Contract offer retracted, after signing contract. No notice or payments provided!

[prozak]

send a few emails see what you can get away with.

if you are really wound up start a claim though the online courts thingy and pay your £60 or whatever the fee will be.

If you're lucky they might offer the court costs + a tenner.

If they still aren't budging just move on.

£60 and 2 hours is the most i'd invest in worrying about this.

[bless 'em all]

5.3.3

The bottom line is, at the time you signed the contract you would have been, and still are, unable to complete the 6 month assignment legally.

Section 5.3.3 is clear. You have to be legally entitled to work in the UK for the period of the contract.

As you're not they do not have to give notice.

[prozak]

This can happen to any one of us, so please understand that there is a vested interest of the community to stand up to such behaviour from agencies!

Yes it can.... but the question is how many of us will try and sue them and post about it on these forums?

I didn't see the bit about the Visa before. You haven't got a leg to stand on.

[Freedom]

Yes it can.... but the question is how many of us will try and sue them and post about it on these forums?

I didn't see the bit about the Visa before. You haven't got a leg to stand on.

Prozac, are you a solicitor or a barrister?

[stek]

Prozac, are you a solicitor or a barrister?

No, he's a realist.

[prozak]

No, he's a realist.

^ what he said

Even without the VISA issue you were going to fight for nothing.

Then lets say you even have a case. They could terminate with one weeks notice. So what we are talking between 2500 and 5000 that they "owe" you.

I have a commercial contract solicitor engaged for a dispute (not related to my work) which I thankfully have covered by insurance. They charge £400 an hour. So just for sending a letter to the agency you are probably already down £1,000.

No solicitor will do this work on a "no win no fee". Its a commercial contract dispute not an ambulance chasing personal injury claim.

good luck.

Move on is my advice.

[ASB]

The bottom line is, at the time you signed the contract you would have been, and still are, unable to complete the 6 month assignment legally.

Section 5.3.3 is clear. You have to be legally entitled to work in the UK for the period of the contract.

As you're not they do not have to give notice.

[pedant]
5.5.3 does not quite say that. As written (in isolation) the OP is not in breach of it. They will become in breach of it at the point the visa expires (or is not extended) or is withdrawn. Arguably it could have been drafted differently but there is a pretty clear implied term.
[/pedant]

[realist]
The meaning is abundantly clear. I'm sure the OP could get a contract lawyer to argue the case "on a point of principle". The chances of coming up with an adequately persuasive argument would be somewhat limited to say the least.

The client company are totally clear in what they believe the meaning of the clause is.
[/realist]

[SueEllen]

[realist]
The meaning is abundantly clear. I'm sure the OP could get a contract lawyer to argue the case "on a point of principle". .
[/realist]

You can get solicitors to argue your case anyway you like as long as you pay them.

Good solicitors (i.e. ones normally recommended by someone else with an awarkard case they won/settled) will refuse to take your case on if they think you will be throwing money down the drain.

[Freedom]

At the time I signed the contract, I had completed the most stringent compiance and checking process. They knew all about my Tier 1 visa.
The fact that they signed the contract in itself is a written acknowledgment that they must have performed the due dilligence and must have been happy with all my documentation. Another words, they cannot argue that the duration of visa validity became a surprise to them after signing!
Correct? If so, any court of law will agree with the above.

[ASB]

At the time I signed the contract, I had completed the most stringent compiance and checking process. They knew all about my Tier 1 visa.
The fact that they signed the contract in itself is a written acknowledgment that they must have performed the due dilligence and must have been happy with all my documentation. Another words, they cannot argue that the duration of visa validity became a surprise to them after signing!
Correct? If so, any court of law will agree with the above.

What you say is not unreasonable. I don't agree with your conclusion: "If so, any court of law will agree with the above." This will rather depend upon the exact sequence of events, what documents were exchanged by whom and when.

The general consensus (self included) is that you don't stand a chance. It is entirely possible that consensus is wrong and you are right.

If you want to pursue it then you should be able to get a brief intro to a commercial solicitor, possibly even under a "free half hour". This might give you some indication of what they think the prospects of success are. Somebody gave you an indication of their likely charge rate (though the firm I use in the provinces charges a shade less than £300/ph). You could try the CAB, though they do not generally have legal qualification, but they might be helpful. I am sure you will eventually find somebody to agree with you.

If you are determined to have your day in court you will be able to get it, though you are very unlikely to get costs in the event you win (this is probably a bonus, since you are also unlikely to get costs awarded against you unless your case is viewed as vexatious).

I don't know what your costs are likely to be, but you might be surprised just how quickly these things can mount up.

I do understand that you feel wronged. I do also think you have probably been treated poorly. But that has absolutely bugger all to do with whether the client was entitled to act as they did.