Late payments & notice periods

[Chris371]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for late payments. I'm currently working on a contract which has cost me dearly financialy over the past 2 weeks.
My line manager emailed our timesheets to the agency and client project manager - all employees were copied in on the email together with read and delivery reciepts, as per every week. 2 weeks later and we still haven't been paid, together with the usual fobbing off by both the agency and the client. After some digging around we've found out that the agency had the 2 people who deal with our contracts and timesheets both off on holiday at the same time. also after re-sending the timesheets 5 times to both the agency and the client project manager, the client project manager has said that the 5th time was the first time he'd seen our timesheets for that particular week.
This has obviously cost us a weeks wages. We've all got bills and mortgages to pay and rely on the clients and agencies to pay us on time. Due to not being paid I've obviously incurred bank charges. And there's still no sign of us being paid. Am I entitled to claim the bank charges back from the client/ agency- whether as expenses or whatever?
I'm not the only one affected and in the same situation, as other colleagues can't even afford the petrol to get to work.

Also, anyone ever come across the "N/A" in their contract as their notice period. I was advised that this is ambigous and denotes that a notice period is not required. But the agency has stated that this means that I can't give notice as its "N/A". This was a seperate contract a few months ago with a deifferent agency.

Any advice on both of these would be much appreciated.

[Crossroads]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for late payments. I'm currently working on a contract which has cost me dearly financialy over the past 2 weeks.
My line manager emailed our timesheets to the agency and client project manager - all employees were copied in on the email together with read and delivery reciepts, as per every week. 2 weeks later and we still haven't been paid, together with the usual fobbing off by both the agency and the client. After some digging around we've found out that the agency had the 2 people who deal with our contracts and timesheets both off on holiday at the same time. also after re-sending the timesheets 5 times to both the agency and the client project manager, the client project manager has said that the 5th time was the first time he'd seen our timesheets for that particular week.
This has obviously cost us a weeks wages. We've all got bills and mortgages to pay and rely on the clients and agencies to pay us on time. Due to not being paid I've obviously incurred bank charges. And there's still no sign of us being paid. Am I entitled to claim the bank charges back from the client/ agency- whether as expenses or whatever?
I'm not the only one affected and in the same situation, as other colleagues can't even afford the petrol to get to work.

Also, anyone ever come across the "N/A" in their contract as their notice period. I was advised that this is ambigous and denotes that a notice period is not required. But the agency has stated that this means that I can't give notice as its "N/A". This was a seperate contract a few months ago with a deifferent agency.

Any advice on both of these would be much appreciated.

Where to start? I fear you will not like some of what I have to say...

N/A would indeed suggest to me that you cannot give notice...the contract between my company and my client is exactly the same. You signed the contract, so you really should have made sure you were happy with the terms!

Now onto the matter in hand...more details are required...do you run your own limited company, or are you an employee of an Umbrella? Either way, what does your contract say?

[xoggoth]

Can't really help but do suggest you are wary of working for two long without payment due to "administrative delays" Might really mean financial difficulties, I lost £1600 like that.

[Chris371]

Thanks for both your posts. I'm currently going through an umbrella company for this contract. In the first week of my contract I went through my own Ltd Co. But problems with the set up and delays involved I decided to switch to an umbrella Co in the second week. I have a contract via the umbrella co's online portal but it's nothing as comprehensive as the one I originally recieved for use with my Ltd Co. Unfortunately there's nothing specific in either contract. I'm just wondering if they are in breach of contract. As far as I'm aware the agency or client are not suffering from any "adminstrative delays". I would like to get my money back for the bank charges from them as I see this has been incurred through them not paying on time and not as a fault of mine own. I'm going to see if I can get hold of a proper contract with the terms and conditions instead of the part that just tells me who the client is, rate, notice period, etc...

[boxman]

Where to start indeed!

If you can't survive for a week or two without getting into financial straits I would suggest that contracting may not be ideal for you...

Welcome to the world of credit control, financial management and dealing with the ups and down of being a contractor. Sorry to sound harsh but what happens when your present contract comes to an end?

Forget your colleagues and focus on your own situation. You should have sufficient resources (ideally retained profits or at least a line of credit) to last a minimum of 3 months and better still 6 for when the market dips.

Having no notice on your contract (from your side) is now the norm and in practice you should always consider yourself one day away from being terminated. That way you can plan sensibly for times when you aren't able to work.

As for claiming back bank charges for late payment

[NotAllThere]

How are you set up? Ltd co? Umbrella? Partnership? How much is the debt?

Read this site which contains everything you need to know about chasing late debts, if you're running your own ltd company. You can charge interest at a few points ( 8% ?) above base rate plus an admin charge, which constitute a legal debt. This could cover the bank charges. As an alternative, you could invoice the agency the admin costs.

What kind of contract is this?

In the end, you may have to sue to get your money.

[Crossroads]

Thanks for both your posts. I'm currently going through an umbrella company for this contract. In the first week of my contract I went through my own Ltd Co. But problems with the set up and delays involved I decided to switch to an umbrella Co in the second week. I have a contract via the umbrella co's online portal but it's nothing as comprehensive as the one I originally recieved for use with my Ltd Co. Unfortunately there's nothing specific in either contract. I'm just wondering if they are in breach of contract. As far as I'm aware the agency or client are not suffering from any "adminstrative delays". I would like to get my money back for the bank charges from them as I see this has been incurred through them not paying on time and not as a fault of mine own. I'm going to see if I can get hold of a proper contract with the terms and conditions instead of the part that just tells me who the client is, rate, notice period, etc...

You are an employee of the umbrella company, and it is your contract with them that is important. What the previous contract said is irrelevant. The fact you haven't got a "comprehensive" contract is a problem. I doubt very much they are in breach of any agreement they have with you.

Your bank charges have been incurred through you being unable to manage your cashflow problem. We are talking about two weeks here. What if you are on the bench for a few months?

Who is the Brolly? I suspect all the info you need will be in their standard T's & C's, which will no doubt be referred to in your contract with them.


What "problems" caused you to move to a brolly in the first place? Given the short time periods here, I suspect that the brolly have not yet got a contract in place with the agency, or at least not get everything lined up to actually pay you. This however is their problem, depending upon the T's & C's.

[designationlocutus]

I'd try to build the payment schedule into the terms of the contract. That way they have a legal obligation to pay you at the times specified.

[lukemg]

Have to concur with previous posters, you cannot afford to be living hand-to-mouth, get that sorted asap.
If it helps I am waiting on 24 grand currently, mostly due to my own fault in getting things setup....