Multiple offers...?

[Papavar]

I think you are forgetting you are a contractor and what actually happens when you accept a contract. You erm... are in a contract!! Once you accepted you have a verbal agreement and cannot give backword. You can give notice or you can be in breach of contract. The first will piss your client and agent off, the second can see you being sued.

To give backword on a contract you accepted is bad, very bad. It makes us all look like idiots and will most definately get you noticed. I don't know what agents are like but there are enough of us out there for an agent to risk wasting his time with you again.

Some people will come on and say bollocks to them, it's your life, you take the contracts you want and the rest can see you in court (which they never do) but it will get ugly for awhile. I mean, think about it. If you were either agent or client, would you be happy?

Check your contract, have a look at the notice period, try substitute someone and if those fail pray you don't get the one you are interviewing for.

For future reference do everything to stall the first offer. DO NOT accept it. You are bound in. Just stall, don't pick phone up, throw up on the phone, anything cept say yes.

Right, thanks for those rather strong opinions! To clarify - I haven't seen a contract at all for the first (verbally accepted) offer although I've been chasing it up for a week. A quick google on my rights finds this:

"In order for a verbal agreement to be legally binding the agreement must have reached completeness. This means that all terms and conditions have been reached and agreed regarding services and terms of pay. Agreements will be incomplete when there are still further terms and conditions to be agreed. Agreements in principle will not usually be upheld in court and will not usually be considered complete verbal agreements. "

As far as I'm concerned, the only T&Cs that have been discussed are duration and day rate - that's it. I have neither seen nor agreed to anything else. I have had an email forwarded on to me by the agent which states a notice period of a week so presumably I could give this now anyway?

[Drewster]

Right on that note I'm off to the pub for a couple of pints.

Meanwhile......Drewster has an alcoholic free fruit juice!!!!

Touche!

[MarillionFan]

Right on that note I'm off to the pub for a couple of pints.

Meanwhile......Drewster has an alcoholic free fruit juice!!!!

[Drewster]

Thats what I understood as well Drewster, that the OP had not yet received his contract. If it aint signed you can back out.

Thats what I understood as well Drewster, that the OP had not yet received his contract. If it aint signed you can back out.

Verbal contracts enforcement!!!! What planet are you on Northern Lad??

You agree with me so much you posted TWICE!!!

If only this new Forum had some sort of post editing facility.............


WOW - Look at that.... It HAS!!!!

[MarillionFan]

Thats what I understood as well Drewster, that the OP had not yet received his contract. If it aint signed you can back out.

Verbal contracts enforcement!!!! What planet are you on Northern Lad??

[MarillionFan]

Thats what I understood as well Drewster, that the OP had not yet received his contract. If it aint signed you can back out.

[Drewster]

Just wondering what the general feeling is when it comes to etiquette around accepting offers. How committed do you feel after 'accepting' an offer (and by this I mean as far as doing your application for the agency, following their compliance procedure, awaiting sight of your shiny new contract...)?............

I think you are forgetting you are a contractor and what actually happens when you accept a contract. You erm... are in a contract!!..........................
For future reference do everything to stall the first offer. DO NOT accept it. You are bound in. Just stall, don't pick phone up, throw up on the phone, anything cept say yes.

While i am in agreement with NLUK - Once YourCoO is in a Contract you should fulfil it etc

If you are "awaiting sight of your shiny new contract" you HAVE NOT (or more accurately Should not have) actually accepted or entered into a Contract..... Until you have signed the Contract you only ever accept "subject to contract".... put it in every EMail, letter, phone conversation where the Pimp asks...... ie You cover your *rse and never enter into a Contract unless its on paper/in writing.....

Then while you "Check" your SNC you can explore other options as you see fit and once you have "enough" offers you accept one of them (by Signing and returning the SNC) and decline the other(s).... "I was not happy with the contract"

Obviously you should decline politely and in a such a way as to leave bridges unburnt (if possible).....

