**termination with no notice - breach of contract**court case *help needed*

[KittyCat]

Surprising!

I have been contracting for a while - and have received some legal advice already - also if I'm on a road to no-where why has it not been dismissed - I'm shocked that people think contracting means you have NO RIGHTS! I must not be the standard contractor then! - as at the end of the day a contract was made Co to Co that was not honoured, not fair, and what occurred unethical ... so my original question - has anyone actually gone to court - I know people dont bother/give up/get walked all over (& that includes permies - there's no difference!) I want to know if any legal precedence has been set .. I'm really shocked that the consensus seems to be 'accept it' ...when did 'contractor' change to 'doormat'! .. its supposed to be a business contract???????

[russell]

Threaten to sue and to take court action, they will likely settle out of court to avoid lawyers fees.

[MarillionFan]

Refer to http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...ination-2.html

I used Jon Antel to fire/write off a letter when it happened to me. Basically didn't get anywhere and so the last point would have been court action.

One of the inherent issues with contracting I'm afraid.

[KittyCat]

I have taken an umbrella to court (small claims) few years back - for overcharging on fees / not paying on time - I won.

[craig1]

I have been contracting for a while - and have received some legal advice already - also if I'm on a road to no-where why has it not been dismissed - I'm shocked that people think contracting means you have NO RIGHTS! I must not be the standard contractor then! - as at the end of the day a contract was made Co to Co that was not honoured, not fair, and what occurred unethical ... so my original question - has anyone actually gone to court - I know people dont bother/give up/get walked all over (& that includes permies - there's no difference!) I want to know if any legal precedence has been set .. I'm really shocked that the consensus seems to be 'accept it' ...when did 'contractor' change to 'doormat'! .. its supposed to be a business contract???????

If you insist on taking it through the system I'd start by asking a solicitor for a specific written opinion on the agency's contract termination rights as written within the contract. Don't ask them about your chances of winning, courts, your rights or anything else, keep it to that specific and very narrow point to ensure your expenditure is kept to a minimum. Unless you've got a really dodgy agency that couldn't care about their position, you'll find a clause in there that says they can get shot of you instantly for almost any reason. Once that's established, you have no case to argue.

Remember, your contract is with the agency not the client, privity of contract means that the client only has very limited duties towards you and they're generally at the most serious negligence end of the scale. Dismissing a business supplier with no notice won't fit within that scale.

I've left this point to last hoping you'll read it and take it to heart: You say you've had "legal advice" yet are looking for a solicitor, this suggests to me you've had either a generalist talk to you, you've been to Citizens Advice, you have a paralegal friend or you've spent time on the internet searching. This is about as good advice as if I suggested you should use the national lottery as your primary pension investment tool. Most of these will be advising you as if you were an employee or based on inaccurate assumptions about your contract, especially if they've not read your specific one. Before you spend another single penny on legal advice, make sure it's a contract law specialist or one with direct experience of the contracting market. There are a lot of unscrupulous lawyers out there that will make you think you have a good case, get you generating lots of fees for them then give you the kicked puppy sad eyes when you lose just before giving you the final invoice.

[TheFaQQer]

I have taken an umbrella to court (small claims) few years back - for overcharging on fees / not paying on time - I won.

I took BA to court and won over a flight cancellation.

Doesn't make the situation any different from being terminated with no notice (and probably within the contract).

[TheFaQQer]

...stuff...

Is there a clause in the contract between your company and the agency which details under what circumstances the contract can be terminated?

Is there anything which says that the contract can be terminated without any notice?

Is there anything that says that you get paid if there is no work for you to do?

---

I'm just trying to get my head round this. You seem to be expecting someone to pay you for work that you didn't do (four weeks notice). If they had said "we are going to terminate your contract, here's your four weeks notice. Oh, don't come in any more" would that be a better situation? You's still get no money, you just wouldn't be able to look for any work in the meantime because they still have you under contract.

See the silver lining there? Go find something else to work on, and don't worry about the past any more. The stress will eat you up and you'll make yourself ill.

Alternatively, if you want permie rights, then take a permanent job. (Of course, this is negated by the current government policy of trying to cut unemployment by making it easier for businesses to fire people, but that's by the by).

[psychocandy]

Hi I've just joined this site & am looking for a solicitor to represent me with the above - I feel I have a very strong case & want to know if any precedents have been set.. I am now going to fast track to court for breach of contract & unfair contract terms act for sudden termination of my contract with no notice as per the assignment schedule & no payment in lieu. Summarising, I was blamed for the failure of a project that I was not involved in & was not the project manager, I was not even contracting with the client at the time (the system was released 10 days after I joined!) - everything was well with my performance & I received credit on a number of occasions from directors - I was even sent to India 3 weeks prior to termination with a year's visa - I have tried to go through all the channels - complaints proceedure, arbitration etc but have been stonewalled by the agency although spoke to directors - it is now with their parent companies legal team. The legal team attempted to get the case dismissed & failed & therefore were not allowed to claim any costs. I have represented myself until now. I have proof in an email from the recruitment consultant that her witness statement is not consistent with the facts, the statement says it was known there was an issue - however when it happened in an email it states the first they knew was the day they told me - either way - there either was opportunity to inform me - which they did not - or they failed to investigate - now I will be requesting the complaints proceedure under ISO9001 which they have, and Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003
Regulation 15 – Content of terms with work-seekers: Employment Businesses
Regulation 17(1) (c) – Requirement to obtain agreement to terms with hirers
The client is one of the big 5 retailers & the agency is one of the biggest who have taken over a number of smaller ones - its a bit 'David & Goliath' but some precedence clearly is needed on these situations & whats ethical - otherwise what is the point of even having a contract! I now need to give standard disclosure by list & any special damages. Can anyone help???

Guily as charge m'lud of using no paragraphs!

[Support Monkey]

I have been contracting for a while - and have received some legal advice already - also if I'm on a road to no-where why has it not been dismissed - I'm shocked that people think contracting means you have NO RIGHTS! I must not be the standard contractor then! - as at the end of the day a contract was made Co to Co that was not honoured, not fair, and what occurred unethical ... so my original question - has anyone actually gone to court - I know people dont bother/give up/get walked all over (& that includes permies - there's no difference!) I want to know if any legal precedence has been set .. I'm really shocked that the consensus seems to be 'accept it' ...when did 'contractor' change to 'doormat'! .. its supposed to be a business contract???????

Its not a case of having no rights or being walked all over, its a case of how long have you got to fight this and weighing up all the options is it realy worth it, the stress the cost the time, its a lot of hassle when your time would be better spent on finding another contract, its gonna eat you up for a long time and what are you going to get at the end of it a few months money possibly will it make you feel better maybe a little but your still not going back to that client/agency ever and you still need another contract

[TestMangler]

Is there a clause in the contract between your company and the agency which details under what circumstances the contract can be terminated?

Is there anything which says that the contract can be terminated without any notice?

Is there anything that says that you get paid if there is no work for you to do?

---

I'm just trying to get my head round this. You seem to be expecting someone to pay you for work that you didn't do (four weeks notice). If they had said "we are going to terminate your contract, here's your four weeks notice. Oh, don't come in any more" would that be a better situation? You's still get no money, you just wouldn't be able to look for any work in the meantime because they still have you under contract.
See the silver lining there? Go find something else to work on, and don't worry about the past any more. The stress will eat you up and you'll make yourself ill.

Alternatively, if you want permie rights, then take a permanent job. (Of course, this is negated by the current government policy of trying to cut unemployment by making it easier for businesses to fire people, but that's by the by).

Erm, why would that be then ? Is your company only allowed one client at a time ?