Advice on Terminating Consultancy Agreement with my Client

[AWMHouse]

Could anyone help to advise me on the below.

Since early February I have been working as a Sole Trader operating on a Consultancy basis, I have a client who I have a Consultancy Agreement with to offer services (Training and Education) until February next year.

There have been a number of issues with this client since starting, specifically them dictating to me the days I work, when to be in their office, shift times and location etc, micromanaging every aspect of my time and treating me like an employee, which is the opposite of what I agreed to in the contract - This is their contract.

The client also hasn’t valued or respected me, I’ve been shouted at by other members of the business, involved in conflict between other members of the business and been expected to do work above what is in the agreement/schedule of works, Essentially they are treating me like an employee, and when I raised this became very hostile and aggressive towards me, I need to end the agreement for my mental and physical wellbeing but the agreement currently states 2 weeks notice to be given on my side (They can terminate at any time with no notice for any or no reason) so the terms are very loose.

Do I have to give them two weeks notice? I’ve become so unwell with stress I don’t think I can manage another day in their business, I don’t have a typical contract of employment and I am not an employee but could I be held in breach for not completing the two week period? My initial thought is to tell them I am unavailable for the next 2 weeks and by default that means the notice period will lapse automatically and the agreement will end.

I understand general Employment law quite in depth, however this is my first time Freelancing, and I can’t help but feel I have been taken advantage of, i.e. none of the assumed benefits/autonomy/independence of being self employed and essentially being treated like an employee on their terms.

Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate best? They will owe me 10 days up to now which I have record of working, however I worry they may make it difficult when it comes to paying, I am feeling pretty exhausted and drained by it all and just want it over.

[Snooky]

Give notice in writing immediately.

If you really can't face returning due to the stress, sign yourself off sick and let the client know you won't be back until you're better. That way you won't be forced to work your notice in what is a toxic environment to you.

If your contract doesn't have any clauses preventing you working for other clients or committing you to a certain number of hours/days per time period etc, look for a new role straight away.

Don't worry too much about the payment owed; as long as the client is solvent and you have proof of work done under the contract, you'll be able to pursue them legally via the Small Claims route (10 days work is almost certainly under the limit for that) with a very high chance of success. There's a fairly standard route for doing this - chasing letter with invoice, letter before action, small claims court summons.

If a contract is making you ill and you see no way of improving that, just get out of it, whatever they're paying you is unlikely to be worth the price of your mental or physical health. If you need help, come back here and ask more questions.

[northernladuk]

Snooky has hit the nail on the head so all your answers are in that post. I'll expand a bit more for reading later once you've got it sorted and you are in a better place.

Since early February I have been working as a Sole Trader operating on a Consultancy basis, I have a client who I have a Consultancy Agreement with to offer services (Training and Education) until February next year.

You sure it's a sole trader? Not a LTD? Are you via an umbrella or anything like that or do they pay you gross directly?

There have been a number of issues with this client since starting, specifically them dictating to me the days I work, when to be in their office, shift times and location etc, micromanaging every aspect of my time and treating me like an employee, which is the opposite of what I agreed to in the contract - This is their contract.

It's definitely outlined in black and white in the contract? It seems odd to have such an open working situation when you are delivering training which tends to be at prescribed times in the office etc. If you were using your own materials and the like I can see you could just rock up, deliver and go but being in the office and shift times seems weird.
That said it's not unusual for clients to treat you like a perm. Even in the old days of being outside IR35 there was an expecation and a level of professional courtesy to work to the clients routine. It didn't make you any less of a business if you agreed to be on certain sites between certain times. Very rare you could swan in and out when you wanted to regardless of clients working environments. Obviously there are situations where flexibility was agreed and a poor client manager just doesn't get it and treats you like one of their own. I think we've all had this at some point. Sometimes you have to suck it up but your situation definitely appears to have overstepped that level of courtesy and spiralled out of controle.

It's likely not the first time you'll see this freelancing either. The client will often just want some working doing to fill a temporary hole. It's easier to get a freelancer/contractor in that to recruit so even though they've taken you on a true freelancer the expectation from them was always a temp employee. There are some good clients, and there are bad ones and it looks like you've caught a bad one from the off. But it won't be the last time you'll be seen as a pseudo employee. At least next time you know what questions to ask in interview to try avoid/identify it.

