Leaving a contract early

[CenterPart]

I am 2 months into a 6 month contract. It has involved both overseas travel, and long hours. More travel and longer hours than I expected when I signed the contract. Both of which mean I am unable to help out my wife, who is 6 months pregnant. We also have a two year old. It is causing a number of issues on a personal level.

The contract does not have a notice period on my side. I had an honest discussion with the head of the project today, and told him all of the above. He was reasonable, and said that he would really appreciate it if I could work a four week notice period. I emailed the agency to tell them what we agreed.

I got a reply from the project lead saying that he was in principle happy with this, provided they could get a replacement, and a sufficient handover, and five weeks notice, not four. Then there was an email from the agent, basically telling me I have no right to notice and that they would expect me to perform the contract regardless, until they could get a replacement.

I was completely willing to be reasonable, however, after the email from the agent, it has made me think. I am not a bloody slave, I wont be strong-armed into putting a contract before the wellbeing of my family. Earlier on today, I was willing to be reasonable and compromise, but after this email from the agent, I just want to get out of there as soon as possible.

I understand that the agent would be entitled to damages, which would be their margin up until the end of the contract. However, if they replace me, so are then back in the position of earning their margin, presumably this limits the amount of damages they can claim from me? I am still hopeful that this wont turn messy, however the way I feel now, I am tempted to just tell them that I will be working for the next two weeks, and handing over to someone on the team, and after that I will be finishing up. They could replace me in a month maximum, so if all I would be liable for is their margin for a month, then I would walk straight away.

Of course I understand this is not a professional approach, and will burn my bridges with the client (which is a shame) and also the agent (which I couldnt care less about), but like I said, this is about protecting the wellbeing of my wife, who is really struggling.

[NotAllThere]

The agency would only be entitled to actual losses and they also have a duty to mitigate those losses.

Have you offered to work remotely?

You might be able to argue Force Majeur, but really, don't get into a discussion with the agency. Present the facts, arrange your departure from the client as amicably as possible (the agency behaviour should not affect your relationship with the client - most clients don't like agents much either) and go. Family comes first.

[mudskipper]

It's often suggested and rarely done, but does the contract have a substitution clause? Could offer a way out.

[WordIsBond]

You agreed four weeks with the client. Giving the extra week could make a big difference to your relationship / future opportunities. If the end is in sight, your wife can surely cope that extra week. So there's something to be said for doing the fifth week if they want it. If the client is being reasonable, be as reasonable as you can for them in return.

As for the agent, what does your contract say about termination or damages arising from termination? It may not specify a notice period, but it has to say something about termination. There may be business reasons not to stand on legalities, and to negotiate a mutually-beneficial agreement, but you have to know where you stand legally to be able to enter into a reasonable negotiation, especially if the other party starts with hostility and unreasonableness.

The agent has no say on whether or not you complete the job. Outwith contract provisions, normally his only interest would be his loss of revenue due to your family situation and the decision you've made as a result. The contract may have provision for him receiving greater damages than that, or it may not specify any recourse at all.

Normally, the amount in dispute would be his loss of revenue from the time you quit until the expected end of the contract. If you work 4-5 more weeks, that is three months, so it would be the agent's cut for the last three months of the contract. That's real money, but it isn't likely to destroy your finances, even if you aren't able to negotiate a lower amount. Your basis for negotiating a lower amount is that he doesn't have to do any work the last three months, so even if you owe three months, you might be able to negotiate down to 2 or even 1 1/2.

You should ask to see his contract with the client so you can confirm how much he is losing out. They want contractors to think their commission is low, but in this case he'll have an incentive to claim it is high. Ask for proof of his losses.

Also, check all your communication with the agent about the contract before you agreed it. Specifically, you are looking for whether there is anything HE said that led you (and would have led a reasonable person) to believe that the travel / hours would be less than they ended up being. If this really ended up worse than you expected, and the agent bears any share of the responsibility for that, that could be a basis for negating any obligations entirely (unlikely) or mitigating / lessening any penalty you might be expected to pay. Presumably he told you in advance that there would be overseas travel, but he did prepare you for how much there would be? You are going to have to be really honest with yourself on this one and say, "It was there and I just missed it, I wasn't focused on that." But if it wasn't there, there was nothing in what he said to prepare you for the long hours and travel, then your position is much stronger.

