Timesheet query

[rd409]

Hi all, Merry <Insert festival of choice>.

I've an issue I've not encountered before, so thought I'd get the advice of the wise.

I'm a few months into a contract, the chain of companies looks like this.

MyLtdCo -> Agency -> Company A -> Consortium of companies A, B and C.

My timesheets are entered online at the Agency portal; need to be approved by the PM who is an employee of Company A. The work is on a site where the project work is for the consortium, feeding into a few other projects.

Company A are now insisting that I need to use timesheet systems for not only the Agency but ALSO for Company A and Company B due to the structure of the consortium.

The contract through the Agency states that I am providing services to Company A. The consortium, companies B and C are not mentioned anywhere, nor IMO should they be.

As a result, what are people's thoughts - am I within my rights to refuse to use a timesheet system for a company that I have no contractual obligation to? Company A are certainly aware of my hours - a representative approves them, after all. I've mailed someone within Company A the days I've been working, am happy continue that if they want to enter those hours to enable their billing.

When I've been in a similar chain before, I've never had to do this.

TL;DR version.

A client are insisting I use a timesheet system for another company, I'm uncertain as to the necessity to do so.

EDIT: For what it's worth, the Agency were not informed of this prior to the contract starting.

Sorry for being pedantic, but your contract is with the agency to work on a project at Client A. If you get associated with different project, different legal entity which is not on your contract, does it not affect your IR35 status? Essentially this would mean that you are being shifted on different projects as and when required, without any control from your side.

You can either ask for your contract to be amended, or ask for more £££ to mitigate the risk.

HTH.
Dave.

[NotAllThere]

I fill in an electronic timesheet and two paper based timesheets. One for my agency, the others for the projects offices. (two distinct projects). As I'm paid while filling them, I really couldn't care less. Why are you fussed?

[SueEllen]

Sorry for being pedantic, but your contract is with the agency to work on a project at Client A. If you get associated with different project, different legal entity which is not on your contract, does it not affect your IR35 status? Essentially this would mean that you are being shifted on different projects as and when required, without any control from your side.

You can either ask for your contract to be amended, or ask for more £££ to mitigate the risk.

HTH.
Dave.

Read the first post again - it's not an IR35 risk. Perplexed is saying that the contract given to him by the agency is wrong.

This is because companies A, B and C are in a consortium to supply services for the same project to the client. So as far as the client is concerned the project is being done by the consortium as one entity.

If he is suppose to complete timesheets to each member of the consortium (or just 3 different timesheets) then it should have been put in his contract. He basically wants to know the best way of dealing with the fact he can't be bothered to complete 3 different timesheets because companies A, B and C have a communication problem where they haven't worked out how to use the same timesheet.