Payment in Leiu of Notice

[Epiphone]

Morning,

Need a bit of advice on how to handle this - or if it's worth chasing or if I'm being a fool.

Had a contract (checked by B&C) due to start 1 Feb but it was cancelled 3 weeks before. There is a one weeks notice period in the contract. Went on holiday for a fortnight and when I got back was offered the contract again, this time to start 5 Feb. The agency sent out an amended schedule to reflect the change in start date.

Late in the afternoon of 1 Feb I got a text message from the client saying there might be a four week delay. Later that evening I got another text message from the client saying they've confirmed with the agency the contract is off.

I spoke to the agency the next day for clarification and pointed out this was less than a weeks notice as stipulated in the contract. The agent said they'd look into it because they hadn't had written confirmation from the client that it was off yet. Of course, they never called back. As it stands now I've never had it in writing that the contract is cancelled (apart from a text message which - in my mind - doesn't count.

The contract between MyCo and the agency has a clause in it that says in the event that the contract between the EB and the Client is terminated for any reason the Assignment shall cease with immediate effect without liability to the Consultancy. However, when I received the text messages the contract between the EB and client was still in place, and was until very recently.

I sent an invoice in for a standard 37.5 hour week which has so far been ignored. As are emails and phone calls elicit the standard "someone will call you back".

So, do the agency had an obligation to pay up? Is it worth chasing them? And if it is what's the best way to get them to pay up?

And if you've read all this, cheers

[oraclesmith]

My advice is forget it and move on. You won't get anywhere since the logical end result is the small claims court where you are likely to lose the judgement and your legal fees because I guess you'd have difficulty proving you're actually out of pocket (except maybe if you'd turned down another contract because of this one and could prove that you would otherwise be working and not waiting). If you've opted out of the EB regs, I think you'd have even less chance. Anyhow, in my opinion you're on to a loser so just chalk it up to experience.

[Epiphone]

Both parties signed the initial contract and they sent the new start date unsigned.

It just annoys me that if the shoe was on the other foot they'd be bleating about how we have a contract etc and would have no hesitation in persuing me for the lost funds.

I think I agree that the only place this can end up is the small claims court and at the moment I'm happy for that to happen. I turned down another contract and spent money getting this one checked out so I want them to uphold the legally binding contract we all signed and agreed to

But in reality I'm probably fvcked

[oraclesmith]

Ok, but remember you're pursuing it to make a return, not to make a point. It's not personal, it's just business.

[Epiphone]

I agree, just business. Which is why they should pay up Will give them until Friday and give the PCG legal helpline a call in the meantime.

[jh0711]

not 100% sure on this - but if the contract has not actually started there is nowt you can do....

[Epiphone]

not 100% sure on this - but if the contract has not actually started there is nowt you can do....

This is something the agency have said too. I've gone through the contract with a fine tooth comb (obviously from a laymans point of view) and there's nothing in there that says the terms are dependant on my attending site. Only that it starts on 5 Feb.

Am I being terribly naive?

[oraclesmith]

...well I think you're wasting your time.

[edinlad]

Ive had this too, turned down other contracts due to securing another, which was cancelled the day b4 start. Tried to presue it and never got anywhere, the problem is you cant prove that you would have actualy started in the other role you turned down. Until the start date you dont have a leg to stand on

The best bet would be to try and get the EB to make you some sort of good will payment in order to protect their reputation, again ive also had this in a similar senario, but by what you have mentioned it dosent sound like a reputable EB.