Agency incompetence

[Bright Spark]

Hi, another newbie here:

My situation is as follows:

I have been offered a contract directly from a consultancy who are working for a telecomms company. Now the question is, do I still need to go through an agency? or can I go directly through an umbrella company such as Parasol? I don't understand why an agency should take a % of my income if they didn't even find me the contract! Apart from finding work for contractors what other services do they offer for the % they deduct?

In my experience the consultantcy is only going to pay you once they
get paid by the telecomms company, this can be from a month to
several months, some large agencies can pay you weekly (ie Hays IT)
even though they haven't been paid by anyone yet, another
benefit is that if the client/consultantcy is small and there is a risk
it could, go bankrupt or decide to dissappear with your money
then getting paid by an agency weekly could only be a good thing.

[Crossroads]

Hi, another newbie here:

My situation is as follows:

I have been offered a contract directly from a consultancy who are working for a telecomms company. Now the question is, do I still need to go through an agency? or can I go directly through an umbrella company such as Parasol? I don't understand why an agency should take a % of my income if they didn't even find me the contract! Apart from finding work for contractors what other services do they offer for the % they deduct?

If you can go direct to the consultancy then it probably makes sense. All that will dictate this is if the client (the consultancy) will let you, or if they have preferred suppliers (agencies) and will only deal with them.

As for what else does a (good) agency do?

First and foremost, if you are lucky a good one will only take a few % (my current takes 5%, previous to that was 7% - both because they are preferred suppliers and ALL of the clients' contractors use them), and typically that few % barely covers the cost of money - in my last gig I was paid monthly, within 7 days of month end...yet the end client did not pay the agency for (typically) 90 days+.


When I have gone direct I have put up with the long payment cycles of large corporates (and negotiated my rate accordingly). If you do go direct, don't bank on being paid on time, it is a commerical arrangement, not a salary to an employee, and as a client they will get away with paying late if they can.

[ar786]

Hi, another newbie here:

My situation is as follows:

I have been offered a contract directly from a consultancy who are working for a telecomms company. Now the question is, do I still need to go through an agency? or can I go directly through an umbrella company such as Parasol? I don't understand why an agency should take a % of my income if they didn't even find me the contract! Apart from finding work for contractors what other services do they offer for the % they deduct?

[Burdock]

cheers for the posts chaps!

[Ted Crilly]

If the agency have been late in paying etc, then you may also be within your rights to terminate your contract with them on the grounds that they have not upheld their end of the bargain. However, before you do that, ensure that you have something from the client which states that they will re-hire you, via a different agency etc as you are unhappy with the current agency violating the terms of their contract (paying on time etc will be the biggie here).

Do that and then go direct or through another agency on payment terms only (they didn't do anything to find you or the contract after all did they?).

If the agency has other contractors on site they won't rock the boat too much for fear of losing all the others too. It'll probably help them straighten up with regard to the remaining contractors.

As an aside, I had a similar experience and the problems with paying etc were a forerunner to the agency going to the wall and many contractors lost money when that happened, those that jumped ship early - to other agencies) were o.k. and got paid in full.

HTH

[tim123]

Thanks Tim. Can you explain a bit more about these 'pre-defined terms'. Is this something that should have been in the initial contract? So, it is too late now?

I guess that it should have been in the initial contract, but it is only the agency that loses if it isn't.

Basically, the agency is only allowed to charge a transfer fee for allowing the creation of a direct relationship, if they offer the alternative of a follow on contract on the same terms instead (after which the transfer can take place at no cost).

So if there isn't an alternative 'offer' in the contract then the requirement to pay a transfer fee is struck from the contract and replaced by no restriction.

tim

[rootsnall]

Look at the regs,

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20033319.htm

If you are 'opt in' then these cover your T & Cs. They are readale-ish if I remember correctly, search for '8 weeks'.

If you search the web ( and old threads here ) there is lots of interpretation on the regs. You'll need your end user to apply any pressure though and be ready to do battle, its my guess they will back down when push coems to shove.

[Burdock]

No, if you are opted in such a clause in the agency/client contract is automatically void.

However, being opted in doesn't automatically mean that you can work direct for the client. It means that you can manage them out of the relationship on pre-defined terms.

tim

Thanks Tim. Can you explain a bit more about these 'pre-defined terms'. Is this something that should have been in the initial contract? So, it is too late now?

[tim123]

Cheers Bluebird.

I did just that. So if I'm opted in, I can work directly for client. However, I assume the client is bound by the agency not to engage me.

No, if you are opted in such a clause in the agency/client contract is automatically void.

However, being opted in doesn't automatically mean that you can work direct for the client. It means that you can manage them out of the relationship on pre-defined terms.

tim

[Bluebird]

don't tell the agency...

[Burdock]

this is the old "am I opted in or out" secnario - search for threads with opt in / out and you will find the answer you are looking for.

.

Cheers Bluebird.

I did just that. So if I'm opted in, I can work directly for client. However, I assume the client is bound by the agency not to engage me. Is there anyway around this?

[Bluebird]

this is the old "am I opted in or out" secnario - search for threads with opt in / out and you will find the answer you are looking for.


Rule of thumb though - don't piss off agents you may have to work with again.

[cojak]

I think you're going to need to wait for the client to jump first.

But others will give you more details...

[Burdock]

My agency are really incompetent- not sending new contracts on time, failing to make amendments after promising, taking a long time to perform admin tasks, and hardly ever returning my calls and emails.

I also know that my client is fed up with them as well, and I suspect will be dispensing of their services soon.

In the meantime, I would love to bypass the agency, and sign my latest contract extension directly with the client. Dealing with the agency has caused me to develop grey hairs and a raised blood pressure!

I know clients have to sign clauses promising not to engage me directly, but does anywhere know if this becomes invalid, or can be circumnavigated, if the agency is providing a poor service.

Has anybody just gone and signed direct with the client? How do agents find out about this, or can it be done in extreme circumstances?

Thanks for any tips!