My old client won't pay me!

[VectraMan]

WHS. What does the contract say regarding notice periods etc.? If you've breached the contract, regardless of the circumstances, then losing out 2 week's money isn't an unreasonable penalty, regardless of whether you worked hard and were productive or not.

Harsh I know, but part of the reason us contractors are paid more is that "employers" aren't burdened with our problems, as happens with employees. At the end of the day, you've promised something and not delivered, and it would be generous on their part to still pay you if the contract didn't specify that they had to.

I hope your son is okay.

[thunderlizard]

Depending on what you/they wrote in your contract, your client might have a case. If you didn't deliver anything in your 2 weeks, it's possible you're not due anything. Some contracts pay for hours spent producing a deliverable, not just how long your bum has spent on one of their chairs. One of the risks of being in business: if you're just pulling out of the contract rather than sending another staff member to carry on the work, you could count yourself lucky to be escaping any further penalties.

I'd advise to wait until he's back off holidays, otherwise you'll just create chinese whispers, as somebody in the office is blatently having fun doing. Then try and sort it out amicably with him. If you did produce anything for them in your 2 weeks, however slight, talk about denying them its use via some kind of legal method. They'll probably decide 2 weeks cash is nothing compared with the costs of getting their massive (& I suspect rather busy right now!) legal machine involved.

But if the consultancy/agency involved is covered by the agency regs and you didn't opt out of them, then your best bet will be as growernotashower says.

Good luck & best wishes to the kid.

[Growernotashower]

Are you opt'd in or opt'd out? If you are opt in, my understanding anyway, the agency have to pay you regardless of a signed timesheet if you can ligitimately prove that you carried out the work.

Have a look at Opt-in, opt-out?Legal specialist Egos comments :: Contractor UK

[DodgyAgent]

Hi all,

I recently had to stop working for a well known Oil giant, the one Mr Obama really likes. Due to me son falling very ill and needing both my wife and me to be at home with him. I told them what had happened (via the small consultancy that acted as an agency) and thought that was that. I couldn't afford to leave but had to because of my son.
Several weeks later, I put in a timesheet for the days worked. I got an email back today telling me that my old boss was on holiday for a week and it would be unlikely that he would pay me because he saw my time there as onboarding, that I'd wasted time that could have been spent with someone else. So the agency, who back them of course, see it as 2 weeks working there for nothing.

Given the situation at home, i can't afford this. I need to get paid, at the very least I spent loads on accomodation costs and petrol.

What can I do? until he signs my timesheets, the agency won't pay me.

Help?

That is sad news I hope he recovers.

You first of all need to prove your sons illness (you wont believe the extremity of lies that some contractors use to wriggle out of contracts). Presumably you notified your boss and your agency that this tragic occurence had happened and that it would affect your ability to work. Why didnt you call your boss at the time and tell him rather than your consultancy?

[MarkT]

Hi all,

I recently had to stop working for a well known Oil giant, the one Mr Obama really likes. Due to me son falling very ill and needing both my wife and me to be at home with him. I told them what had happened (via the small consultancy that acted as an agency) and thought that was that. I couldn't afford to leave but had to because of my son.
Several weeks later, I put in a timesheet for the days worked. I got an email back today telling me that my old boss was on holiday for a week and it would be unlikely that he would pay me because he saw my time there as onboarding, that I'd wasted time that could have been spent with someone else. So the agency, who back them of course, see it as 2 weeks working there for nothing.

Given the situation at home, i can't afford this. I need to get paid, at the very least I spent loads on accomodation costs and petrol.

What can I do? until he signs my timesheets, the agency won't pay me.

Help?