Reply to: Leaving a contract early

[TheFaQQer]

The contract does not have a notice period on my side. I had an honest discussion with the head of the project today, and told him all of the above. He was reasonable, and said that he would really appreciate it if I could work a four week notice period. I emailed the agency to tell them what we agreed.

I got a reply from the project lead saying that he was in principle happy with this, provided they could get a replacement, and a sufficient handover, and five weeks notice, not four.

Get the client to serve notice to terminate in 4 / 5 weeks.

Then it's nothing to do with the agency - if the client don't want you, then that's the end of it.

[psychocandy]

As others have said, good on you for trying to sort out with the client.
How much more travel is there than they first said then? We talking tons more? I think I'd be a bit unhappy about it if that was the case anyway. And I'd be pointing this out to client.


Stuff the agent - all they're thinking about is their lost margin and not you or the client. Tossers.

If you can sort it out amicably with the client then tell the agent to do one. Confident they won't ever chase you for a thing - they might get a bit annoyed but then seconds later when they realise you are really leaving they'll be trying to get someone else in there so they dont lose any margin.

BUT client seems to be a bit awkward as well. 5 weeks is a tad too much - being greedy I think but some places are like this. Culture of work first family second - which is the wrong way round of course. Most people are reasonable human beings but there are tossers around (like your agent and to a certain extent your client) who are not and are just thinking of themselves.

Ultimately though, if they still kick off and its going to cause your family problems, stuff the lot of them and walk.

One idea- would they let you take a few weeks off now to try and square a few things off then go back for 4 weeks? Gives them longer to get replacement then.

[psychocandy]

When my wife was up the duff, was having difficulty and I was on a weekly commute contract, we agreed the most cost-effective way of dealing with the situation was to get a home help in. That might help mitigate you working out your notice.

As long as wife is ok with this then fair enough.

But money doesnt buy a replacement wife/husband unfortunately so it doesnt always work out.....

I have same with wife being ill. Luckily I am home every night. We've got childcare in place, cleaner, family staying over but it still can be problematic at times....

[NotAllThere]

When my wife was up the duff, was having difficulty and I was on a weekly commute contract, we agreed the most cost-effective way of dealing with the situation was to get a home help in. That might help mitigate you working out your notice.

[CenterPart]

Do you have access to a legal helpline (e.g. as an IPSE member)? If so, it might be worth contacting them with the relevant notice/MOO clauses - if your contract is IR35 friendly, the chances are that there is a get out clause.

Thanks for the suggestion. I used to be a member but am not currently. I was considering joining to take advantage of the legal helpline. Just on this issue alone it may pay for itself.

@Northernladuk: Yes the pregnancy was discussed, and the contract was set to finish a few weeks before, for this very reason. Overseas travel was also discussed, but it has ended up being slightly more than expected. The hours whilst in the UK are certainly much longer than expected, the earliest I am home most nights is 7.30-8, by which time my wife has had to do everything on her own.

[northernladuk]

Did you know there was going to be overseas travel when you took the gig? Didn't your client know your wife was going to give birth while you were in the contract? What were you going to do about working overseas etc while your wife was giving birth and shortly after?

[mudskipper]

Do you have access to a legal helpline (e.g. as an IPSE member)? If so, it might be worth contacting them with the relevant notice/MOO clauses - if your contract is IR35 friendly, the chances are that there is a get out clause.

[SlipTheJab]

+1 Agents really are a piece of work aren't they, any half compassionate human being would see the predicament you're in and accommodate you.

[TheLordDave]

I have left contracts in the past due to family issues. I have always explained to the client and told them when I'm leaving. That has always been fine. If there is no moo then surely notice means nothing. As for the agency they have lost nothing. Alternatively if your bridges are burning anyway just flounce and be unavailable for work until your contract is terminated. Family is more important than any client or contract.

It all depends how critical it is you leave quickly. The client that I left before have invited me back several times so it's all a bit random anyhow.

[TykeMerc]

I'm very strongly against people leaving contracts early, but you've stated the mitigating circumstances and instead of dropping the customer in it you've discussed it with him/her in a grown up manner.
That's a massive difference to the so called contractors who will bin a contract with no notice just for a few quid a day.