[SueEllen]

Do you have any networks or can go to any networking groups? If so, you can find your own replacement to present to the client. Once the client accepts them, then and only then get the agency involved.

[TykeMerc]

If you've arrived at an agreement with the client then the Agent really doesn't get much say in it, you certainly don't owe them damages or lost margin no matter how much bluster they may try to apply.

You can simply write to the Agency stating that by mutual agreement with the client (use the name) the contract will be terminated on date X, ask the client to do the same. At the worst tell the client the agent is being awkward and ask them to invoke whatever termination clause they like.

On the burning boats front you have done as much as you can to mitigate that by discussing the situation in a grown up manner and offering a transition, it should limit the damage, maybe if you had a sub that would be better, but that's easier to say than do. Burning boats with the Agent is, as you say, irrelevant.

[SueEllen]

If he does that without written proof from the client he will end up in the tulip.

So first get written proof from the client you can give notice, then give the notice and then tell the agency to foxtrot oscar.

The agency may well threaten to take you to court but if the contract between you and the client was ended by mutual agreement, then there are no damages for them to claim.

[eek]

If you've arrived at an agreement with the client then the Agent really doesn't get much say in it, you certainly don't owe them damages or lost margin no matter how much bluster they may try to apply.

You can simply write to the Agency stating that by mutual agreement with the client (use the name) the contract will be terminated on date X, ask the client to do the same. At the worst tell the client the agent is being awkward and ask them to invoke whatever termination clause they like.

On the burning boats front you have done as much as you can to mitigate that by discussing the situation in a grown up manner and offering a transition, it should limit the damage, maybe if you had a sub that would be better, but that's easier to say than do. Burning boats with the Agent is, as you say, irrelevant.

+1. Ignore the agent he is just being an idiot..

[Contreras]

I am 2 months into a 6 month contract.

... I just want to get out of there as soon as possible.

No client wants an unwilling contractor on the job.

One option: if, as it seems, you are on good terms with the client, can you get them to serve notice on you instead?

Another thing that helps is a sincere offer of post-contract support by email/telephone - let them have an incentive not to let the relationship go sour.

Be aware that the upper/lower tier contracts could well differ in notice period terms (a sneaky tactic that I believe happens more often than we all realise), so the client is not necessarily aware of your position.

[CenterPart]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was expecting to get a bit of a pasting, so am glad that people can see the predicament I am in!

Fact is, my wife is really struggling. The ideal for me would be to stop work ASAP, give her a break for a bit, then see how things go. My first offer to the client was to work 2-3 weeks. We then agreed on four weeks. But he then said in the email that he wanted five, only if they can find someone new.

I have sent another email to the client this morning. I apologised again, but laid out the facts as I see them. It is a fairly junior role (business analyst) and I have not been on the project long enough to acquire enough knowledge that they couldnt get by without me. I have also pointed out that expecting five weeks notice when I have only been there about 8 is a bit unreasonable. I could easily handover to someone else in the team within a day, maximum. And really, the start the project is in, it makes little difference whether I say for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 more weeks.

I ended the email saying that I would only be able to give three weeks notice, which is absolutely ample in this situation to handover my work. I also said I would make sure to deliver as much as I can in that period, and also said that I would ask people in my network to see if anyone is available for the role. I closed the email by saying that I hope we can sort it out between us, but if not, I will just have to face the contractual consequences with the agency. I phrased this in a way that I am not giving him an ultimatum, more just saying that I will deal with the consequences of my actions if we cant come to an amicable solution.

He can either say yes or no. If he says yes, then we are good to go. If he says no, then I will need to discuss with the agency. As I understand it, they are entitled to lost margin (£50pd), however, they also have a duty to minimise the losses, which they can do by finding a replacement. The client has already authorised this. So if someone starts in say four weeks, the agency will only be entitled to £250 (5*50) for one week of lost margin. The way the market is at the moment, I cant imagine it will take them longer than 2 or 3 weeks.