passed the interview, got the contract, 5 weeks later still waiting for a start date

[northernladuk]

absolutely true...

i was in the same situation a couple of years ago as OP, and got shafted big time by the agent who kept telling me to "just wait a few more days for the start date to come through". The contract between me and the pimp was already signed, but they kept me totally in the dark about what was going on behind the scenes. Three weeks later they then told me that the whole project got cancelled by higher management. Luckily i found another gig a few weeks later, but this whole debakel meant two months of irrecoverable revenue.

I took the agency to court and luckily was fully compensated, but only because i had a good paper trail in emails, and also an introducing agent who was happy to serve as a witness, because he was also pissed at them. However, i would not do it again, dealing with lawyers and courts is just not my favourite pastime.

Lesson learned...

Interesting this. Did they pay before it went to court or did it go the whole way? I'm surprised they didn't point out the no timesheet no pay clause and argued you were in contract, it was valid, they gave notice and the contract ended. Problem is there was no work to do therefore you didn't earn a penny and haven't lost anything because you didn't work it.

I'm guessing something was different about your case that it wasn't T&M or some clauses were missing or something a little off the norm.

[SueEllen]

Interesting this. Did they pay before it went to court or did it go the whole way? I'm surprised they didn't point out the no timesheet no pay clause and argued you were in contract, it was valid, they gave notice and the contract ended. Problem is there was no work to do therefore you didn't earn a penny and haven't lost anything because you didn't work it.

I'm guessing something was different about your case that it wasn't T&M or some clauses were missing or something a little off the norm.

Having no timesheet doesn't mean the agency can get out of paying you, while having a signed timesheet doesn't mean they have to pay you.

A timesheet just proves you were working for the client when you said you were but there are other clauses in contracts that govern money and conduct of both parties.

I mean you still think it's odd that myself and other contractors have received notice payments when our contracts have been terminated early, as the project has been canned, but there has been a notice clause in our contract.

Likewise I've been on sites where a contractor, while they have had a signed timesheet, was not paid as they produced SFA.

Funnily enough on one of the sites we found out if the contractor was given notice the client would have to pay them, but if it was proven to be a performance issue e.g. the contractor delivered nothing then the client could get away with paying nothing.

[Cirrus]

I mean you still think it's odd that myself and other contractors have received notice payments

Northern is very contractual; very monochromatic.

In business many people feel free to shaft counterparties. But then again a lot will in fact honour the spirit of a deal.

[northernladuk]

Northern is very contractual; very monochromatic.

But then again a lot will in fact honour the spirit of a deal.

Thankfully this is absolutely the case.

[Pyrrhula]

Agree with others, you will probably get something else sorted, then they will give you a start date .

That's exactly what happened to me once. Did all the checks and passed, waited for start date, waited, waited, got new gig, same afternoon the original client asked me to start. I've since been told that the client is well known for securing finance after offering to contractors so I don't think this sort of thing is all that unusual.

[MrMarkyMark]

I've since been told that the client is well known for securing finance after offering to contractors so I don't think this sort of thing is all that unusual.

A favourite MO of BarCap, as it goes

[Hapax]

The OP has got himself into this mess through a combination of naivety and unprofessional
behaviour.

Here's what he should have done.

The client should be given some time, a week say, to sort out the paperwork.
After this the contractor should insist on the client paying him a retainer. This retainer is to guarantee the contractor's availability when the client is ready to go. It should be set at the contractors normal rate and renewed on a weekly basis.

If the client refuses to pay the contractor should immediately start looking for another contract. The contractor no longer has any obligations to the client. The client can no longer guarantee the contractor's availability and this may force them through the recruitment cycle all over again.

This approach keeps both parties honest. The client gets a guarantee in exchange for a fee and the contractor suffers no loss in fee income due to the client changing their mind at the last minute.

[vadhert]

Rule 101 of contracting.

The contract means nothing unless you are there sitting at the desk figuring out why the tulip IT team haven't given you a local admin account yet.

[BrilloPad]

Rule 101 of contracting.

The contract means nothing unless you are there sitting at the desk figuring out why the tulip IT team haven't given you a local admin account yet.

Didn't someone post a thread yesterday about how they were sitting at the desk figuring out why the tulip IT team haven't given you a local admin account yet. For 11 days. No contract.

You need both!

[strawberrysmoothie]

Hi,

Need some advice.

I just finished a contract tail end of October, I got an interview lined up the following week, I passed the interview and agency congratulated me on the contract, he said it would take 2-3 weeks to sort out the paperwork.

As it was a Bank, I would have undergo an exhaustive background screening process, I gave them everything they wanted (degree, certifications, 7 year references). I was told by the agency I passed the screening process, now just waiting for the paperwork from the bank. I was given an initial start date of tail end of November. It didn't happen. 5 weeks after interview, no contract, no start date.

Agency have said they don't know why its taking so long. They have now told me that I should start looking for other roles in case this doesn't go ahead!

I find this really appalling, I spent the whole of November not pursuing other roles as I thought this contract was going ahead. Both the agency and client are big. Now with it coming into Christmas and going into New Year, roles are going to be thin on the ground. As a result, I'm going to be taking quite a big financial hit for being out of work.

Exactly the same thing happened to me a few years ago. It sucks, but you live and learn from it. Until you're sat at your desk filling in a time-sheet can you feel even a tiny bit certain of your contract.