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Being blackmailed to sign new, backdated contract

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    #11
    Originally posted by uk2016 View Post
    Not many changes:
    1. Overtime rate reduce from 1.5 to 1.15
    2. extra condition that i will not get paid, unless they have been paid by the client
    3. I think this is the critical one. They have changed the client name.
    It was orginally: the bank services
    They have now changed it to: the large intermediate firm, on behalf of the bank services

    This clause is designed to stop me from working with the intermediate firm for a year - and they are huge, international - so i don't think it should be binding.
    our general advice for point 2 is run away as there are numerous reasons why they may not be paid and most of them will have very little to do with you and your work....
    merely at clientco for the entertainment

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      #12
      Originally posted by eek View Post
      our general advice for point 2 is run away as there are numerous reasons why they may not be paid and most of them will have very little to do with you and your work....
      hard to "run away" with 2+ months of invoices pending though!

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        #13
        Originally posted by pr1 View Post
        hard to "run away" with 2+ months of invoices pending though!
        No... You sign the contract, wait till the money arrives in the account, resign and take a holiday....

        Remember they have already shown themselves to be untrustworthy and unreliable... With clause 2 they have carte blanc to pull more tricks. Best to do your best to get the money in and look for something else
        merely at clientco for the entertainment

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          #14
          As Crossroads alludes to, the devil is in the details here and I don't think we've enough so far.

          When you say it was rolled over... Did you get a renewal through stating the dates of the renewal and a statement saying existing T&C's are the same. If not then you've made a rod for your own back. You run a company and you have to act like one. You cover yourself with signed paperwork detailing exactly what the score is. Don't accept a mail saying it's rolled over. Nothing good will come from it. You should also be getting a new schedule of work detailing the tasks you will be doing in the period to be fair.

          If you'd gotten that letter explicitly stating the terms and dates they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. They are quite within their rights to serve you notice and present you with a new contract, take it or leave it. Banks do it regularly. If they had been smart they could cite the old contract has finished and terminate it immediately and present you the new one with the new 'client'. Refusing to back pay until you sign is right out of order yes but don't think there is much you can do about it now. I'm guessing after 4 years you are just going to plod on.

          It's slightly off topic but 4 years at a client isn't really an IR35 issue per se but often leads to part and parcel issues and a lax attitude to your engagement. 'rolling contracts' can be bad for IR35. The two together start painting a pretty poor picture of your situation and I am sure are tip of the iceberg. If you are going to continue I'd suggest you have a long hard look at your IR35 status going forward.
          'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

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            #15
            Originally posted by eek View Post
            No... You sign the contract, wait till the money arrives in the account, resign and take a holiday....

            Remember they have already shown themselves to be untrustworthy and unreliable... With clause 2 they have carte blanc to pull more tricks. Best to do your best to get the money in and look for something else
            It's retrospectively dated - if you sign the contract you're agreeing that they don't need to pay you (inc your invoices from june/july) until they've been paid - god knows how long that will take (or if they will be honest about it) - so you might be waiting a while until the money arrives in the account...

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              #16
              Originally posted by pr1 View Post
              It's retrospectively dated - if you sign the contract you're agreeing that they don't need to pay you (inc your invoices from june/july) until they've been paid - god knows how long that will take (or if they will be honest about it) - so you might be waiting a while until the money arrives in the account...
              True but you are implying they are being even sneakier than I am. Given that they are claiming they won't pay you until you sign the contract its an implied clause of signing the contract is that June and July would be paid for fairly quickly....

              As NLUK states its all going to boil down to what was written down when the OP walked through the door on the 1st July...
              merely at clientco for the entertainment

              Comment


                #17
                Originally posted by uk2016 View Post
                Dear all,

                I had a contract with my management services provider, and my own limited company, until end of June this year.
                I continued working in July, with the approval of the provider who stated that the contract had "rolled over" - meaning all terms and conditions are carried over.
                On the 5th of August the provider then said they were issuing a new contract, with different terms and conditions, and they had back dated this to the 1st July.

                They are refusing to pay my June and July invoices unless I sign this new contract.

                This sounds like straight forward blackmail to me.

                Do you know what is the quickest, and least expensive, route to follow to claim my payments from them?

                BTW: they have taken exactly the same actions with a 2nd contractor, via his own ltd company.

                Many thanks,
                Kind Regards,
                an unhappy contractor
                Your original contract is still in force, and you have the right to be paid according to its terms. Sue them if that doesn't happen. They have no legal basis on which to withhold payment provided you have adhered to the provisions of that original contract wrt timesheets and so on.

                You can't really backdate a contract either but of course you can negotiate any variations from the original to everyone's satisfaction, including when they should take effect.

                If you're an IPSE member, give the legal helpline a call
                Blog? What blog...?

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                  #18
                  Originally posted by eek View Post
                  No... You sign the contract, wait till the money arrives in the account, resign and take a holiday....

                  Remember they have already shown themselves to be untrustworthy and unreliable... With clause 2 they have carte blanc to pull more tricks. Best to do your best to get the money in and look for something else
                  +1

                  Chances are this is a technicality dictated by inserting an intermediary and new upstream contracts, which will explain the delay in providing your contract. Not necessarily something devious.

                  Looks like the end client wants you, which is good. The problem is with 2) where you are taking a significantly increased financial risk. 1) - as a contractor there is no such thing as overtime, if you refer to work in "out of office" or "unsociable" hours, i never expect it to be more than 1:1 my hourly rate, anything above it is a welcome bonus but not having it is nothing to fret about. 3) The chances of you working for the same company through a different agency on a new contract in an year are slim anyway no matter how large it is. Not worth risking 2 months of invoicing over.

                  In any case your best bet to get paid for June/July is to sign the backdated contract, wait for the back payments and terminate the contract in accordance with the termination clauses. Meanwhile CV refresh and start looking for new role immediately.

                  Comment


                    #19
                    I'd say that you want settling up for June, July and August under the terms of the contract in place at the time - those are the terms and conditions under which you had invoiced them. Ask your accountant for a nice email to make it sound all legal, talking about tax points and so on, but advising that you're happy to accept a week's notice and start a new contract with them under the revised terms from 1st September, subject to review (QDOS, etc.)

                    It's all well and good people advising you to run away, but if you've not got much of a warchest and nowhere to particularly run to, you're screwed.
                    The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

                    Comment


                      #20
                      Originally posted by sal View Post

                      In any case your best bet to get paid for June/July is to sign the backdated contract
                      The back dated contract that has the "pay when paid" clause? We wouldn't recommend that.

                      Our advice to the OP would be stick to your guns and get paid first, then make a decision as to the new contract.
                      Last edited by Safe Collections; 24 August 2016, 15:35.
                      The only debt collection & credit control company recommended by Contractor UK.

                      Read our articles on ContractorUK here and get in touch here.

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