Termination reasons and failure to communicate

[northernladuk]

As a contractor, you can usually be terminated at any time. The notice periods on a lot of contracts is immediate, or in the alternative, very short. There is no remedy - the trade-off for the big bucks is job security.

However, if the reasons given were false, or exaggerated, there may be a claim in damages. Unless the reasons stopped you getting work with the agency again, or they are giving bad references, it may not be worth much money, nor the aggravation, though.

Remember agents don't give references though. They will confirm start and end dates, nothing more. It's just not worth saying another peep in case they get in trouble for either giving any more information that comes back to bite them.

[eek]

Remember agents don't give references though. They will confirm start and end dates, nothing more. It's just not worth saying another peep in case they get in trouble for either giving any more information that comes back to bite them.

No one gives references any more. If you say anything beyond, they worked here between this date and that date you open up a world of pain your really don't want to go near.

[ASB]

Op, I do have a certain amount of sympathy. The question boils down to whether or not they breached any real contract you had with them.

Without sight and many more details nobody can know.

The first problem is "what contract". Given the contractual chain you described then it seems to me unlikely there was any contract in place between you and the end user. There may be an implied one (which would be different to the hypothetical IR35 one).

The only real contract you are likely to have is between you and your umbrella. There may be a breach. That is who you attack.

Any reasonably well written brolly contract will of course have this eventuality covered.

[psychocandy]

OP I agree the normal and decent way is to give the contractor enough notice. "Most" people treat contractors like human beings and do this.

Not all and thats the important bit.

Its very scummy what they did but the point is they can do it. I'm betting, like you said, they wanted the perm to take over and, in their head, this was the easiest way. Its a poor way to treat people but it happens.