Payment terms changed mid-contract - allowed?

[cloughy1]

Hi, I work for my own company, I have an accountancy firm who send my invoices and sort my tax/expenses etc. I contract my services to an agency who then seem to contract through a main agency who deal with the actual employer. The agency have suddenly notified me (1 day after I was due to be paid) that they have now revised their payment terms. Instead of 10 working days after the end of the month they have gone to 30 days just like that. No warning, nothing. Can they legally do this?

[northernladuk]

Maybe not so quickly just like that but they can give you notice to terminate the contract and then offer you a new one with the new terms, take it or leave it I guess.

My question would be why they are doing this? I'd spend a bit of time looking at their financials, do a credit check and have a word with them to see what they say. It could be the client has changed theirs or that they've decided not to factor payments anymore so OK'ish... but it could also be they are cash strapped and in trouble.

[SussexSeagull]

I would have thought if you submitted the invoice and it was 10 day terms then it should have been paid after 10 days. However, it would probably be a lot of effort to enforce this point, especially as you are getting paid 20 days later anyway.

[billybiro]

Maybe not so quickly just like that but they can give you notice to terminate the contract and then offer you a new one with the new terms, take it or leave it I guess.

Unless, of course, the original contract specifically includes the ability for the agency to make amendments to certain terms of the contract, such as payment terms.

This is quite common in B2E contracts and I've recently seen a few B2B contracts try to crowbar such a clause in too.