Termination of Contract

[MarillionFan]

Hi Denny

Well thanks for the support. I am afraid I am not willing to go into specifics it is between myself, agency and client. I am not at all happy with the situation, but I am afraid I will have to just swallow it.

Good luck in your article.

MF

[Phoenix]

Sorry you've been so badly treated MF.
Recently a mate of mine working for Reed at an EDS site came back from Holiday to find his rolling contract had been terminated....
Just as a matter of interest (and going by all the advise on this site) Is anyone aware if there is any support for someone in this position on ContractorUK?
I remember someone asking for input to his articles he wqas writing on this site....This might be a good subject matter for him....what do you reckon?

[Mordac]

I know who the client is (spoke to MF on the phone) but not sure whether I should say who it is, although it is a big outsourcer. No more clues unless you ask nicely.
I know 2 guys who run a small agency and they reckon the agency is on dodgy ground. They ought to have asked the same question we have been asking (e.g. how can you determine someone's work is crap when they haven't produced anything yet?). Might be worth mentioning to them that you are considering legal action - might tempt them to pay your notice period. 10 days = 3.5k so not exactly peanuts.

[tim123]

They still use the same agency to replace you. How is it that an agency can provide a satisfactory contractor, the contractor gets fired, yet the supplier is still trusted to provide a better candidate?

Actually, I used to work for a client who would blacklist an agency if they provided him with a genuinely dud contractor.

It mattered not that the agency had previously placed some good people, nor that the client manager had a self imposed policy of never getting rid of poor contractors early as he thought it showed him in a bad light with *his* boss.

tim

[Denny]

Hi Denny

Well thanks for the support. I am afraid I am not willing to go into specifics it is between myself, agency and client. I am not at all happy with the situation, but I am afraid I will have to just swallow it.

Good luck in your article.

MF

That's fine - except that your refusal to cooperate doesn't exactly help other contractors facing similar problems.

I would have appreciated a private response to what was a private e-mail to you too rather than a publicly posted answer to a non-publicly posted request.

[MarillionFan]

Nothing personal Denny. Its just I dont recognise your email or posting name and the company I was working with was full of contractors both junior and senior. I also didnt want a copy of my email address going out.

I would hate to bad mouth them only to discover that you could be one of them. Sorry.

[PerlOfWisdom]

FFS, MF you not exactly poor student who can't afford to fight for his rights - don't let them get away with it and sue them if necessary. Let them go to court and prove the work was unsatisfactory and reasons for "gross misconduct".

I looked at legal action for the notice payment, but apparently, because I got another contract almost immediately, I would only be able to claim for the short time between contracts, and I wasn't guaranteed to win.

[MarillionFan]

They changed their minds now and sent me an email.
Says I used the internet, took/made some personal calls and talked to staff about non-business stuff all during the week. LOL.

[OwlHoot]

I got back from a City Break today to have a message from my agent saying that my contract was being terminated for Gross Misconduct.

If the client told your agent you were being terminated for Gross Misconduct, and this was blatantly and demonstrably false, that sounds to me like slander.

Seriously, I'd consider having a quick word with a solicitor. If nothing else, a solicitor's letter might at least prompt the client to cough up for the full notice period.

[AtW]

I looked at legal action for the notice payment, but apparently, because I got another contract almost immediately, I would only be able to claim for the short time between contracts, and I wasn't guaranteed to win.

Indeed, but (IMO of course) the most important issue at hand is to ensure that "Gross Misconduct" won't stand - if this swalled then MF will effectively agree he did commit gross misconduct.