No contract issued or signed - breach of contract?

[problem369]

Hi All

Can I ask a hopefully easy question:

I worked for a company, but was never issued with a contract or agreed any conditions in any way.

Therefore is the contract valid and more importantly, can I be in breach of that contract?

Thanks.

[blacjac]

If terms were ever discussed, you didn't say no to them and accepted payment, then those terms form a binding contract.

However, proving what was said is a different matter......

Were any details put in writing in any way? Emails etc...

[SueEllen]

Hi All

Therefore is the contract valid and more importantly, can I be in breach of that contract?
.

You have a contract if you were paid for work you did, or had a conversation where it was agreed that you would do y work for x money.

If the client never discussed things that you shouldn't do with you then they are going to have difficulty arguing that anything you done is in breach of contract in a court of law.

[Wanderer]

Welcome problem369!

I worked for a company, but was never issued with a contract or agreed any conditions in any way.

Therefore is the contract valid and more importantly, can I be in breach of that contract?

Yes, absoulutely. Technically speaking, a verbal contract can be just as binding as a written one.

BUT (and it's a big BUT), if you have a verbal contract then it will be extremely difficult for either party to enforce or to argue in court especially if neither side has independant witnesses. Imagine if the client says one thing and the contractor says another. It's the client's word against the contractors and the judge doesn't know who to believe - it would be very difficult for someone to bring a case on that basis. If the two sides contradicted each other then one side could be committing perjury, but it could also even be the result of a genuine misunderstanding. It would be pretty unlikely that a case based on a verbal contract would make it to court in my opinion, it's just too weak.

As they say, a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on....

Go on, spill the beans. What have you done?

[northernladuk]

Can I asked why on earth you started with a company with no contract. You can't be in breach but you also don't have a leg to stand on if they want to screw you over as well. It cuts both ways.

This sounds like a really dumb position to be in.

[MarillionFan]

Can I asked why on earth you started with a company with no contract. You can't be in breach but you also don't have a leg to stand on if they want to screw you over as well. It cuts both ways.

This sounds like a really dumb position to be in.

Well there would have to be implied terms NL, and by working, then those are tied in.

Normally this occurs when you have agreed terms or have seen a contract and not signed it or returned it. Quite easy to do.

So OP, how come you dont have a contract?

[northernladuk]

Well there would have to be implied terms NL, and by working, then those are tied in.

Normally this occurs when you have agreed terms or have seen a contract and not signed it or returned it. Quite easy to do.

So OP, how come you dont have a contract?

I would agree but the OP does say

but was never issued with a contract or agreed any conditions in any way.

Where would the implied terms to be tied in to there? I find it hard to believe that the OP has started with out even a mention of notice period, contract duration. In any way you lead me to believe he turned up, said hello, shook the guys hand and sat down to work. A) This isn't true and the OP isn't being as honest as he needs to be when asking for assistance like this or B) It is a dumb position to be in and the OP really needs to rethink his business skills

[problem369]

Thanks for the replies.

I have got myself in a dumb situation with this one. Newbie error.

Agreed to do some work at x rate per hour for a company that was providing a service to a client. That's all I agreed. No other terms and conditions agreed. No contract was ever shown, offered, agreed to etc in writing or verbally.

Still have no idea what is in the contract apart from that I shouldn't have worked for the end client until 12 months after the work ceased with the company I was working for. Never told verbally or in writing.

They say I am in breach of contract and will sue. Due to working for the client directly, even though I wasn't aware of the clause. However, I never got paid for any of the work.

So, based on the above, I really don't see how I could be in breach of contract?

[Olly]

Just turning this the other way round....
I refused to sign the contract given to me by an agency, disagreed with many points and documented these in an email.
We never resolved it even though I worked there for 2 months.
Got paid, no (particularly) hard feelings when I left.
What does the panel think about the contract....not because I intend to breach it, but it was IR35 nasty.

[Wanderer]

Just turning this the other way round....I refused to sign the contract given to me by an agency, disagreed with many points and documented these in an email.
We never resolved it even though I worked there for 2 months. Got paid, no (particularly) hard feelings when I left.
What does the panel think about the contract....not because I intend to breach it, but it was IR35 nasty.

In my opinion (and I'm not a lawyer) the contract was legally binding, even though you hadn't signed it.

How? The basis of a contract is an "offer", "acceptance" and "consideration". You were offered a contract and by performing the work detailed in the contract you were deemed to have accepted it. You then accepted payment for the work done (a consideration).

In the same way as you accept the terms and condtions when you take your "pay and display" parking ticket or click "Accept" to a software license for a computer program, by performing the contract and accepting the payment you are deemed to have tacitly accepted the contract terms.

That's what I understand anyway. Anyone have another point of view on this one? How would this stand up in court?