The client also hasn’t valued or respected me, I’ve been shouted at by other members of the business, involved in conflict between other members of the business and been expected to do work above what is in the agreement/schedule of works, Essentially they are treating me like an employee, and when I raised this became very hostile and aggressive towards me, I need to end the agreement for my mental and physical wellbeing but the agreement currently states 2 weeks notice to be given on my side (They can terminate at any time with no notice for any or no reason) so the terms are very loose.

I'm guessing this is a small client? I've worked in small businesses and it can be very cutthroat and intense. They don't have big departments to hide in and everyone is wearing multiple hats with responsibilities beyond their role.

Do I have to give them two weeks notice? I’ve become so unwell with stress I don’t think I can manage another day in their business, I don’t have a typical contract of employment and I am not an employee but could I be held in breach for not completing the two week period? My initial thought is to tell them I am unavailable for the next 2 weeks and by default that means the notice period will lapse automatically and the agreement will end.

Snooky's advice is spot on. Just hand your notice in and don't go back. Don't answer your phone or respond to emails as it will just cause you more anxiety. They won't be happy and it sounds like they will try and take it out on you. Just quit.
On the legal side just for discussion though, yes you do have to give them two weeks notice else be in breach. Technically going on holiday or being off sick doesn't cut it as it's obviously a sham to get around the two week notice. So yes you will be in breach but there is nothing they will do about it except cause agro but that will die off very quickly. I assume there should be something in the contract about holidays so I doubt booking two weeks of and disappearing will make one iota of difference. You'll get just as much grief so do as Snooky says.
You will probably have to kiss your last payment goodbye though. You are in breach so likely they will withold it. This is illegal though. They should pay you for your time and then sue you for breach later. This never happens. Possession is 9/10ths the law so they'll keep the money in lieu. You are more than in your right to go to small claims for it but from evidence on here no one ever does. It's a long messy process and not sure if they'll respond in kind regarding breach. We've many posts similar to this and the end result is the contractor walking and just giving up the last payment. It's worth it just to be out of the situation and move on usuall.

I understand general Employment law quite in depth, however this is my first time Freelancing, and I can’t help but feel I have been taken advantage of, i.e. none of the assumed benefits/autonomy/independence of being self employed and essentially being treated like an employee on their terms.

As I said before, not uncommon, particularly in small outfits. We've been fighting IR35 for 15+ years because clients have been doing this to us so a difficult area. Sometimes you get a bad apple and you have to just move on. Nothing you can do about it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate best? They will owe me 10 days up to now which I have record of working, however I worry they may make it difficult when it comes to paying, I am feeling pretty exhausted and drained by it all and just want it over.

I asked about how you are being paid earlier which 'might' make a difference. If it's the client paying you directly then I am afraid it's likely you'll not see that without a legal fight which it doesn't sound like you are up for at the moment. It sounds to me that just forgetting it and getting out of the nightmare is the best out though.
But you all you can do is quit first, get your personal wellbeing sorted and then see what happens. Expect no payment so get it ready in your head what you want to do if that eventuallity hits.

[SussexSeagull]

Don't know about the Sole Trader bit but I had a couple of absolute stinkers that were (what became known as) Outside IR35, funnily enough both after the financial crash in 2008 when, like now, you couldn't be too picky. The first one I quit as the final straw was the manager tried telling me off for leaving at 1659 instead of 1700 so I e-mailed my resignation when I got home and worked a shortened notice period.

Second one was, to use the modern term, really quite toxic and one Sunday I burst into tears as I couldn't face anymore of it. I ended up continuing for financial reasons but notice eventually got served and I stopped caring and just did the hours then left.

I suppose my point is, if it really is getting you down and it doesn't match what it said on the tin then leave. If it is damaging your health then do it now, although notice periods can be quite liberating and they will probably cut it short anyway.

I was at a panel discussion last year about the downturn in the contract market and they pointed out the other side of the coin is people actually in work are under more stress as just because companies aren't recruiting it doesn't mean the work isn't there.

