First Contract Help

[turbo]

I've just been offered my first contract and would like to know if the following is the norm.

I've been asked to provide various items including the following:

A recent utility bill
Passport photocopy
Signed criminal waiver
Opt-out form - requires both my signature and one on behalf of my company.

This seems a little strange since it's my Ltd. that the contract is against right?

Thanks

turbo

[malvolio]

It's just the agency being paranoid. You can argue the toss and get all worked up, or you can comply just to keep the peace. The utility bill you can refuse since it is none of their business, if they need a financial or proof of residence reference then point them to your accountant. Send them a passport copy of the photo page only, prefereably in b&w or two colours so it cannot be used as a duplicate. Criminal waiver is no problem (I assume - if it is, be honest).

However, if it is the agency asking for this, they only need proof of identity - although last time I was asked I sent them a letter from MyCo (signed by the CoSec, not me) pointing out that all MyCo's staff had been checked and were allowed to work in the UK and MyCo would be liable if they weren't. Doubt you can do that as a first-timer, but it is possible.

[MarillionFan]

Had the same recently. Passport etc
Never had it before. The agency just wanted everything, when I pushed them, turned out that I was their first contractor and to be honest they didnt have a clue how it worked so asked for everything.

[Mordac]

I've just been offered my first contract and would like to know if the following is the norm.

I've been asked to provide various items including the following:

A recent utility bill
Passport photocopy
Signed criminal waiver
Opt-out form - requires both my signature and one on behalf of my company.

This seems a little strange since it's my Ltd. that the contract is against right?

Thanks

turbo

Since the agency is not your employer, they are not legally entitled to ask for this information. It is in fact illegal for them to hold a copy of your passport. It's slightly debateable whether you would in fact be breaking the law yourself if you gave them a copy of your passport. So tell them not to be so stupid as to ask for employee data for a B2B contract. Feel free to name & shame the agency, we could do with a laugh.

[Underscore2]

its part of the audit process

that the banks are putting the agencies through. all part of the SOX stuff.

[expat]

I've just been offered my first contract and would like to know if the following is the norm.

I've been asked to provide various items including the following:

A recent utility bill
Passport photocopy

It's a bit presumptious to assume that you will have these. In my case I don't have any utility bills in my name, nor proof of house ownership/rental; nor am I even on the voters' roll yet, the updated list not being available until December. None of this is in any way dodgy. I do reside at one specific UK address, but all the bills are in my partner's name.

[TheMonkey]

It's standard practice to provide a letter headed document with the director's signature, certificate of incorporation copy and 1/2 business references from other businesses.

Everything else shouldn't even be considered, especially anything related to the individual.

[partimer]

total mess

I believe there was a change some time ago where the government got burnt by hiring illegal immigrants as cleaners, etc. As a result new laws were introduced to put the onus on agencies to screen this sort of thing out (you don't expect the government to sort it out).

As with most things from the government it has decended into a mess. I can't quote you the law but you should be able to google it. Ask the agency and if they can't give you clear reasons then they're in trouble. (There's also a lot of new stuff for money laundering with Ltd companies, that gets thrown into the mix)

I don't know how the law relates to Ltd who have employees i.e. you and your company. I would suspect that all employers have to check that they didn't hire illegals ...
Like I said it's all become very confusing and the government expect you to know about new legal requirements using telepathy.

[lukemg]

What difference does it make - none, show them the copies and forget about it. They are being hassled to prove identities (something I approve of). Not even worth arguing over, fire and forget

[Mordac]

What difference does it make - none, show them the copies and forget about it. They are being hassled to prove identities (something I approve of). Not even worth arguing over, fire and forget

You are entitled to that opinion, but I for one have no intention of passing this information to an agency. If we can't trust them with contracts and references, how the hell can we trust them to hold extremely confidential data safely and securely? You might as well tear up the DPA and forget about it.