agent delaying payment

[northernladuk]

Your IPSE plus membership will payout if your client ends up going to administration BTW.

[AntiqueGeek]

Job as in being a contractor or job as in the thing you do for your 'employer'? Need to rethink your relationship between the entities and use the right terminology.

I love both! Appreciate your point about being careful with wording.

[AntiqueGeek]

Contractually, the payment is due today despite a renewal covering May, June and July - I believe that it would be difficult for them to hold me to the notice periods once they have broken payment terms?

[rootsnall]

Yes, I have a signed contract which covers the period of the invoice, ie to the end of last month.

I have also signed an extension for May, June and July. Its now half way through May and Im not confident of what will happen when I put in my timesheets in 2 weeks.

Dont get me wrong, I love my job but I woudlnt do it for free!

So it sounds like its not even late yet then. If you haven't been paid tomorrow then try a polite phone call and ask when you'll get the money. If they stick with 'not until we get paid by the end client' then tell them you have taken legal advice and they have to pay you regardless. Still no money, then start to formalise it in an email and use some legalistic speak. The relationship you need to look after is the end client really, you can play hard with the agency from the off. It's case of making them believe you aren't a soft touch, know the legalities and its easier if they just pay up. Hopefully it'll all resolve asap but if it doesn't then get out of there.

[psychocandy]

Agree with others. If you're not opted out (as it sounds like) then got timesheet sorted.

Agency can bleat all they like but they're liable to pay. Whether they get paid by the client is, quite frankly, their problem.

Of course, I would still be keeping an eye on things to see there is gonna be further hassle for me.

[Andy Hallett]

Not very impressed with the wording of that contract.

As others have said, your contract is with agent, they should pay you regardless of whether they are getting paid.

[AntiqueGeek]

Thank you all once again for your support and advice.

After insisting that they cant and wont pay, they have finally given in and the money has hit my account at dinner time. Happy days!

I started the week thinking that I was in the first month of a 3 month extension with a 4 week notice period.

However, at this point, the agent are advising that I 'may not' need to go onsite on Monday but cant advise what will happen in the worst case if they do not receive any payment so Im in limbo looking for work but at the same time having a desire to see out the contract and deliver a project.

[rootsnall]

Well done. If you have nothing better to do, and its not awkward on site, then maybe go in and discuss the situation with the client on Monday regardless of the agent instructions ? Are they are big Co, are they likely to go bust, or are they just playing games ? If everyone is solvent then it might be possible to keep it going.

[northernladuk]

Well done. If you have nothing better to do, and its not awkward on site, then maybe go in and discuss the situation with the client on Monday regardless of the agent instructions ? Are they are big Co, are they likely to go bust, or are they just playing games ? If everyone is solvent then it might be possible to keep it going.

Am not so sure about that. If the agent says no because he isn't getting paid and you turn up and get another signed timesheet they will end up being liable to pay again even though they are not getting any more money. That's a pretty unacceptable position to put them in.

In this case if the agent says no I'd stick to that else it's going to get extremely messy. If I was the agent and you turned up on Monday I'd be tempted to terminate you using the gross misconduct clause in your agreement. Might be shakey, might be not but putting the agent in a position where he has to pay you when he's said no isn't going bode well for you in court. Your contract is with the agent, not the client.

Only the OP knows the situation but I said right from the beginning that this could be the end of the contract if the money isn't forthcoming from the client.

[TykeMerc]

As NLUK said going in even though the Agent says not to is very unwise.

Your contract is almost certainly with the Agency, the client has no direct contracted relationship to you. If the client communication channel is open you simply state the Agency, who your contract is with, have said you can't go on site and your hands are tied.