Contract / legal advice needed urgently please

[salsagirl]

I'm hoping someone can help me as I am running out of places to ask advice.

I have recently been terminated from a contract - reason cited was unsuitable for the role.

The industry standard for assessing suitability is clear, a period of training, followed by QC feedback on each piece of work which enables you to learn and achieve competence, then the expected amount of QC passes in a row to achieve competence.
Despite having these procedures in place the company did not in any way follow them to assess my suitability & I was unable to complete accreditation before termination and therefore be accurately assessed on my suitability. I did not do anything wrong that would result in instant termination.

I know I have no rights under any kind of employment law however do I have any rights under breach of contract OR that of statutory duty of care, which I believe is a law common to all of us and does not distinguish between employment status.

Other information - my contract was with an agency, not with the client direct, and when I say company I mean other contractors undertaking managerial roles for the client under the same agency.

[kevpuk]

Oh dear.....








As a contractor, you are a temporary and very easily disposable resource - what does your contract say? I suspect you will find that you can be got rid of very quickly and easily, especially in the first few days.

[BrilloPad]

Assuming you are not a sockie, then you have no rights. Even if you did getting them enforced is very difficult.

Get your CV out and move on.

[speling bee]

I'm hoping someone can help me as I am running out of places to ask advice.

I have recently been terminated from a contract - reason cited was unsuitable for the role.

The industry standard for assessing suitability is clear, a period of training, followed by QC feedback on each piece of work which enables you to learn and achieve competence, then the expected amount of QC passes in a row to achieve competence.
Despite having these procedures in place the company did not in any way follow them to assess my suitability & I was unable to complete accreditation before termination and therefore be accurately assessed on my suitability. I did not do anything wrong that would result in instant termination.

I know I have no rights under any kind of employment law however do I have any rights under breach of contract OR that of statutory duty of care, which I believe is a law common to all of us and does not distinguish between employment status.

Other information - my contract was with an agency, not with the client direct, and when I say company I mean other contractors undertaking managerial roles for the client under the same agency.

Which industry?

[TheFaQQer]

I'm hoping someone can help me as I am running out of places to ask advice.

Have you tried the PCG legal help line if you are a member? Also, many insurance policies add on a legal helpline, so check there if you haven't checked already.

I have recently been terminated from a contract - reason cited was unsuitable for the role.

The industry standard for assessing suitability is clear, a period of training, followed by QC feedback on each piece of work which enables you to learn and achieve competence, then the expected amount of QC passes in a row to achieve competence.

Is there anything in the contract which states how suitability will be assessed? Is there anything in the contract which means that they can terminate (for example some contracts I've had said things like "if the client is unsatisfied")?

Despite having these procedures in place the company did not in any way follow them to assess my suitability & I was unable to complete accreditation before termination and therefore be accurately assessed on my suitability.

If there is nothing in the contract which states how suitability will be assessed, then this is a moot point.

I did not do anything wrong that would result in instant termination.

Evidently, someone thinks that you did.

I know I have no rights under any kind of employment law however do I have any rights under breach of contract

What does the contract say about the rights of the agency to terminate the contract? You'll need to read it carefully to determine whether they have breached the contract or not.

OR that of statutory duty of care, which I believe is a law common to all of us and does not distinguish between employment status.

Duty of care is tort law, not statute. I don't see how you could claim this, though, since it generally requires some degree of negligence on the part of one party against the other. Just because they have terminated the contract doesn't mean that they did so negligently.

To be honest, I think you're best to chalk it up to experience, update the CV and get it out there. Unless the contract has been breached, in which case you should invoice for the notice period and pursue a claim for the money.

[speling bee]

Have you tried the PCG legal help line if you are a member? Also, many insurance policies add on a legal helpline, so check there if you haven't checked already.



Is there anything in the contract which states how suitability will be assessed? Is there anything in the contract which means that they can terminate (for example some contracts I've had said things like "if the client is unsatisfied")?


If there is nothing in the contract which states how suitability will be assessed, then this is a moot point.


Evidently, someone thinks that you did.


