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

[Old Greg]

Hi Stek,

I did! I sent them an email without prejudice saying I'd accept a settlement of 7 days.

They replied with another threat saying they would not negotiate, and if I escalate it they won't pay me anything.

Are you going to stop negotiating with them now?

[Dominic Connor]

I've had a very expensive lawyer look at the contract, this is the same one who sussed out that Roger Sinclair (egos) was not a solicitor and for very good reasons, with an entertaining confrontation at the OS/2 drinkup.

The contract basically says that the the contractor gets what the PO says, the PO says the con gets 20 days. Their only out would be if the contractor screwed up the work or refused to do it and given the emails that would be pretty tough.

No outfit's legal department would want to get embroiled in this, our joint opinion is that we have an antimatter situation brewing here.

When inhouse legal meet the manager who started this mess, faeces will be converted to energy and a whole bunch of faecal neutrinos.

[eek]

Are you going to stop negotiating with them now?

+1 why on earth were you negotiating.

[PazzoRilancio]

Negotiating to try and show goodwill to settle I suppose!!!

Though as per suggestions, that has now well and truly ended. They made it clear that 4 days was their only offer, so I'm awaiting an introduction to their legal team!

[KentPhilip]

Were you working onsite at the client, or working from home?

[Contreras]

Negotiating to try and show goodwill to settle I suppose!!!

Though as per suggestions, that has now well and truly ended. They made it clear that 4 days was their only offer, so I'm awaiting an introduction to their legal team!

I wouldn't be waiting for an introduction. Speak to their accounts payable and/or legal team and make sure the invoice has been received and logged. Once you have the name of someone at that level re-issue the original invoice, hardcopy by registered post, even if they say they have it already. It's not strictly necessary but you can include wording on any invoice to remove all doubt:

"Overdue payment is subject to statutory interest and charges in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002."

Even without that, and without any chasing, warnings or reminders, the late payment penalty + interest becomes due 30 days from the invoice date unless the PO/contract state different terms.

[eek]

Negotiating to try and show goodwill to settle I suppose!!!

Though as per suggestions, that has now well and truly ended. They made it clear that 4 days was their only offer, so I'm awaiting an introduction to their legal team!

Why? You are negotiating with someone who has no power, seems to like making threats and where you are never going to see goodwill.

Move beyond his pay grade and let someone else sort it out.

[GB9]

The dates thing does get confusing but let me summarise:

1) I had done 10 days work in total between the 1st of July and when they officially terminated my contract on the 17th of July
2) They emailed me on the 10th of July telling me they will get me feedback for the last thing I delivered (there was no comment about stopping work altogether however, although I wasn't getting any replies to requests about other articles in that time even after emailing every other day)

So between the 1st of July to the day of termination (17th) was 13 working days (Mon - Fri). I had carried out 10 days of work in my own time (the PO states 20 days were included but not when those days would be).

The matter of fact is, I have carried out 10 days work for them and they're trying to say they will only pay me for 4 because they mistakenly didn't need the other stuff. Equally, please also bear in mind this was a 1 month contract (as per the email correspondence), so even though I'm apparently not "exclusive to the BBC" as per their T&C's, this very obviously prohibited me from getting other work due to expecting more within that time and thereafter?

Thanks!

Ok, comfortable that you have done 10 days work, as that is the first thing you said.

The only reason I have questioned the basis of the contract is that I have previously raised POs for consultancy firms' services, e.g. up to 20 days over the next 3 months. These days are only paid for as and when they are used. This is quite clear though, and the days that they are not being used the consultancy has to find other work for its staff. The PO is there to ensure there is a contract in place and also to define the terms and conditions of payment, etc. I view this as very different to a fixed term day rate contract where you expect someone to be available for e.g. every day over 4 weeks and if you don't use them, they still get paid. This is obviously because once you have said you want them for those 4 weeks, they can't commit to anything else.

Having said that, if DC's missus has reviewed the contract and says you are due the money, I would stick with her opinion.

[psychocandy]

Go here, and issue court papers to them for the 13 days:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

I don't see why you should compromise on the amount of pay.
You were taken on on a day rate, and you were onsite for those days. You did the work they asked you to do, and were available to work every second that you weren't doing it.

Sue them.

But he wasn't onsite was he? If he was then I'd say cut and dried, cough up, I was there.

If its WFH then a bit different. Although, I'd stop arguing with them now and start escalating legally. They're threats are unnecessary and without foundation.

[Dominic Connor]

I wouldn't be waiting for an introduction. Speak to their accounts payable and/or legal team and make sure the invoice has been received and logged. .

I feel I must take exception to this view.

As I mentioned, I have taken advice from a $1K per hour lawyer who has ****ed over outfits much larger that the one in this case. The "request" to for an introduction is part of the discipline of keeping the moral high ground and a smile on your face.

As any reassuringly expensive lawyer will tell you (for a chunk of money), your conduct determines both your success in getting the right judgement and the award of costs. If you sue 1 day after the due date for payment you have a very different case from where their documented bullying, changes in position and clear bad faith s demonstrated. Also, this is a pub fight, people say things they are both aggressive and untrue, to win you really want to be the person who was lied to.

Courts are not fond of liars.

I'd bet money that at least one thing said by the client s provably false, and the longer our friend remains persistent and reasonable, the more the client will say and the greater the chance of them hanging themselves. Also these lies can be reflected to the bosses of the manager, when he realises this, his rational choice will be to fold. To continue would be irrational and stupid, let him be so.

Be clear here. The best time to smash someone in the face is when you affect to laugh at their jokes, not after you've shouted threats at them. It also looks better in court if they throw the first punch, especially in these days of video surveillance, or in this case, emails.

By making it clear that we are are going to "tell his mum about him" we are in effect issuing a threat, but a credible, cost free, risk free threat. Legal action costs money and hassle and is never ever certain to succeeed and the OP and I are engineering a situation where he has N options :

1) Pay up
2) Explain to HR and legal, making him look bad
3) Refuse to pass on the request, which means when we contact HR, Legal and in my case the press office, we can honestly say "we asked to speak to HR, Legal, but he flatly refused".

To get your enemies fighting amongst themselves is the perfection of war.

Also, it is worth pointing out my contribution to the fight here...

Although in this context I am a journalist, my day job is as a pimp, getting through and past blocks in place to stop me is part of the job spec.

It also helps that for various reasons in this particular case the outfit in question has seen fit to send me a complete list of everyone in its press function, indeed pays an agency to ensure that I always have an up to date list.