Reply to: Who is in breach of Contract? Immediate resignation!

[jmo21]

What was so different about the role?

[LondonManc]

TL;DR

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[oracleslave]

I'll summarise it even further
NCOTBAC

TL;DR

[LondonManc]

I'm going to summarise the original post to:
"I walked away from a contract without working the notice period. The client is unhappy. Will I be paid aa I think the agent is at fault?"

So, questions:
What did you say in your resignation letter?
Did you mention the phrase "breach of contract"?
Did you discuss the fact you were going to resign with the client?
How long was the contract for?
What was the issue you had with the new role?
Why were you not prepared to work your notice period?

I'll summarise it even further
NCOTBAC

[WTFH]

I'm going to summarise the original post to:
"I walked away from a contract without working the notice period. The client is unhappy. Will I be paid aa I think the agent is at fault?"

So, questions:
What did you say in your resignation letter?
Did you mention the phrase "breach of contract"?
Did you discuss the fact you were going to resign with the client?
How long was the contract for?
What was the issue you had with the new role?
Why were you not prepared to work your notice period?

[LondonManc]

Now you are a contractor, you must understand that you work for the client. You negotiate directly with the client. You tell the client you are terminating. Your business relationship is with the client. The agency pays you but be clear: agents understand little apart from hair gel and BMWs. Don't fall for this 'in business on your own account' malarkey. You've suffered this time. Don't make the same mistake again.

+1

The agency are an appointment and payment vehicle. You could still work for the client without that agency. I've returned to clients without involvement from the agency the second time; the client has called me directly. My business relationship is therefore with both the agency and the client and it's important to manage both and understand that your business has been engaged to produce a set of deliverables for the client, not the agency.

[Cirrus]

most of this conversations were going on between me and the agency and not the client, since the agency said they are solely the one to negotiate with the client. My limited company has a business relationship with them and not the client.

Now you are a contractor, you must understand that you work for the client. You negotiate directly with the client. You tell the client you are terminating. Your business relationship is with the client. The agency pays you but be clear: agents understand little apart from hair gel and BMWs. Don't fall for this 'in business on your own account' malarkey. You've suffered this time. Don't make the same mistake again.

[LondonManc]

I'd personallyassume from the fact the OP calls it a role and is sufficiently pissed off enough to leave I'd assume quite different. He can't be dumb enough to leave over some associated training/work that would supplement his abilities as you've put in your example.

Exactly, we just don't have enough detail to form a solid enough opinion.

[northernladuk]

The inside/outside IR35 is a moot point; the tax liabilities of the case are a separate issue.

Essentially, the OP is saying that he (assumption, feel free to correct) has been recruited for one role, has turned up on site and found out they will be doing something different. If there's training involved then cool, you've been given contractor-level pay to get training! I'd give it a go - is it sufficiently different from what you've been doing or is it part of your general area?

I'd personallyassume from the fact the OP calls it a role and is sufficiently pissed off enough to leave I'd assume quite different. He can't be dumb enough to leave over some associated training/work that would supplement his abilities as you've put in your example.

[LondonManc]

The inside/outside IR35 is a moot point; the tax liabilities of the case are a separate issue.

Essentially, the OP is saying that he (assumption, feel free to correct) has been recruited for one role, has turned up on site and found out they will be doing something different. If there's training involved then cool, you've been given contractor-level pay to get training! I'd give it a go - is it sufficiently different from what you've been doing or is it part of your general area?

For example, if I'm a BI consultant with ETL, datawarehouse design and reporting skills/experience and someone took me on as a datawarehouse designer but wanted me to build the ETL procedures and train me in the tool that they use, then I'd carry on.

Other general comments:

• I agree; should never simply walk off site; you've a contract to honour and there could be legal consequences of walking
• Money's money; in a tight market, is it not something that you could do for six months until you find another gig? Every day you're on the bench, you'll be thinking of that missing day rate
• Agent's generally don't know more than the job spec and generally only understand 1/3 of it; the interview with the client should determine your fit for the role.
• Why would a client pay an unskilled contractor to do the job?

[northernladuk]

. Sounds like they may have flagged the change up to agency, asked them to contact the person to ensure its all sorted. They may not know that the agency is trying to blag it.

That sounds like complete guesswork with a slight bias to agent hating to me.

