Contract restrictions on going permanent

[Aeia]

Not sure if this is relevant? Opt In or Opt Out - Conduct Regs - Clarity Umbrella Ltd if you stayed opted in it looks like they can't prevent you working directly for the company?

[northernladuk]

Not sure if this is relevant? Opt In or Opt Out - Conduct Regs - Clarity Umbrella Ltd if you stayed opted in it looks like they can't prevent you working directly for the company?

Kind of right but not quite. Regulation 10 of the Conduct regulations states that they cannot enforce a restriction after the relevant period. That period is the longer of 14 weeks after the first working day and 8 weeks after the last working day. So no, a standard handcuff of 3 months or whatever cant' stand but there will be a restriction of (usually) 8 weeks after you leave. So effectively two months.

It's no good for most people as the situation normally requires and immediate start when they flip from from contractor to perm or from agent to agent. The two months kind kills any opportunity to do that. So no it doesn't help the OP unless they want to wait two months instead of whatever the term is in their contract.

Wording from the legislation is

(4) Any term of a contract between an employment business and a hirer which is contingent on any of the following events, namely a work-seeker—

(a)taking up employment with the hirer;

(b)taking up employment with any person (other than the hirer) to whom the hirer has introduced him; or

(c)working for the hirer pursuant to being supplied by another employment business,

is unenforceable by the employment business in relation to the event concerned where the work-seeker begins such employment or begins working for the hirer pursuant to being supplied by another employment business, as the case may be, after the end of the relevant period.

(5) In paragraph (4), “the relevant period” means whichever of the following periods ends later, namely—

(a)the period of 8 weeks commencing on the day after the day on which the work-seeker last worked for the hirer pursuant to being supplied by the employment business; or

(b)subject to paragraph (6), the period of 14 weeks commencing on the first day on which the work-seeker worked for the hirer pursuant to the supply of that work-seeker to that hirer by the employment business.