New contract due to agency (HUXLEY) ripping us all off

[mouseorgan]

Howdy, new contract starts tomorrow. No more 2 hours of driving a day, but 2 hours of train instead. Hello ipad. What's interesting here though is the things that have come to light as to why I'm changing contract. I wanted the market rate for the IT work I'm doing, but the old contract was £50+ a day below what was normal. I asked the company if they wanted me to speak to them or the agency (HUXLEY) about rate changes and they said "There's no more money, what's to discuss??" So fast forwarding from that I took them at their word and found something on much better money. As per another thread I'd already started here, they tried offering some odd completion bonus deal to keep me, but it was far too vague and fluffy. Getting to the end of things, when looking for my replacement our PM observed the advertised rate was *starting* at the rate we were on, and ending at £100 a day more! Discussions with the company resulted in them believing we were already on that top rate, as that's what they were paying the agency (HUXLEY) for us!! What compounds this is that the company and the agency (HUXLEY) are on a strict fixed percentage deal so the agency (HUXLEY) were taking something like 3x more than they were allowed to!

No wonder the company weren't happy about me asking for more, and had this been realised sooner I'd happily be staying, but what's done is done, and I'm sure as hell going to communicate a lot better with my client next time, rather than leaving things assumed and half finished and uncomfortable. I didn't pursue things before as the response I initially got (as above) was pretty definitive and I'm very timid and cautious about delaying with things like. Even right now I could probably stay, given the rates would be sorted out, but I've committed to move to a new client so intend to honour that (not that I'm out of pocket in the slightest - better off actually, akthough comfy where I have been this last 8 months)

So my client is pissed that I'm leaving, I'd love to have stayed and completed the work, but the agency (HUXLEY) shafted both of us. Nice.

[configman]

So my client is pissed that I'm leaving, I'd love to have stayed and completed the work, but the agency (HUXLEY) shafted both of us. Nice.

Things haven't changed with them then. As they have broken the contract with you and your now previous client there is nothing stopping you in the future returning with different agency or directly. Huxley have been on my blacklist since the 90's.

[2BIT]

your client shouldn't be pissed, you should sit them down and say how much you wanted to stay but could earn an extra '12k pa' (put it into permie terms) at an all-else-being-equal job. you have to explain that its the deal with the agency that has cocked them up, say you were on 400 pd, if the agency is getting 100pd that's a 20% margin which is pretty high for contractors - could try and find out what another agency would charge (roughly) so you could say 'if you were with xxx you'd only be paying 9% margin)

in a related story I was at a place which refused to recognise the market rate and advertised at half the market rate for roles (despite my protestations) they didn't get one sniff but lost so much time doing it ended up advertising at double the market rate to get someone in to start quick- moral: never underestimate a company's ability to find funding when up against it - they obviously found the money in your case

[2BIT]

Things haven't changed with them then. As they have broken the contract with you and your now previous client there is nothing stopping you in the future returning with different agency or directly. Huxley have been on my blacklist since the 90's.

would be a good thing to say, make the rate the only point of negotiation and they'll soon see that the agency is the one causing the prob

[mouseorgan]

your client shouldn't be pissed, you should sit them down and say how much you wanted to stay but could earn an extra '12k pa' (put it into permie terms) at an all-else-being-equal job. you have to explain that its the deal with the agency that has cocked them up, say you were on 400 pd, if the agency is getting 100pd that's a 20% margin which is pretty high for contractors - could try and find out what another agency would charge (roughly) so you could say 'if you were with xxx you'd only be paying 9% margin)

Well they were pissed as they were paying market rate and I was saying it wasn't and I was leaving them in the tulip. Now that we can both point at the agency (HUXLEY) and throw said tulip at them, we no longer have any disagreements! I think there were some issues around the company's view of contractors and whilst they totally accepted that I *could* leave if I decided to, they expected me to stay until the end. If I was getting the rate they thoguht I was thoguh, their consternation would've been much more understandable.

[2BIT]

Well they were pissed as they were paying market rate and I was saying it wasn't and I was leaving them in the tulip. Now that we can both point at the agency (HUXLEY) and throw said tulip at them, we no longer have any disagreements! I think there were some issues around the company's view of contractors and whilst they totally accepted that I *could* leave if I decided to, they expected me to stay until the end. If I was getting the rate they thoguht I was thoguh, their consternation would've been much more understandable.

good to hear, i hated the thought of them blaming you when it is quite clearly the agency which is causing the issue, as long as the client understand that they shouldn't be pissed off - if the company doesn't view a contractor as anything but a business enterprise they don't understand contractors and clearly want disguised permies they can get rid of quickly after they've fixed the problems their other permies caused/couldn't do

[Wanderer]

the company and the agency are on a strict fixed percentage deal so the agency were taking something like 3x more than they were allowed to!

So my client is pissed that I'm leaving, I'd love to have stayed and completed the work, but the agency shafted both of us. Nice.

That's pretty nasty of them. Contractually you are in a difficult spot because you agreed the rate and that's what you were paid so you probably don't have much of a case against the agency. From the client point of view, it's different and they could probably take action against the agency for breach of contract. The agency are doing a divide and conquer and quietly skimming off £2 grand a month.

I'd be inclined to demand the money from the agency (even though the legal case is weak). If they refuse then file a formal complaint against the agency with APSCo and ask them to act as a mediator. You may not any money out of it but at very least it will make them squirm a bit.

As you say, moral of the story is that you should always make sure the client understands how much you are getting paid and that they are happy with that.

[mouseorgan]

That's pretty nasty of them. Contractually you are in a difficult spot because you agreed the rate and that's what you were paid so you probably don't have much of a case against the agency. From the client point of view, it's different and they could probably take action against the agency for breach of contract. The agency are doing a divide and conquer and quietly skimming off £2 grand a month.

I'd be inclined to demand the money from the agency (even though the legal case is weak). If they refuse then file a formal complaint against the agency with APSCo and ask them to act as a mediator. You may not any money out of it but at very least it will make them squirm a bit.

As you say, moral of the story is that you should always make sure the client understands how much you are getting paid and that they are happy with that.

My client is certainly intending on following up on things. Seems they've done similar things in the past, and just not come clean about them doing exactly the same on other contractors! Supposedly they would look to pass the extra money on to me, although as I left them it may not happen in reality. But the actions of the agency (HUXLEY) have caused significant disruption to mission critical project as their actions, not the clients, are what formed the basis for me leaving, so there looks to be a lot to get hold of from the clients side in terms of legal position. So in the first case I'm letting the client follow up and I keep friendly with them, helping them out on the phone with their project when I can etc...

[lukemg]

One of the few agencies I will not have any dealings with....

[AnthonyQuinn]

What is your problem?

So my client is pissed that I'm leaving, I'd love to have stayed and completed the work, but the agency (HUXLEY) shafted both of us. Nice.

Your contract was with Huxley. You agreed a rate with them. Huxley's terms with the end client isnt really your business.

the client shouldnt be pissed off at you. They shouldnt be pissed off at Huxley either. They should just look to another agency to get their staff from.

You are a business. Get that into your head. you get what you sign up to with the agent. The agents arent really God's messengers. they are closer to the devil. They will maximise their income just the same as you want to do.