Being tied to an agency

[Gros]

Hypothetical question

Your LtdCo gets placed at a Client for 2 months by an Agency. At the end of the contract, Client says to you: "We'd love you to stay for a couple of weeks".

However, your relationship with the agency is so bad that you'd rather do anything then give them the satisfaction of taking any further cuts of your payments. Even if it means more money for you. So you decide to arrange something between yourself and the Client, either directly between you or via another company acting as a middle man.

Assuming all the usual contract clauses are in place, who would the agency come after when they found out what was going on?

And realistically, how would they ever find out what was going on?!

Just hypothetical, like I say.

[pmeswani]

Hypothetical question

Your LtdCo gets placed at a Client for 2 months by an Agency. At the end of the contract, Client says to you: "We'd love you to stay for a couple of weeks".

However, your relationship with the agency is so bad that you'd rather do anything then give them the satisfaction of taking any further cuts of your payments. Even if it means more money for you. So you decide to arrange something between yourself and the Client, either directly between you or via another company acting as a middle man.

Assuming all the usual contract clauses are in place, who would the agency come after when they found out what was going on?

And realistically, how would they ever find out what was going on?!

Just hypothetical, like I say.

They "may" find out if you update your cv and put it on one of the job boards or apply for a job via them. It may be worth talking to them and asking them for permission to go direct. As it is for only a couple of weeks, isn't it worth going through them anyway? After then, break your ties with the agency and move on. Also, did you opt-in or opt-out?

[DS23]

they will find out. they will come after you. tbh i wouldn't blame them.

if the agency are that bad (and lord knows some of them are) tell the client - they may be willing to help you stand your ground. i had a client who did this for me - the agency backed down.

otherwise move on.

[brianbetter]

Read your contract, they may have put 6 or 3 month clauses stating you cannot go and work for the client or end client or you are liable for the lost profit.

I don't know how it will stand up in court due to it being illegal to stop the movement of labour but i did have a contractor leave his company and come to us to be placed in the same client and his original people got him to pay 6 month profit which he did as we were happy to drop our mark up, raise his rate and he he was still quids in.

As stated, if you have opted in then they cannot reallly levy those clauses however if you have opted-out then the contract is between two businesses and any clause can be levied. (again, as to whether they can be enforced by law is questionable)

[Gros]

So it would be the Ltd Company supplying the contractor that was liable, rather than the end client?

In my hypothetical scenario, the LtdCo would have opted out. Personally I don't know enough about what that means to know what difference it would make!