Moving Agency Mid Contract

[pb86]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has experienced this or has any advice for me. I have been working one of my contracts for approx. 20 months as a ltd. company through an agency, but I have been having a number of problems, to name a few:

• Not informing me when my contact at the agency left, leaving me unable to contact them
• not providing me with a copy of my terms and conditions or a copy of my contract when requested
• not replying to any emails I send
• Agreeing to call me on certain dates and then not bothering

I would like to leave them for another agency but am wondering if this is possible?

[SlipTheJab]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has experienced this or has any advice for me. I have been working one of my contracts for approx. 20 months as a ltd. company through an agency, but I have been having a number of problems, to name a few:

• Not informing me when my contact at the agency left, leaving me unable to contact them
• not providing me with a copy of my terms and conditions or a copy of my contract when requested
• not replying to any emails I send
• Agreeing to call me on certain dates and then not bothering

I would like to leave them for another agency but am wondering if this is possible?

What does your contract say?

[northernladuk]

Generally no it's not. The handcuff written in to your contract is there to stop exactly this. The old agency would kick up a real stink about this and I'd be surprised if the new agency would touch you. That said they are a cut throat bunch so anything could be possible. Your client is stuck in the middle of this and if you start causing trouble with the agents fighting over you he's likely just to wash his hands of you and the whole situation... The handcuff is very clear in your contract so you should have read it and understood it.

But.. you do mention some things which are worthy of note.

•Not informing me when my contact at the agency left, leaving me unable to contact them
So what? You ring the main number instead. Hardly a show stopper.

•not providing me with a copy of my terms and conditions or a copy of my contract when requested
That's your problem not theirs. You tell them you won't turn up unless you've got them. They will move then. You shouldn't have stepped foot on site without them. Why is that an issue 20+ months down the line?

•not replying to any emails I send
So use a different method. People seem to get so hung up on emails. Yes it's a pain when they don't but it's not the be all and end all. Pick the damn phone up and speak to someone.... like we used to.

•Agreeing to call me on certain dates and then not bothering
Yeah and??? Every agent... in fact.. most people regardless of what they do have probably been guilty of this at one time or another..

Remember.. an agent does nothing but get you on site and the take some commission from it. That's it. Anything else they do wastes their time, they don't get paid any more so in a perfect world they will get the contract signed and never speak to you again. They are too busy getting new people in to make them more money. They are sales people and nothing more. Expecting anything above and beyond this from an agent is asking for trouble...

IMO all of these are non issues or BAU with agents. They are in no way a reason to jump ship. You are just going to handle the existing setup better or just get used to how agents work.

P.s. and if you think that lot gets your goat wait till you find out how much they've been taking you for

[pb86]

Well, that's where things get a little tricky. My contract states an end / review date of mid-2015. In the terms and conditions it states the following:

The Company and separately the Representative shall
(a) not during the Contract Period or thereafter for a period equivalent to the period of the Assignment, or, where there has been more than one Assignment within the last two years, for the total period of all Assignments within the last two years with the relevant Hirer (but not being less than 3 months nor more than 12 months) either directly or indirectly (whether under a contract of services or contract for services or through any third party) provide any services to the Hirer in any capacity except by contract through us unless the Company shall first have paid to us a fee of 20% of the total remuneration including the value of benefits attributed by HM Revenue & Customs agreed to be paid or provided by the Hirer for the relevant period of provision of such services (but not exceeding 12 months) plus VAT

Does this mean that I am free to move 2 years after my end / review date?

To answer some of the things mentioned:

I rushed into this contract. It was my first contract in a new industry and I had 4 days (inc. weekend) between finding out I had the contract and starting the contract. Admittedly mistakes were made, and being inexperienced in contracting I have learned from them. I have several other contracts running through my limited company now and believe me, these kind of oversights haven't happened again.

the reason this all came about is because it was mentioned to me by my client's contact that I need to renegotiate my terms as my company's role is changing slightly. I couldn't get hold of my agency for this, (I did "pick up the damn phone" but all I was told was no one was available) and when I eventually managed to get hold of someone, I was shrugged off. Considering the more money my company makes, the more money my agency makes, I would have thought they would be eager to enter these renegotiations.

