Agent is not being honest..what to do

[BrandNewOne]

Happy new year.

Wishing us all success in our endeavors in the new year. Hopefully, Brexit will not mess us up.

Anyway, I noticed that my agent is not being honest(shocker).

He told me that the firm will not give me a rate increase. Firm says the agent never communicated a rate increase.

He told me that the firm will not make increase the tenor of the contracr. Firm say they have had no communication from him asking for a 3 month increase.

Obviously, he is managing me by lying to me. I have a direct contact in the temp company that hired this agent to fill the role. The agent is more interested in keeping the firm rather than communicating my needs to the client. So what part of my contract can I use to stop this from happening.

[northernladuk]

I don't think this is quite as black and white as you think. If this agent has been working with the client long enough they will have a feel as to how clients respond to requests for rate increases. If they've asked them before and it's never happened then it's just a judgement call by the agent to not waste time on a lost cause.

Generally any increase in rate will benefit the agent, be it more money for them if they are on a fixed rate or an opportunity to pull your pants down and keep more than they are due if you aren't so an agent isn't going to throw away free money by not asking hence me thinking the agent has been down this path before and knows the outcome.

I'd be very careful about playing the agent and client off against each other though. Just because you have a contact at the client it doesn't mean you can get involved in rate discussions with them. If you start causing trouble you could end up painting a target on your back, one both the client and the agent might want a shot at.

Have you asked if your agent is on fixed commission or not yet? This will give you an idea whether you can squeeze the agent without involving the client.

How long have you been in this gig?
How long have you been a contractor?
What else are you doing above and beyond what you were brought in to do that warrants the increase?

Rate card increases from clients aren't that all that common. You are much more likely to be able to squeeze the agent than the client, particularly if you are new and the agent has had you over a barrel.