If you are really unhappy with the contract (but still want the role) you should ask them to change the bits you don't like...... (You still have not accepted the Contract!) SOmetimes they will..... Sometimes they won't..... Then you decide wether to accept or not......

[Shimano105]

Take the best role and tell the agent to swivel. Honestly, I can't do with these 25 year old tele-sales guys and gals thinking that they add any sort of value to the contracting process.

They only exist because the equally useless HR departments insist on dealing with them. tulip feeding on tulip if you like.

In the last week I have started contacting clients myself and have actually had far more results than sitting waiting for the promised call back from the tele-sales person that doesn't happen.

No more going to sit through interviews and having to explain my agency-doctored CV experience blindfold. And no more being ignored by the tele-sales guy after I have given up an afternoon trying to make their agency look good.

Best of all, when I charge £350 the client thinks that I am cheap because they were quoted £500 from the agency. Crooks.

I'm building up a nice list of contacts that remember me because they actually spoke to me, not the spiv.

[DodgyAgent]

Just wondering what the general feeling is when it comes to etiquette around accepting offers. How committed do you feel after 'accepting' an offer (and by this I mean as far as doing your application for the agency, following their compliance procedure, awaiting sight of your shiny new contract...)? I'm keeping my options open with an interview tomorrow morning but is it bad form to ditch one 'accepted' offer for another if the role sounds better? It it worth making an enemy of my recruitment agent by leaving him in the lurch... or will he come crawling back anyway if he gets a sniff of interest in my CV in 6 months time? Worst of all - is there any legal comeback if you withdraw from a verbally accepted offer?

It's a new situation for me as previous contracts have been done via my network - this is the first time I've done the whole thing via an agent. Interested to hear from a few who have been there, done that.

Thanks!

Just handle it all professionally so that even if you turn an offer down the same client will consider you in the future.

[jmo21]

For future reference do everything to stall the first offer. DO NOT accept it. You are bound in. Just stall, don't pick phone up, throw up on the phone, anything cept say yes.

this is the most important part.....accept "subject to seeing the contract" and hold them off as long as you can. After that, you are breaching your contract.

At that point, none of us can tell you how big a risk it is with that agency, in your area, in your subject matter - it's up to you!

[northernladuk]

I think you are forgetting you are a contractor and what actually happens when you accept a contract. You erm... are in a contract!! Once you accepted you have a verbal agreement and cannot give backword. You can give notice or you can be in breach of contract. The first will piss your client and agent off, the second can see you being sued.

To give backword on a contract you accepted is bad, very bad. It makes us all look like idiots and will most definately get you noticed. I don't know what agents are like but there are enough of us out there for an agent to risk wasting his time with you again.

Some people will come on and say bollocks to them, it's your life, you take the contracts you want and the rest can see you in court (which they never do) but it will get ugly for awhile. I mean, think about it. If you were either agent or client, would you be happy?

Check your contract, have a look at the notice period, try substitute someone and if those fail pray you don't get the one you are interviewing for.

For future reference do everything to stall the first offer. DO NOT accept it. You are bound in. Just stall, don't pick phone up, throw up on the phone, anything cept say yes.

[Papavar]

Just wondering what the general feeling is when it comes to etiquette around accepting offers. How committed do you feel after 'accepting' an offer (and by this I mean as far as doing your application for the agency, following their compliance procedure, awaiting sight of your shiny new contract...)? I'm keeping my options open with an interview tomorrow morning but is it bad form to ditch one 'accepted' offer for another if the role sounds better? It it worth making an enemy of my recruitment agent by leaving him in the lurch... or will he come crawling back anyway if he gets a sniff of interest in my CV in 6 months time? Worst of all - is there any legal comeback if you withdraw from a verbally accepted offer?

It's a new situation for me as previous contracts have been done via my network - this is the first time I've done the whole thing via an agent. Interested to hear from a few who have been there, done that.

Thanks!