My client is quite displeased with this agency, and have even gone as far as giving me the names of other agencies they would prefer to deal with. (every one offering a much improved rate, to the point where I could cover any fines)

I agree, they are salespeople at the end of the day but surely the key to good sales is keeping customers happy? I'm not a happy customer and would like to take my business elsewhere.

[northernladuk]

My client is quite displeased with this agency, and have even gone as far as giving me the names of other agencies they would prefer to deal with. (every one offering a much improved rate, to the point where I could cover any fines)

Well forget everything we have said then. If you client is willing to take the agent on and they will strong arm the agent with 'Drop this issue or get no more work from us' then it doesn't matter what is in the contract. This is the much easier line to take. Zero comeback if the client forces the issue and the agent complies. The agent will only take this type of attitude for so long though, he is after all losing business and has a contract to cover his ass.

There is likely to be a handcuff in the upper contract between client and agent which also means the agent has dibs on you but again the client can get the agent to fold on this one if he has the desire to. If you want to swap agencies then this could be your best route...

To be honest.. even though you've elaborated I still don't see enough to warrant a move but all of sudden this pops up.....

(every one offering a much improved rate, to the point where I could cover any fines)

which is your real motivation isn't it. Those rates will suddenly drop once you've been lured in and that handcuff is there to stop exactly this. Pimps trying to poach you with the offer of more money. The handcuff stands in this situation.

I agree, they are salespeople at the end of the day but surely the key to good sales is keeping customers happy? I'm not a happy customer and would like to take my business elsewhere.

Are you sure you are really understanding all the roles in the chain here... Think more along the lines of Client - agent - supplier and re-think that statement. we don't call them pimps for a no reason.

You want the bigger rates, you can't have them unless the client is willing to fight your corner. Duping your client in to fighting your corner just because you got greed is not very smart IMO but that's your call.

Oh... we've forgotten one option here as well by the way... The client only pays a certain rate. The agency takes a commission and passes the rest on to you. That will be the same rate to all agencies for the same role so the only difference in rate will be the amount of cut the agency is taking... If the other agencies can offer you so much more I'd bet you are paying a Newbie Tax on this i.e. you are being screwed hard..... So negotiate. Tell the agent you want better service and £XX more than you are getting or you will walk... If he believe you will he'll do everything he can to make sure you get what you want and he still makes money..

[DallasDad]

OP you said you have had this contract for 20 months
Are you claiming any T&S if so you've only got 4 months left before making a decision or two.
Will that sway whether you stay with this client or not?

[northernladuk]

OP you said you have had this contract for 20 months
Are you claiming any T&S if so you've only got 4 months left before making a decision or two.
Will that sway whether you stay with this client or not?

Good point but possibly not quite right. You have to stop when you know you will be there past 24 months. So if he's just signed a 6 month contract at 20 months he has to stop straight away.

[northernladuk]

Well, that's where things get a little tricky. My contract states an end / review date of mid-2015. In the terms and conditions it states the following:

So are you working without a contract? (let's put implied contracts to one side for a second)

[pr1]

Good point but possibly not quite right. You have to stop when you know you will be there past 24 months. So if he's just signed a 6 month contract at 20 months he has to stop straight away.

a 6 month contract with a 2 week notice, with no obligation to provide work on any particular day, presumably

[northernladuk]

a 6 month contract with a 2 week notice, with no obligation to provide work on any particular day, presumably

Not too sure what the point of this is but you've got to be careful you don't mix up the obligation under a T&M contract and the obligation liked with MoO. One is inside the contract, the other is after the current piece of work has ended.