Agency lying about overtime to compel opt-out?

[cloudcontractor]

Long-time lurker, first time poster. I can confirm the following. I've searched the forum and asked my accountant (where applicable), but have a question.

My contract with my current FS client stipulates that bank holidays must be requested as overtime, which is fair enough, but to be sure of the process I contacted the Agency to ask how to properly submit that request, and got a rather strange response:

I have had a look at your contract and on your EAA’s you have chosen to opt-in, which means that you have chosen to only work up to 40 hours per week, if you wish to work more hours than his I would advise you to look up EAA’s and if you wish to change to opt-out please get in touch with myself and I will be able to change that for you.

There's nothing in my contract about working only 40 hours a week (my contract is for 5 Professional Working Days), and has all of the detail about overtime procedure so there's clearly no restriction on working more. I can't find anything in the EAA that mandates no more than a 40 hour week either. Having told them I wasn't opting out, this contract has specific clauses that clarify I have opted in.

Is this complete and utter nonsense? Aside from the fact they've misinterpreted my question (working the bank holiday as a normal day would not put me over 40 hours), I don't need to opt-out to be able to work overtime?

And, wouldn't an opt-out not be valid in any case? I've already been introduced and commenced work for the client on-site. Feels like the agency are trying to get me to switch to opt-out at the first opportunity, the first time I ask them a question about anything.

[northernladuk]

I'm not so sure about the title. Sounds more like they just don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Send them a link something like the one below and ask them to identify where this rule is mentioned.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g.../file24248.pdf

Put the ball firmly back in their court.

[cloudcontractor]

Thanks, will do. Never attribute to malice what can adequately explained by incompetence eh?

Technically I shouldn't need to involve the agency in the request anyway. I just wanted to confirm the procedure as they administrate the timesheet portal for these self-billing invoices, and I wouldn't want to give them any angle to refuse payment because the correct procedure for overtime hadn't been followed!

[Glencky]

I agree on 'never attribute to malice' - I doubt this will be a thoroughly knowledgeable attempt to force you to opt out but frankly, in my experience agents are far more worried about opt ins than they need to be for the amount of risk it creates, and I think the general paranoia (as well as the incompetence) may be driving this.

Separate point though - I think you're right to seek to clarify as in my experience one of the few things that will cause problems is working on a bank holiday, or even a weekend, where it wasn't expected. To be fair, it's a pretty basic control to have in place (checking that people aren't billing for time for days which are usually non-working) I can understand it. So I think it's worth following this one through. As a hiring manager years ago I had one of my reports not paid because both he and I had forgotten, when he did his timesheets at the end of a month, that there had been a bank holiday at the start of it - so he had claimed it and I had signed the timesheet. As a contractor last year I legit agreed with the client to work a BH and hence my timesheet was signed, but it was still kicked out by the agency.

So yeah, right to follow through!

[northernladuk]

So yeah, right to follow through!

Not a fan of it myself but each to their own

[cloudcontractor]

After some polite clarification the guy has now said 'Oh yes you're right about the 40 hour thing, my mistake'.

It now transpires I have two different timesheet systems to put my time into. One for the agent and one for the client. Seems like the client's one self-authorises and presumably the agent's one will check my entries there against it.

Great use of my time, for sure