Help! Company not paying me for days worked for them!

[PazzoRilancio]

Thanks all!

1) Yes, happy with payment for 13 days
2) Yes, I have emails from them on 9 days out of those 13 asking me to do things or confirming receipt of work I'd delivered
3) Several of those days I was available for them as agreed but they didn't send me any work - On those days, I'd emailed them to basically ask what they needed with no response (but of course, I couldn't then do other contracts on those days)

They've just messed up big time here and thought they had more work than they did by the looks of things. And the person who hired me is most likely trying to cover his own back so the bosses don't see what a costly mistake the guy has made.

To the poster who said my work may only have been worth about 4 days:
- That's subjective (it actually was about 8 days of work including research and admin which I do have a personal timesheet for, and that goes across the 13 days)
- On the other days, I was still in contract with the employer and in constant contact with them for work. I was unable to undertake other contracts during this period.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks!

[PazzoRilancio]

I just received this :

"Hi,

I’m a little disappointed that things have come to this but I’m going to attempt to explain the situation one last time. There are a few things that I need you to understand about freelancing in general but particularly with the [COMPANY NAME] so that you’re clear on our position on how it pays its suppliers and the people it works with.

You can only be paid for the work you have done irrespective of how long you were ‘with us’. Because you’re not employed by us, you should think of yourself as similar to being a supplier. An employee can be expected to be paid regardless of their activity but a supplier will only be paid for the work done / goods received. If it was the case you spent 13 days (let’s say 7 hours per day) doing work for us then we would pay that but we don’t believe this reflects your output.

As a freelancer, it is your responsibility to manage your time and resources to ensure you meet the commitments to the [COMPANY NAME]– anything you do outside of that is your prerogative. We did not ask you to work exclusively with us nor did we request you to be in the [COMPANY NAME] office every day.

The original PO was raised for 20 days to express commitment to pay you but as things didn’t work out you are not eligible and should not expect to be paid the 20 days. This PO does not form a contract or commitment to pay. The [COMPANY NAME] is within its rights to refuse to pay invoices should it not be satisfied with what was delivered.

The maximum I can approve for the work you have done is four days. Anything more than this and you are at risk of having the PO voided resulting in no payment at all.

Please let me know how you wish to proceed.

[Contact name]."

[GB9]

Firstly, I didn't say any company had the right to decide how much they were willing to pay for work after the event, so let's be clear on that. However......

I just received this :

"If it was the case you spent 13 days (let’s say 7 hours per day) doing work for us then we would pay that but we don’t believe this reflects your output.

The maximum I can approve for the work you have done is four days. Anything more than this and you are at risk of having the PO voided resulting in no payment at all.

[Contact name]."

This e-mail demonstrates exactly what I thought they were implying in the first e-mail.

You believe you have done work for them on 13 days out of the 20, and you want paying for those days. They believe your output is worth 4 of those days and that's what they are offering.

So, exactly what was the agreement and what happened for the balancing 9 days? Did they state there was going to be work for you on those days or was the agreement 20 days PO and the days to be used as and when required?

Ignore the last statement. At worst they have admitted that they owe you 4 days. How you react to the remaining 9 days will define how quickly you get the 4 days, however, they can't not pay it.

[PazzoRilancio]

Ok, this is getting nasty and I'm not very happy about it.

The BBC have a freelance terms & trade document which all contractors signed upon doing work for them.

For arguments sake, without divulging who my contract was with, let's just say it was for this company who are obviously quite reputable, what would be the next step?


http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/supplying...s_of_Trade.pdf

In that PDF, there is a clause about termination which does specifically state payment would be made for the days up to the point of termination..! In the email I was sent by my particular client, they suggested there was no such contract, though I can state I had signed a terms of trade document.

[PazzoRilancio]

Just to add, the PO states 20 days to be delivered by the 9th of August. I started on the 9th of July and have emails to show that.

[eek]

I think it boils down to a simple question:-

What does your contract say. If its a daily rate and requires you to be on site they are taking the mickey. Invoice for 13days clearly stating something like "Consultant on site" and start dunning process.


If it was 13 days with you sat at home waiting for them to email you work I don't think there is much you'll be able to do even though they are taking the mickey.

[Safe Collections]

Anything more than this and you are at risk of having the PO voided resulting in no payment at all."

First of all, that is a veiled threat. Take four days or get nothing. Is it safe to assume this is an agency you are dealing with? That email has pimp written all over it...

Secondly, did you get a formal contract or was it all just based on the PO? Because as as far as we are aware, a purchase order does generally constitute a contractual relationship.

As it will contain an offer and an acceptance. This is how contracts are formed (but please note, this is advice on documents we haven't seen so definitely does not constitute legal advice!). Outlaw has some good background info on contracts here.

However any formal contract may well take precedence over the PO, so you would need to look at it carefully if it exists.

The whole tone of that email is condescending and bullying and it sounds to us like they are desperately back pedalling in order to avoid paying you for the time you worked or made yourself available for work.

Ignore the last statement. At worst they have admitted that they owe you 4 days. How you react to the remaining 9 days will define how quickly you get the 4 days, however, they can't not pay it.

Actually they can, quite easily. Just say see you in court and the OPs options are issue proceedings or walk away. It happens all the time

[PazzoRilancio]

Thanks Safe Collections - Please see my previous message. I did sign a freelance terms when starting (this is a generic doc the company use).

I posted a link to an example of a freelancer terms doc.

[Safe Collections]

Thanks Safe Collections - Please see my previous message. I did sign a freelance terms when starting (this is a generic doc the company use).

I posted a link to an example of a freelancer terms doc.

Is it exactly the same as the link you posted?

[PazzoRilancio]

Well, I don't want to risk breaking any potential confidential clauses so I'd rather not confirm whether or not that link was the same one.

Though I believe for this purpose we can use this as an example.