What does the contract say about the rights of the agency to terminate the contract? You'll need to read it carefully to determine whether they have breached the contract or not.


Duty of care is tort law, not statute. I don't see how you could claim this, though, since it generally requires some degree of negligence on the part of one party against the other. Just because they have terminated the contract doesn't mean that they did so negligently.

To be honest, I think you're best to chalk it up to experience, update the CV and get it out there. Unless the contract has been breached, in which case you should invoice for the notice period and pursue a claim for the money.

Sound advice. Of course, it may be worth invoicing for the notice period anyway, and then start adding interest penalties etc. just for the fun.

[salsagirl]

Thanks all for your prompt replies - I'm realising that I am inexperienced in contract matters and also that I tend to wear rose coloured glasses - I'm sure that will get knocked out of me!!

There are two clauses in my contract that relate to early termination with no notice, as I haven't got it in front of me this is the general gist.
clause 1 relates to being unsuitable and being given 10 days notice to improve - I wouldn't have minded so much if they had quoted this one & I had been given 10 days to improve.

the 2nd relates to - receiving information about being unsuitable and that relevant enquiries should be made to ascertain suitability. - I would imagine that this would relate more to someone telling them that I had a criminal record and that they would have to verify that information before dismissal BUT I suppose they could evoke that clause to cover all sorts of eventualities. This is the clause quoted in my termination.

My argument is that my suitability was not assessed by the internal processes normally used & my ops manager was negligent in his duty to put relevant procedures in place to provide QC feedback, as was given for other colleagues, starting on the same day in a slightly different role & just seemed to be a matter of opinion in my case. Incidentally another person was terminated at the same time for the same reasons.

I know it may seem naïve but this is only my 2nd contract & I am quite honestly shell shocked how unprofessionally it has all come about and also a bit worried about what I put on my CV and say when I go for other contracts.

You all seem to have a wealth of experience so I look forward to any other advice.

[speling bee]

Thanks all for your prompt replies - I'm realising that I am inexperienced in contract matters and also that I tend to wear rose coloured glasses - I'm sure that will get knocked out of me!!

There are two clauses in my contract that relate to early termination with no notice, as I haven't got it in front of me this is the general gist.
clause 1 relates to being unsuitable and being given 10 days notice to improve - I wouldn't have minded so much if they had quoted this one & I had been given 10 days to improve.

the 2nd relates to - receiving information about being unsuitable and that relevant enquiries should be made to ascertain suitability. - I would imagine that this would relate more to someone telling them that I had a criminal record and that they would have to verify that information before dismissal BUT I suppose they could evoke that clause to cover all sorts of eventualities. This is the clause quoted in my termination.

My argument is that my suitability was not assessed by the internal processes normally used & my ops manager was negligent in his duty to put relevant procedures in place to provide QC feedback, as was given for other colleagues, starting on the same day in a slightly different role & just seemed to be a matter of opinion in my case. Incidentally another person was terminated at the same time for the same reasons.

I know it may seem naïve but this is only my 2nd contract & I am quite honestly shell shocked how unprofessionally it has all come about and also a bit worried about what I put on my CV and say when I go for other contracts.

You all seem to have a wealth of experience so I look forward to any other advice.

It would be helpful to know what your industry is. We are mostly IT contractors and this looks a bit different in terms of 10 days notice to improve etc.

[salsagirl]

It would be helpful to know what your industry is. We are mostly IT contractors and this looks a bit different in terms of 10 days notice to improve etc.

sorry I meant to say I am in financial services

[TheFaQQer]

I know it may seem naïve but this is only my 2nd contract & I am quite honestly shell shocked how unprofessionally it has all come about and also a bit worried about what I put on my CV and say when I go for other contracts.

How to address it in the future depends on the industry and how long you have been contracting with this client.

Assuming you aren't in an industry where you have to account for every day of your life, if you haven't been there very long, then I would skip it off the CV completely.

If you've been there a while, then put on the CV what you did, as you would for any role. If you are asked why you left the role, then be honest - "there was no more work for me to do with the client".