Admin fee to Opt-in to Conduct Regs

[ContractNewb]

Hi, i'm new to contracting and have only just secured my second contract.

My first contract went without a hitch and is coming to an end now. Given this i went about securing another contract and have done so with a new agency only to find that they want to charge me an admin fee of £350 to opt-in to the conduct regulations. This doesn't seem right to me, especially given that it was not discussed (there was no mention of conduct regulations) and i have just learnt about it today in the form of a letter from the agency. I should also add that they kindly included an opt-out letter for me to sign and return.

They also state that i am automatically opted-in unless i opt out. I have already met client (interview) and this was not brought up before hand.

Am i right in thinking this is wrong or is it standard practice to try and rip off contractors every step of the way?

Thank you for your help,

CNewb

[Epiphone]

You're opted in unless you specifically opt out. You must opt out before you are introduced to the client. A CV being sent could be an introduction but an interview certainly is.

Tell the agency to get ****ed.

And name and shame.

[NotAllThere]

You've got the contract. The client wants you. All the negotiating leverage is with you. The agency is unlikely to want to lose all that lovely commission for the sake of £350. Tell 'em to stuff it.

[Mustang]

This seems to be a no-brainer!

1) The agency should have asked you about opting in or out before introducing you.

2) It sounds like they forgot to so are trying to get you to now opt out (not possible)

3) To cover their potential increase in costs and "encourage" you to opt out they are talking about an admin fee.

Just tell them you are not paying for their mistakes. Mention you would have willingly opted out but since it was overlooked you can now not legally do so. Therefore the admin fee is a moot point - especially if you had no prior knowledge of this prior to signing the contract.

HTH

[DaveB]

The bit you need is Regulation 32 Para. 9 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 which states :


(9) Subject to paragraph (12), paragraphs (1) - (8) shall not apply where a work-seeker which is a company, and the person who is or would be supplied by that work-seeker to carry out the work, agree that they should not apply, and give notice of that agreement to an employment business or agency, provided that such notice is given before the introduction or supply of the work-seeker or the person who would be supplied by the work-seeker to do the work, to the hirer.


Bold added for emphasis.

Further guidance on this comes from the Guidance on the conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses regulations 2003

Regulation 32 – Application of these regulations to work-seekers which are incorporated

The regulations automatically apply to work-seekers who are incorporated (i.e. limited company contractors). The regulations also apply to any person who is, or would be supplied by the incorporated work-seeker, to carry out the work.

However, the regulations provide that incorporated work-seekers, and those persons whose services they supply, can agree to opt out of the coverage of the regulations. In order to exercise the opt-out, both the incorporated work-seeker and the person(s) to be supplied to do the work (where appropriate), must give written notice to the agency or employment business that the regulations will not apply before they are introduced or supplied to the hirer.

Bold addded for emphasis again.

You have been introduced to the hirer already, therefore you cannot legally opt out of the regulations, whether you wanted to or not. The agency should not be charging you for this since it was their cock up in not presenting you with the choice prior to meeting the end client.

The client wants you, you have the contract, tell them to get stuffed.

Name and Shame.

[rootsnall]

Tell them your Ltd Co has an admin fee of £700 ( payable in advance ) for changes to Opt In/Out status once a contract has been signed.

[Fred Bloggs]

Tell them your Ltd Co has an admin fee of £700 ( payable in advance ) for changes to Opt In/Out status once a contract has been signed.

Excellent!

[Beefy198]

Forgetting all the debates about whether you can now opt-out.... I'm very sure that they can't charge an 'admin fee' for this anyway...

They can't charge the work seeker to use their services, and surely this is just a disguised way of doing that?

[TykeMerc]

They can't charge the work seeker to use their services, and surely this is just a disguised way of doing that?

Excellent point, especially since being Opted In is the default state and Opting Out is (theoretically) the unusual one.

[swamp]

The bit you need is Regulation 32 Para. 9 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 which states :


(9) Subject to paragraph (12), paragraphs (1) - (8) shall not apply where a work-seeker which is a company, and the person who is or would be supplied by that work-seeker to carry out the work, agree that they should not apply, and give notice of that agreement to an employment business or agency, provided that such notice is given before the introduction or supply of the work-seeker or the person who would be supplied by the work-seeker to do the work, to the hirer.


Bold added for emphasis.

Further guidance on this comes from the Guidance on the conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses regulations 2003

Regulation 32 – Application of these regulations to work-seekers which are incorporated

The regulations automatically apply to work-seekers who are incorporated (i.e. limited company contractors). The regulations also apply to any person who is, or would be supplied by the incorporated work-seeker, to carry out the work.

However, the regulations provide that incorporated work-seekers, and those persons whose services they supply, can agree to opt out of the coverage of the regulations. In order to exercise the opt-out, both the incorporated work-seeker and the person(s) to be supplied to do the work (where appropriate), must give written notice to the agency or employment business that the regulations will not apply before they are introduced or supplied to the hirer.

Bold addded for emphasis again.

You have been introduced to the hirer already, therefore you cannot legally opt out of the regulations, whether you wanted to or not. The agency should not be charging you for this since it was their cock up in not presenting you with the choice prior to meeting the end client.

The client wants you, you have the contract, tell them to get stuffed.

Name and Shame.

Very interesting post.

Can we be sure that "introduction" == interview?

What about telephone interviews?