Odds are they want the number of weeks as it will take them a bit of time to get someone in and they want to maintain some pace on the project, they clearly feel you're adding some value. As an interim step you might try pointing out that the out of country travel is a big part of the problem and you can stay a bit longer if that's cut back.

I would advise you to NOT even mention compensating the agency, if you agree a mutually acceptable date with the client you can justifiably tell the agent to bog off.

[CenterPart]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was expecting to get a bit of a pasting, so am glad that people can see the predicament I am in!

Fact is, my wife is really struggling. The ideal for me would be to stop work ASAP, give her a break for a bit, then see how things go. My first offer to the client was to work 2-3 weeks. We then agreed on four weeks. But he then said in the email that he wanted five, only if they can find someone new.

I have sent another email to the client this morning. I apologised again, but laid out the facts as I see them. It is a fairly junior role (business analyst) and I have not been on the project long enough to acquire enough knowledge that they couldnt get by without me. I have also pointed out that expecting five weeks notice when I have only been there about 8 is a bit unreasonable. I could easily handover to someone else in the team within a day, maximum. And really, the start the project is in, it makes little difference whether I say for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 more weeks.

I ended the email saying that I would only be able to give three weeks notice, which is absolutely ample in this situation to handover my work. I also said I would make sure to deliver as much as I can in that period, and also said that I would ask people in my network to see if anyone is available for the role. I closed the email by saying that I hope we can sort it out between us, but if not, I will just have to face the contractual consequences with the agency. I phrased this in a way that I am not giving him an ultimatum, more just saying that I will deal with the consequences of my actions if we cant come to an amicable solution.

He can either say yes or no. If he says yes, then we are good to go. If he says no, then I will need to discuss with the agency. As I understand it, they are entitled to lost margin (£50pd), however, they also have a duty to minimise the losses, which they can do by finding a replacement. The client has already authorised this. So if someone starts in say four weeks, the agency will only be entitled to £250 (5*50) for one week of lost margin. The way the market is at the moment, I cant imagine it will take them longer than 2 or 3 weeks.

[Contreras]

I am 2 months into a 6 month contract.

... I just want to get out of there as soon as possible.

No client wants an unwilling contractor on the job.

One option: if, as it seems, you are on good terms with the client, can you get them to serve notice on you instead?

Another thing that helps is a sincere offer of post-contract support by email/telephone - let them have an incentive not to let the relationship go sour.

Be aware that the upper/lower tier contracts could well differ in notice period terms (a sneaky tactic that I believe happens more often than we all realise), so the client is not necessarily aware of your position.

[eek]

If you've arrived at an agreement with the client then the Agent really doesn't get much say in it, you certainly don't owe them damages or lost margin no matter how much bluster they may try to apply.

You can simply write to the Agency stating that by mutual agreement with the client (use the name) the contract will be terminated on date X, ask the client to do the same. At the worst tell the client the agent is being awkward and ask them to invoke whatever termination clause they like.

On the burning boats front you have done as much as you can to mitigate that by discussing the situation in a grown up manner and offering a transition, it should limit the damage, maybe if you had a sub that would be better, but that's easier to say than do. Burning boats with the Agent is, as you say, irrelevant.

+1. Ignore the agent he is just being an idiot..

[SueEllen]

If he does that without written proof from the client he will end up in the tulip.

So first get written proof from the client you can give notice, then give the notice and then tell the agency to foxtrot oscar.

The agency may well threaten to take you to court but if the contract between you and the client was ended by mutual agreement, then there are no damages for them to claim.

[TykeMerc]

If you've arrived at an agreement with the client then the Agent really doesn't get much say in it, you certainly don't owe them damages or lost margin no matter how much bluster they may try to apply.

You can simply write to the Agency stating that by mutual agreement with the client (use the name) the contract will be terminated on date X, ask the client to do the same. At the worst tell the client the agent is being awkward and ask them to invoke whatever termination clause they like.

On the burning boats front you have done as much as you can to mitigate that by discussing the situation in a grown up manner and offering a transition, it should limit the damage, maybe if you had a sub that would be better, but that's easier to say than do. Burning boats with the Agent is, as you say, irrelevant.