Is this Agency/Client messing me around?

[sira]

Hi all,

I'm a non-IT contractor. I have an offer for a 6-12 month gig (mat cover), at a tier 1 buy-side firm.

I got the offer 3 weeks ago, and the contract was sent to me about 2 weeks ago. The contract has SO many clauses, that its not even worth the paper its written on. The agency have approved all my references etc BUT they now said that the client does their own cross-check / Audit.

I have 2 months left on my current gig, but the agency told me everythings fine and that I should resign, even though there hasnt been final sign off from the client i.e. their own "audit". Fyi- my notice is 4 weeks

Its appearing increasingly sketchy, as both the agency and client have been very slow at answering my queries/emails. I've exchanged circa 100 emails with the agency and maybe 20-30 phone calls for a short gig...I've never chased so hard for a job.

Note - its a well known agency

So I guess the questions are:
1. Does this appear above board?
2. Has anybody ever had a client who had to do their own "Audit"?
3. Should I resign, even though the client hasnt done their Audit / Sign off?

Any insight is appreciated.

[kaiser78]

Hi all,

I'm a non-IT contractor. I have an offer for a 6-12 month gig (mat cover), at a tier 1 buy-side firm.

I got the offer 3 weeks ago, and the contract was sent to me about 2 weeks ago. The contract has SO many clauses, that its not even worth the paper its written on. The agency have approved all my references etc BUT they now said that the client does their own cross-check / Audit.

I have 2 months left on my current gig, but the agency told me everythings fine and that I should resign, even though there has been final sign off from the client i.e. their own "audit". Fyi- my notice is 4 weeks

Its appearing increasingly sketchy, as both the agency and client have been very slow at answering my queries/emails. I've exchanged circa 100 emails with the agency and maybe 20-30 phone calls for a short gig...I've never chased so hard for a job.

Note - its a well known agency

So I guess the questions are:
1. Does this appear above board?
2. Has anybody ever had a client who had to do their own "Audit"?
3. Should I resign, even though the client hasnt done their Audit / Sign off?

Any insight is appreciated.

Why do you say that, ie how do you know ?

This is mainly an IT contractor forum, but same principles apply, including getting your contracted reviewed by a legal person, unless you are qualified in this respect.

I wouldn't resign until you have agreed the contract and seen agency/client progressing you coming on board.

[GreenMirror]

1. Does this appear above board?
2. Has anybody ever had a client who had to do their own "Audit"?
3. Should I resign, even though the client hasnt done their Audit / Sign off?

1. Yes
2. Yes. Every time in fact.
3. No! No! Fook no!

I worked buy side once. I thought as they were highly reputable they would be efficient. Their audit was done by Kroll. Which was outsourced to some offshore idiots. It took for ever.

[sira]

Why do you say that, ie how do you know ?

This is mainly an IT contractor forum, but same principles apply, including getting your contracted reviewed by a legal person, unless you are qualified in this respect.

I wouldn't resign until you have agreed the contract and seen agency/client progressing you coming on board.

I have experience with contracts. The contract states a notice period but it effectively says the contractor can be terminated instantly by the client whenever they wish. Its fairly boilerplate for a tier1 but one of the more extreme contracts I've ever come across. Anyway, the contract isnt my concern (as evident from my original post).

[sira]

1. Yes
2. Yes. Every time in fact.
3. No! No! Fook no!

I worked buy side once. I thought as they were highly reputable they would be efficient. Their audit was done by Kroll. Which was outsourced to some offshore idiots. It took for ever.

What does their own Audit consist of? Because the agency have already verified and approved all my checks. The agency told me the clients audit is a cross-check and takes 1 week. So its not a situation, where any screening will be done by another third party or offshore.

[kaiser78]

I have experience with contracts. The contract states a notice period but it effectively says the contractor can be terminated instantly by the client whenever they wish. Its fairly boilerplate for a tier1 but one of the more extreme contracts I've ever come across. Anyway, the contract isnt my concern (as evident from my original post).

Oh okay. You do see this with notice periods in IT contracts as well, and even so can be terminated instantly even if there is a notice period.

[GreenMirror]

What does their own Audit consist of? Because the agency have already verified and approved all my checks. The agency told me the clients audit is a cross-check and takes 1 week. So its not a situation, where any screening will be done by another third party or offshore.

I have seen similar. The agency will pass everything onto the client. The client may then look themselves or outsource it.

When did the client audit start? 1 week is nothing to wait.

Sometimes the cross-check can throw up unexpected issues which can be easily explained. I remember once being asked for proof of council tax paid 3 years ago!

Don't trust them.

Remember the old city idiom. If someone says their word is their bond - take their bond.

[sira]

I have seen similar. The agency will pass everything onto the client. The client may then look themselves or outsource it.

When did the client audit start? 1 week is nothing to wait.

Sometimes the cross-check can throw up unexpected issues which can be easily explained. I remember once being asked for proof of council tax paid 3 years ago!

Don't trust them.

Remember the old city idiom. If someone says their word is their bond - take their bond.

The audit "started" on Monday (i.e. client got the docs), and was told it would take 1 week. Havent heard any noise from the agency.

[WTFH]

Don't resign until you get the OK from the new client. The agent want's you to resign because then they know they have you over a barrel, and if they know where you currently are, they have an opportunity to introduce someone else to replace you.

[sira]

Don't resign until you get the OK from the new client. The agent want's you to resign because then they know they have you over a barrel, and if they know where you currently are, they have an opportunity to introduce someone else to replace you.

I need them to change the starting date on my contract. Emailed two reps yday, and one this morning, and had no response....