Billing before the start of contract

**WTFH** · 5 June 2025, 12:24

Originally posted by ak2453 View Post

I got a contract with govt client though agency and then consulting company outside IR35. They took 4 month since start of the process and I am still not onboarded and contract is still not handed. Client supplied their laptop to start some of onboarding steps and its like 1 month I am spending full time into this because their PMO team is very slow and not responsive and wasting my time. Not sure when it will start (or whether it will start). So what are my rights if it all ended with no contract and no work. I spent 1 month on client laptop raising various requests, responding to emails, chasing people to get completion of raised requests etc. And this is all in client laptop. Should I ask to get paid and can I deny to return laptop unless not paid. Please suggest.

If you have no contract, then they have no obligation to pay you.
You need to speak to the agency and the consulting company, and should not be doing any work without a signed contract.

**fatJock** · 5 June 2025, 14:26

I agree with WTFH - I wouldn't even have turned the laptop on until I got a contract and would have continued looking in the meantime.

You're on a hiding to nothing if you expect some payment without a contract.

**Protagoras** · 5 June 2025, 15:00

I do agree that without a contract, I'd not have turned on the laptop.

But my reading is that OP was provided with a laptop and asked to undertake onboarding activity. Work has been performed and morally the OP should be paid for this.

In the OPs position I'd be submitting an invoice, if for no other reason than to record that work has been done and stake a claim. I agree that absent a B2B contract payment may not be forthcoming to OP's business.

But since there's no B2B contract, isn't OP actually working as an individual? And there is no requirement to have a written contract in place to get paid for work performed as an individual.

Suppose then that B2B contract never appears, doesn't that rather expose the client to an assertion that OP ws actually an employee without a written contract, and therefore eventually to a win at ET?

The supply chain is not doing a good job of covering itself here.

**WTFH** · 5 June 2025, 15:16

Originally posted by Protagoras View Post

I do agree that without a contract, I'd not have turned on the laptop.

But my reading is that OP was provided with a laptop and asked to undertake onboarding activity. Work has been performed and morally the OP should be paid for this.

In the OPs position I'd be submitting an invoice, if for no other reason than to record that work has been done and stake a claim. I agree that absent a B2B contract payment may not be forthcoming to OP's business.

But since there's no B2B contract, isn't OP actually working as an individual? And there is no requirement to have a written contract in place to get paid for work performed as an individual.

Suppose then that B2B contract never appears, doesn't that rather expose the client to an assertion that OP ws actually an employee without a written contract, and therefore eventually to a win at ET?

The supply chain is not doing a good job of covering itself here.

Thing is, without a contract then how much does the OP get paid? An argument could be made that he chose voluntarily to do work, and voluntary work doesn't get paid. But if we're going for "morally he should be paid", then the obligation doesn't go beyond NMW - £12.21 per hour.

Of course, if he has evidence of mails going back and forward between him and the agency/consultancy chasing up the contract, and them agreeing to pay him without one, then at least he's covered.

**northernladuk** · 5 June 2025, 15:48

I'm finding some parts of this difficult to believe and am pretty sure there is some over exaggeration going on here to say the least.

I got a contract with govt client though agency and then consulting company outside IR35. They took 4 month since start of the process and I am still not onboarded and contract is still not handed

Just from that line alone I'd say you are done. You should have assumed you've got nothing and carried on looking. To sit and wait for 4 months for a contract to start is just utterly ridiculous.

Client supplied their laptop to start some of onboarding steps and its like 1 month I am spending full time into this because their PMO team is very slow and not responsive and wasting my time.

I'm pretty surprised as this as well but... spending full time on onboarding activities? I don't think so. Doesn't take a long time to raise requests and not sure why you are bothering chasing them as you haven't got a contract to start yet so really doesn't matter if you've completed the activities. I can't see how you can ask to bill for time spent chasing when there is no need to chase.

But I'm finding the fact you've got a client laptop and I assume some sort of log in's with no contract very troubling. I've seen some places make major c*ck ups like this but I think something else is amiss here that you've missed or not told us. Have you chased the agency and the consultancy? The consultancy particularly will have their necks on a block if they've provided you with client gear you should not be authorised to access without a proper contract. You should have told them you can't access the laptop without a contract. That would have kicked them in to action to do something at least.

Not sure when it will start (or whether it will start). So what are my rights if it all ended with no contract and no work. I spent 1 month on client laptop raising various requests, responding to emails, chasing people to get completion of raised requests etc. And this is all in client laptop. Should I ask to get paid and can I deny to return laptop unless not paid. Please suggest

Sorry to be harsh but you are (IMO) mostly to blame here. Firstly you can't bill them for time without a contract. You should have sorted this first and not lifted a finger before it appeared. You chose to carry these tasks out and chase when there is absolutely no need to and you shouldn't be doing without a contract so for me that's on you, not them for billable time. And a whole month? 20 billable days for chasing stuff? You stick an invoice for that in they'll can you there and then for either being the slowest person on earth or for taking the p*ss. It's a couple of hours tops.
You also shouldn't have let it roll on for four months or assumed you had anything after that length of time. You should have pushed back saying you won't do anything until a contract arrived. You chose to do work out of contract so (again IMO) you are going to have to lump it. Any sane person would have been looking for something in the meantime and when they got a gig just sacked this one off.

Sounds like the consultancy have pulled a fast one, got you on boarded without any work ready to put you forward when something appears, which it has't. You are just a back pocket substitute for when they can snaffle some work at the client, which they haven't so far.

**Protagoras** · 5 June 2025, 16:23

Originally posted by WTFH View Post

Thing is, without a contract then how much does the OP get paid? An argument could be made that he chose voluntarily to do work, and voluntary work doesn't get paid. But if we're going for "morally he should be paid", then the obligation doesn't go beyond NMW - £12.21 per hour.

Depending on the length of time worked, I seem to recall that OP could become entitled to the same salary as is paid to a comparable employee, plus of course holiday pay etc but this is on the basis of asserting employment.

Submitting an invoice will at least focus the minds of the people in the supply chain and force some kind of action. Even if this engagement is cancelled, I'd be looking to negotiate payment for work undertaken in good faith.

**Protagoras** · 5 June 2025, 16:33

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

But I'm finding the fact you've got a client laptop and I assume some sort of log in's with no contract very troubling.

I find it absolutely shocking from a security and confidentiality perspective that a laptop would be issued and access provided without contractual cover being in place. Even if that access is simply email.

It's not something I've ever seen happen.

**northernladuk** · 5 June 2025, 16:47

Originally posted by Protagoras View Post

I find it absolutely shocking from a security and confidentiality perspective that a laptop would be issued and access provided without contractual cover being in place. Even if that access is simply email.

It's not something I've ever seen happen.

I'd imagine part of the OP's onboarding would be reading and agreeing to Privacy and Data policies as well as the clients IT Policy which would most certainly include acess to systems by authorised people, employees and vetted suppliers, none of which the OP is without a contract and would have got my alarm bells ringing at that point.

My money is still on the consutlancy onboarding him ready if they got some work but that's still pretty incompetent has they haven't secured the legal relationship between them and the OP.... unless they've signed something already he's not read properly or understood even if it's not a contract for work.

**WTFH** · 5 June 2025, 17:02

Originally posted by Protagoras View Post

Depending on the length of time worked, I seem to recall that OP could become entitled to the same salary as is paid to a comparable employee, plus of course holiday pay etc but this is on the basis of asserting employment.

But "comparable employee" to what? If it's based on the work that he's done, then a comparable employee is any new starter who has gone through induction training. It would be different if he had delivered anything.

Billing before the start of contract