[ladymuck]

I have nothing to add to the above advice. All I will say is that you are not alone and folk here are happy to support and be a sounding board. It's sometimes good to just write things down before taking action as that pause makes you think things through rather than react off the cuff.

Toxic workplaces are more common than you'd think and we've all had our fair share of nightmares. Good luck, you can get through this!

[SussexSeagull]

What always did my head in is the worst contract I had was at a client who won awards for being a good employer.

[northernladuk]

I was signed off sick for stress as my boss and his boss (dumb and dumber) were trying to force a failure on my part. Dumb phoned me during that period because he wanted to arrange a time for my appraisal. I told him briefly where to go. Noted it down. And I'm pretty sure that event increased my eventual payoff.

I had something similar at CSC. Voluntary redundancies opened up and as I was 100% WFH due to a site in Warrington closing. Doesn't sound much but this was 25 years ago and we were on Lotus Notes so virtually unheard of. Anyway, boss rang me strongly suggesting I took it with some reasons why. Mentioned it to HR and they doubled my redundancy. Sadly I didn't know much about this kind of thing and accepted. Should have pushed for a hell of a lot more but I only had sub 10 years in so wasn't a massive amount.

[AWMHouse]

Give notice in writing immediately.

If you really can't face returning due to the stress, sign yourself off sick and let the client know you won't be back until you're better. That way you won't be forced to work your notice in what is a toxic environment to you.

If your contract doesn't have any clauses preventing you working for other clients or committing you to a certain number of hours/days per time period etc, look for a new role straight away.

Don't worry too much about the payment owed; as long as the client is solvent and you have proof of work done under the contract, you'll be able to pursue them legally via the Small Claims route (10 days work is almost certainly under the limit for that) with a very high chance of success. There's a fairly standard route for doing this - chasing letter with invoice, letter before action, small claims court summons.

If a contract is making you ill and you see no way of improving that, just get out of it, whatever they're paying you is unlikely to be worth the price of your mental or physical health. If you need help, come back here and ask more questions.

Thank you for your advice Snooky.

[AWMHouse]

Thank you for your advice, I have added the below where possible to help with the context of my situation while I digest all of the information and responses.

Snooky has hit the nail on the head so all your answers are in that post. I'll expand a bit more for reading later once you've got it sorted and you are in a better place.


You sure it's a sole trader? Not a LTD? Are you via an umbrella or anything like that or do they pay you gross directly? - I am a Sole Trader, I am not using an Umbrella company, and the client pays me gross directly via Invoice, which I then will report via HMRC self-assessment in the usual way.

It's definitely outlined in black and white in the contract? It seems odd to have such an open working situation when you are delivering training which tends to be at prescribed times in the office etc. If you were using your own materials and the like I can see you could just rock up, deliver and go but being in the office and shift times seems weird.
That said it's not unusual for clients to treat you like a perm. Even in the old days of being outside IR35 there was an expecation and a level of professional courtesy to work to the clients routine. It didn't make you any less of a business if you agreed to be on certain sites between certain times. Very rare you could swan in and out when you wanted to regardless of clients working environments. Obviously there are situations where flexibility was agreed and a poor client manager just doesn't get it and treats you like one of their own. I think we've all had this at some point. Sometimes you have to suck it up but your situation definitely appears to have overstepped that level of courtesy and spiralled out of controle. - The Consultancy Agreement states the below,

4.3
The Supplier shall perform the Services. The Supplier shall endeavour to co-operate with the Client’s reasonable requests within the scope of the Services however it is acknowledged that the Supplier shall have autonomy over its working methods, hours and location.

For example, If there is scheduled or arranged Training to be delivered with a Partner of my client, I will absolutely agree to be on-site whether this is in their office, at a retailer, trade partner or whatever the requested location is providing I have enough realistic notice, and this hasn't been an issue for me and I will regularly attend on-site as agreed, however the issue is that when there isn't specific Training taking place or an on-site visit, I will still be expected to attend the office 3 days a week on general fixed days to match the existing team, I have generally done this without complaint to try to work to the clients routine, however the client has then challenged me quite aggressively for sharing with a permanent colleague that I generally work 8-4 (within the office hours which are either 8-4/9-5) and that I was there as a self employed contractor - The client told me I shouldn't be discussing my work set-up with anyone, which is ridiculous as for example I have a contractor pass and people ask me what I'm doing etc and what my days/hours are.