[psychocandy]

What did it say in your contract? If the contract said that you would be working in role X but you actually worked in role Y then you could argue that the contract was invalid from the start and therefore the notice period would not apply. However, if that was the case, the agency could argue that you had plenty of opportunity within the 2 months you worked there to ask them to amend the contract - if you did and you have it in writing then point one applies. It could also be argued that, as you worked under the contract for a reasonable period of time, you accepted its contents by default, which would include the notice period, in which case you are in breach and the agency could withhold payment if there is a clause in the contract that permits them to do so.

If nothing else, it's not really professional to walk off site without notice - you have inconvenienced the client and probably cost the agency money which means that they are far less likely to accommodate you when it comes to payment. I know that sounds harsh but, as a contractor, you are in business on your own account and you need to behave like a business man

This is a fair point. Quite possibly, apart from arsing around at the beginning and changing the role, the client has acted properly. Sounds like they may have flagged the change up to agency, asked them to contact the person to ensure its all sorted. They may not know that the agency is trying to blag it.

However, I wouldnt be worrying about the agency losing money because it sounds like they have not been upfront and honest when the role changed. So stuff them!

Got signed timesheet and not opted out - you will likely get paid regardless if the agency kicks off about you leaving without notice. If they want to sue you for breach of contract they are free to do so but thats a seperate issue.

[northernladuk]

Sounds to me like the following:-

- Useless client whos changed their mind what they want at last minute.
- Agent on thinking its a done deal will now do anything to ensure deal does not fall through.
- Lies to contractor and crosses fingers they won't kick off.
- When you do kick off, comes up with another lie about changing things in a month. Crosses fingers and hopes it all dies down.
- Agent never suspected you'd let it go this far and actually resign. Hes in the tulipe now purely due to his actions so hes not happy.

Client has to be party to this as well though? A completely different role would need a different skillset so he would no longer be the ideal candidate yet the client hasn't batted an eyelid? I'd say the source problem is the client and they agent could have been blindsided by this as well.

All depends if it's perm or contract which is suspect we will never find out.

[psychocandy]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum and will appreciate your advice on this my ordeal with a rogue agency (which I will not name out of respect):

1. They recruited me for a role, only to get to work on my first day (to my greatest shock and surprise) to be told the role they were assigning me was different from the one I had been discussing with the agency through out the interview, assessment, vetting etc.

2. When I objected, the client told me that the agency was fully aware and that if there was anything to discuss, I should do that with the agency and not them the client.

3. I contacted the agency immediately and they tried claiming that someone had called me shortly before the start date to inform me of the change. (which of course was a fat lie).

4. When I kicked off and reminded them of all the conversations we had, and that at no point had anyone ever told me of the change of role, they then said, I should carry on with the initial training and that they will talk with the client to see if I could be moved to the actual role they had recruited me for.

They said this could happen within a month or so. I finished the training and started passing time on the new role hoping that I will be moved to my actual role. Having spent two months on the role and not seeing any sign of being move to the actual role, I decided to tender in my resignation with immediate effect.

So effectively I left the role without working the 20 days notice that I would have worked under normal circumstances.

Worth noting here is that, when I had expressed my strong disappointment, the agency told me if I were not happy with the suggestion to carry on for a month or so, I could resign. This was like a slap on my face, giving that I had just resigned from the my previous job and worked a full notice period just for this new job. To be told I could resigned if I was not happy was like a slap in my face.

To cut the story short, I eventually submitted my resignation and left the job without working the notice period stated in my contract, which the end client is certainly not happy.

My question is who actually breached the contract here? Is it me or the agency that recruited for a specific role and then ended up assigning me a different role without my knowledge? What are my options should they want to refuse paying me for the time worked so far?

Thank you all in advance for you advice.

Sounds to me like the following:-

- Useless client whos changed their mind what they want at last minute.
- Agent on thinking its a done deal will now do anything to ensure deal does not fall through.
- Lies to contractor and crosses fingers they won't kick off.
- When you do kick off, comes up with another lie about changing things in a month. Crosses fingers and hopes it all dies down.
- Agent never suspected you'd let it go this far and actually resign. Hes in the tulipe now purely due to his actions so hes not happy.

[clincha]

Thanks everyone for the responsesake. Just to clarify, it is a contracting role working under my own limited company. Reason why stayed on for this while is because I was told I would be moved over to my actual role after a month or so, and most of this conversationsite were going on between me and the agency and not the client, since the agency said they are solely the one to negotiate with the client. My limited company has a business relationship with them and not the client. I submitted my resignation to the agency after much unfruitful talking.