HELP!, agent threatening to take legal action over notice period.

[ChristinaO]

But he accepted the terms by undertaking the work. What is so horrific about this agency??? Your husband is in breach of contract but the agent is the bad guy for trying to enforce it?

But that is the point, has he accepted the terms without signing. The umbrella company seems to think not..

Furthermore, instead of just getting on with replacing him, the agent is messing up the relationship with their client by being sue happy.

[SueEllen]

But that is the point, has he accepted the terms without signing. The umbrella company seems to think not..

Contract law doesn't work like the umbrella company thinks.

If you start work whether supplying services or employment where a contract is given to you and you don't sign it, then if there is any dispute that contract is used as the terms to negotiate on.

Furthermore, instead of just getting on with replacing him, the agent is messing up the relationship with their client by being sue happy.

It's a good idea for your husband to tell the client:
1. His day rate (how much the agency was ripping them both off by)
2. The fact that the agency is threatening to sue due to both of them agreeing for him to leave early.

[SueEllen]

Again, horrible for other incompetencies, like not paying him for weeks whilst the director was out in las vegas. I can only presume gambling my husbands pay...

You claim the agency was mucking your husband around but the above accusation doesn't make you seem very mature.

You need to understand when you are a contractor you are supplying a service and sometimes those you provide services for decide not to pay you on time. This is similar to you paying a plumber or your electricity bill late.

[ChristinaO]

Contract law doesn't work like the umbrella company thinks.

If you start work whether supplying services or employment where a contract is given to you and you don't sign it, then if there is any dispute that contract is used as the terms to negotiate on.


It's a good idea for your husband to tell the client:
1. His day rate (how much the agency was ripping them both off by)
2. The fact that the agency is threatening to sue due to both of them agreeing for him to leave early.

That is a very good idea, Thank you!

[ChristinaO]

You claim the agency was mucking your husband around but the above accusation doesn't make you seem very mature.

You need to understand when you are a contractor you are supplying a service and sometimes those you provide services for decide not to pay you on time. This is similar to you paying a plumber or your electricity bill late.

I am being candid with a bunch of contractors, thought it was a safe environment.... I don't think you can question my maturity.

Anyway thank you for the other advice, I am going to ignore this comment.

[SueEllen]

I am being candid with a bunch of contractors, thought it was a safe environment.... I don't think you can question my maturity.

Anyway thank you for the other advice, I am going to ignore this comment.

All the posts on this forum can be found on google.

And you are welcome to ignore any advice you don't like however lots of people on this site have had their issues with agencies and direct clients trying not to pay on time.

It's actually a common business problem.......

[craig1]

Not wanting to sound completely unsympathetic here but no-one forced your husband to take the contract. It's not the agency's fault that your husband felt he was worth more than the best the client could offer. It's an old saying but a contractor's only worth what he's currently being paid and £200/day is better than £0/day. That £200/day contract enabled him to get onto the negotiating table at other roles as an "active" contractor rather than a long-term "benched" one, there is a huge and noticeable difference from most agencies' perspective.

If he worked to a four week notice period then he is doing the agency out of their margin if he cuts that short. Surely that's just as unethical as them messing around with payments?

To fix the problem though here's a couple of options for you:

- Get a solicitor to draft them a letter stating some legal blurb. More often than not, just the mere fact that you've bothered to get a solicitor involved will make them back off as they're likely to expend far more money chasing you through a court than they're likely to recover.

- Anyway, if he's done two out of the four weeks notice then the money they're after must be relatively trivial. For example, if they're on 20% margin (high but not unrealistic for short, low rate contracts) and he was on £200 a day then the maximum they'd be able to claim would be £400 (10 days x 20% of £200). If you want the thing to go away, ask them for their margin and make it up to them with a direct payment. If you want to brazen it out then that's up to you but your husband doesn't really have a legal leg to stand on for cutting the contract short.

As a final point, you mentioned you didn't want to take this through your ltd company as it was too low value. Can I recommend in future that you put everything through your ltd company? If you get a future legal threat you could simply threaten to close the ltd company and open a new one. Unethical but a simple way to use the limited liability laws to your advantage.

[craig1]

All the posts on this forum can be found on google.

And you are welcome to ignore any advice you don't like however lots of people on this site have had their issues with agencies and direct clients trying not to pay on time.

It's actually a common business problem.......

73% of small businesses experienced late payment for services or goods in the last year.

It may just me being grossly unlucky but in well over a decade of contracting I've only had one agency (DGH Recruitment) that has paid every single invoice on time, to the right amount and without the slightest problem. All others have had one hiccup or another along the way, even though some have been quite trivial.

[ChristinaO]

73% of small businesses experienced late payment for services or goods in the last year.

It may just me being grossly unlucky but in well over a decade of contracting I've only had one agency (DGH Recruitment) that has paid every single invoice on time, to the right amount and without the slightest problem. All others have had one hiccup or another along the way, even though some have been quite trivial.

Yeah buit it doesn't make it right and considering the percentage they take on my day rate my attitude is the agency works for me. My agent, Parity, is never late. I find it unacceptable whether common or not.

[craig1]

Yeah buit it doesn't make it right and considering the percentage they take on my day rate my attitude is the agency works for me. My agent, Parity, is never late. I find it unacceptable whether common or not.

Most agencies out there are quite small. More than a few have only one person doing the accounts payable for the firm and if they go sick on a payment day then that means you don't get paid.

If you stick to the likes of Parity and the other big agencies, you'll often get a slightly higher margin taken from your daily rate but you should expect a higher level of staffing. I prefer the smaller, niche consultancies as they're usually far more responsive when finding me a new role but I do have to accept they'll often make mistakes with their payments. Tulip happens.

That said, I had a massive agency (comfortably in the top 5 in the UK) who were so regularly incompetent in dealing with my invoices that it could only have been a deliberate ploy to extend their accounts payable periods beyond the contractually agreed date ranges.