It's likely not the first time you'll see this freelancing either. The client will often just want some working doing to fill a temporary hole. It's easier to get a freelancer/contractor in that to recruit so even though they've taken you on a true freelancer the expectation from them was always a temp employee. There are some good clients, and there are bad ones and it looks like you've caught a bad one from the off. But it won't be the last time you'll be seen as a pseudo employee. At least next time you know what questions to ask in interview to try avoid/identify it.

Yes I understand this could be the case, This is my first time Freelancing and to be quite honest - It was a role that was originally advertised as FTC, however during the interview process they suddenly kept pushing for me to accept but as a Freelancer because it was the only way they could meet my salary expectations as apparently the budget was cut during the recruitment process, It all seemed a bit suspicious at the time, especially as they also initially offered me a lower day rate based on working 260 days which means I'd of had no factored in annual leave or sickness etc, It was only when I queried it that they agreed to a revised higher amount and based on 227 days to factor in the annual leave I wouldn't have compared to if the contract had been FTC.

I'm guessing this is a small client? I've worked in small businesses and it can be very cutthroat and intense. They don't have big departments to hide in and everyone is wearing multiple hats with responsibilities beyond their role.

They are actually a large client, £2.2bn turnover, however the division I am working for within the business is quite a small brand/function of the wider business, and a small team where absolutely everything is micromanaged to the point I've been told how I should and shouldn't speak in meetings - Something I've never experienced in 16 years of working, however the actual client is large.

Snooky's advice is spot on. Just hand your notice in and don't go back. Don't answer your phone or respond to emails as it will just cause you more anxiety. They won't be happy and it sounds like they will try and take it out on you. Just quit.
On the legal side just for discussion though, yes you do have to give them two weeks notice else be in breach. Technically going on holiday or being off sick doesn't cut it as it's obviously a sham to get around the two week notice. So yes you will be in breach but there is nothing they will do about it except cause agro but that will die off very quickly. I assume there should be something in the contract about holidays so I doubt booking two weeks of and disappearing will make one iota of difference. You'll get just as much grief so do as Snooky says. - There isn't anything in the agreement about holidays, or even agreed working days or hours, Only that I will provide services for a certain period of time, It's all pretty lose.

You will probably have to kiss your last payment goodbye though. You are in breach so likely they will withold it. This is illegal though. They should pay you for your time and then sue you for breach later. This never happens. Possession is 9/10ths the law so they'll keep the money in lieu. You are more than in your right to go to small claims for it but from evidence on here no one ever does. It's a long messy process and not sure if they'll respond in kind regarding breach. We've many posts similar to this and the end result is the contractor walking and just giving up the last payment. It's worth it just to be out of the situation and move on usuall. - Thank you, This is difficult for me as they currently owe me 21 days and I really need the income, I've only had to give notice on the agreement as they've been so unreasonable I cannot continue. I did a HMRC questionnaire and it came back with they have treated me as an employee and I should send this to them, but I'm not sure how helpful that will be.

As I said before, not uncommon, particularly in small outfits. We've been fighting IR35 for 15+ years because clients have been doing this to us so a difficult area. Sometimes you get a bad apple and you have to just move on. Nothing you can do about it.

I asked about how you are being paid earlier which 'might' make a difference. If it's the client paying you directly then I am afraid it's likely you'll not see that without a legal fight which it doesn't sound like you are up for at the moment. It sounds to me that just forgetting it and getting out of the nightmare is the best out though.
But you all you can do is quit first, get your personal wellbeing sorted and then see what happens. Expect no payment so get it ready in your head what you want to do if that eventuallity hits.

Thank you for your reply and input.

[AWMHouse]

What always did my head in is the worst contract I had was at a client who won awards for being a good employer.

Oh yes the irony, I have experienced similar, however I'm convinced the companies actually pay to be nominated!!