isn't worth fighting.

Oh.. and please stop with the ***'s and 'Help needed'. We can read, you are not the only one here and it is just, well my teenagers do it....

EDIT : Here is a list of all threads relating to Termination and Notice. You may see a common theme..

Google search on Contractor UK

**b0redom** · 21 October 2011, 11:17

What NL said.

You may have a notice period in your contract, but unless you're WAAAAAY inside IR35, there will also be a clause not obliging the client to give you any work and you not being obliged to take any, which makes notice each way moot.

**craig1** · 21 October 2011, 11:21

Originally posted by KittyCat View Post

Hi I've just joined this site & am looking for a solicitor to represent me with the above - I feel I have a very strong case & want to know if any precedents have been set..

I am now going to fast track to court for breach of contract & unfair contract terms act for sudden termination of my contract with no notice as per the assignment schedule & no payment in lieu.

Summarising, I was blamed for the failure of a project that I was not involved in & was not the project manager, I was not even contracting with the client at the time (the system was released 10 days after I joined!) - everything was well with my performance & I received credit on a number of occasions from directors - I was even sent to India 3 weeks prior to termination with a year's visa - I have tried to go through all the channels - complaints proceedure, arbitration etc but have been stonewalled by the agency although spoke to directors - it is now with their parent companies legal team. The legal team attempted to get the case dismissed & failed & therefore were not allowed to claim any costs.

I have represented myself until now. I have proof in an email from the recruitment consultant that her witness statement is not consistent with the facts, the statement says it was known there was an issue - however when it happened in an email it states the first they knew was the day they told me - either way - there either was opportunity to inform me - which they did not - or they failed to investigate - now I will be requesting the complaints proceedure under ISO9001 which they have, and Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003
Regulation 15 – Content of terms with work-seekers: Employment Businesses
Regulation 17(1) (c) – Requirement to obtain agreement to terms with hirers

The client is one of the big 5 retailers & the agency is one of the biggest who have taken over a number of smaller ones - its a bit 'David & Goliath' but some precedence clearly is needed on these situations & whats ethical - otherwise what is the point of even having a contract! I now need to give standard disclosure by list & any special damages.

Can anyone help???

Aaaand breathe....

I've added some paragraph spaces to make it more readable for me!

In an absolute nutshell, I'd suggest you review your contract. The greatest majority of contractor contracts have bits in there about them being able to get shot of you if they're dissatisfied with your performance. You're a contractor, a disposable resource, not a permie with actual employment rights.

I'd also ask whether you're opted out or not of the employment regs you quote. If you're getting that upset about being booted without notice then you sound like you're not that experienced with the contracting world and you may have been persuaded into signing an opt-out without understanding the implications.

The best suggestion I can make is to take it as a learning experience and walk with your head high. Unless you have a material debt owed to you for work you've actually completed or they're pressing you for compensation then you'll most likely blow a lot of time and money on a law suit to get nowhere.

That said, if you feel that strongly about it, why not commission a B2B contract lawyer to do a professional opinion on your contract. There are some mentioned on here on other threads who may be able to offer that service.

**Support Monkey** · 21 October 2011, 11:34

Give it up, your on a hiding to knowhere, don't spend you time and money getting angy and trying to get even, pick yourself up and dust yourself down and spend your time looking for the next contract

I bet this has happened to at least 50% of the people on this board at some time or another

**badger7579** · 21 October 2011, 11:35

You must have more money and time than sense.

As above, chalk it down to experience, welcome to contracting and move on.

**BrilloPad** · 21 October 2011, 11:41

Sorry but if that is your attitude you really need to be permie.

IMO forget it and move on.

**Wanderer** · 21 October 2011, 11:54

Originally posted by KittyCat View Post

Hi I've just joined this site & am looking for a solicitor to represent me with the above - I feel I have a very strong case & want to know if any precedents have been set..

It sounds like you need to get a professional opinion on the full facts of your case and we aren't able to do that here. Be careful because getting a solicitor could end up costing a lot of money. Watch that don't end up spending a lot on fighting a losing battle.

I've not heard of any cases being brought, I would say that they are generally quietly settled before they get to court. No one here is going to be optimistic about your chances of winning but I'd be interested in hearing how you get on.

Watch out that you don't lose the case and get lumped with the other parties legal fees too. If you can take it to small claims court (if you are claiming < £5,000, I think) then you can't get costs awarded against you.

**TheFaQQer** · 21 October 2011, 11:57

Originally posted by craig1 View Post

Aaaand breathe....

I've added some paragraph spaces to make it more readable for me!

In an absolute nutshell, I'd suggest you review your contract. The greatest majority of contractor contracts have bits in there about them being able to get shot of you if they're dissatisfied with your performance. You're a contractor, a disposable resource, not a permie with actual employment rights.

Most / all contracts I've seen have that, without any definition of "dissatisfaction". All they have to say is "we're dissatisfied with your performance", and you're out the door.

Happened to me on my first contract, just having signed a 9 month extension. Had a week's holiday and started a better paying gig the following week. Four years later, same company took me back on a different project, so no blacklisting or anything either (including having the same project manager involved with the programme!)

**malvolio** · 21 October 2011, 11:58

Read this - Let - take note, dry your eyes and get on with your job.

termination with no notice - breach of contractcourt case help needed