Agency Contract

[sharmas]

Hi All,

Good board should have discovered it before because it has answered a few questions.

A week ago I attended an interview and on Monday this week had a confirmation from the agency that I had got the job.
Listed in their E-mail was the rate/duration/manager/etc.
They also stated that they would send a formal contract on receipt of a PO from the client.
The contract starts on the 22/9 and as yet no formal contract has arrived.
Phoned the agency and they said they are chasing.
Question 1 is - Without a formal contract would you start?
Question 2 is - Is this contract enforcable as I turned down another offer to take this one due to location?

Any help appreciated.
Thanks

[ratewhore]

Some people believe if you start the gig you have accepted the t's and c's in the contract. Given this, if you haven't seen a contract you're accepting things you have no knowledge of.

Specific answers to your questions:

1 - Definitely not (IMHO)
2 - You don't yet have a contract so whether it is enforceable or not is a moot point.

I suggest you keep looking until you have signed something...

[donny]

Question 1 is - Without a formal contract would you start?
Question 2 is - Is this contract enforcable as I turned down another offer to take this one due to location?

1 - NEVER. I never work without a signed contract.

2 - Strictly speaking, you have an agreement to work if you have verbally accepted the contract. However, in the absence of any signed paperwork, it's VERY hard to prove you had a contract.

I usually say that I will accept the role, subject to a signed, agreed contract - until that point, I'm still looking at other roles. It helps to focus the mind and get the paperwork sorted quickly.

[DS23]

don't do it until the paperwork arrives.

[malvolio]

Some people believe if you start the gig you have accepted the t's and c's in the contract. ...

The law states clearly that . It's up to you to make sure you know what they are and challnge them if necessary

[original PM]

Given what has been said here if you turn up on the relevant date you should be paid the amount specified in the e-mail. If at that point the whole thing falls through you should also be paid your notice period by the agency - however if that is not in the e-mail you got.

However if you are planning to operate outside of IR35 you may end up scuppered if when the contract does arrive it does not satisfy (the increasingly vague) requirements to be outside of IR35.

Good luck!

[sharmas]

Thanks for the replies.

Since it is for quite a big organisation I may take a punt and go in on day 1 and make the position clear to the chap I am working for.
Bit of a mare really as contracts arent offering themselves up as frequently as they used to.

[expat]

The law states clearly that . It's up to you to make sure you know what they are and challnge them if necessary

Does the law clearly state that you have accepted their terms and conditions, but they haven't accepted yours?

[malvolio]

Does the law clearly state that you have accepted their terms and conditions, but they haven't accepted yours?

No. A contract is a mutual thing. Whatever was last agreed before acceptance is what you both work to. Turning up and getting paid indicates acceptance, regardless of where you are with the negotiations. Of course, you can continue to haggle details and mutually agree a later set of Ts&Cs, but your position will have been fatally weakened if the other side don't agree.

It works the other way of course. I had submitted a minor but necessary amendment about something (payment terms, ISTR) in an email the week before a new gig and heard no more. At the other end of the day, my version prevailed...

[abc]

Hi All,

Good board should have discovered it before because it has answered a few questions.

A week ago I attended an interview and on Monday this week had a confirmation from the agency that I had got the job.
Listed in their E-mail was the rate/duration/manager/etc.
They also stated that they would send a formal contract on receipt of a PO from the client.
The contract starts on the 22/9 and as yet no formal contract has arrived.
Phoned the agency and they said they are chasing.
Question 1 is - Without a formal contract would you start?
Question 2 is - Is this contract enforcable as I turned down another offer to take this one due to location?

Any help appreciated.
Thanks

Question 1 is - Without a formal contract would you start? NEVER!
Question 2 is - Well from what you said there is no contract yet. But if you start, you are essentially accepting whatever they subsequently choose to throw at you. Not a good idea!

Bear in mind that there are two contracts; the one between you/agency and the agency/client one.

Because of this, if the agency was confident of the PO arriving, they should be able to give u a draft contract at least, showing important details such as the rate and duration. The fact that they have not done this should give you pause for thought for several reasons.

Bear in mind that what the agency is telling you is going on and what is actually going on behind the scenes could be quite different things!