Reply to: Agencies I would recommend working through.

[SeekingIT]

JM Group

craig1, follow up from your post about business relationships...finished a contract with JM Group back in Dec. I'd definitely recommend them in terms of payment (always paid out around the 20th of each month, and the accounting dept emails reminders for invoices if they haven't received them from you) and advice (the transition from umbrella to ltd was seamless with my recruiter). I still get regular calls from her regarding my availability and potential contracts which is definitely nice to have.

COAL IT on the other hand, alright contracts but chasing up for payment once the last contract had finished was a major issue.

+2 for JM Group

[ThomserveBAS]

5 (almost 6) months into first contract taken via Rullion and they have been great (in that I've never had to actually deal with them since starting my contract). Paid weekly, no hassle, no fuss, and (having slept since then) the contract signing was very easy too.

[rob s]

Resource Solutions +1
JM Group +1
iSource +1 for prompt payment and being good to work with, -1 for doing their homework on the role being signed off on one contract (though I assumed it was so feel free to discount the -1 for older and wiser contractors who do ask this question...)
Pink Elephant -1 (30 working day payment terms) and late on more than one occasion

[NDawg]

craig1, follow up from your post about business relationships...finished a contract with JM Group back in Dec. I'd definitely recommend them in terms of payment (always paid out around the 20th of each month, and the accounting dept emails reminders for invoices if they haven't received them from you) and advice (the transition from umbrella to ltd was seamless with my recruiter). I still get regular calls from her regarding my availability and potential contracts which is definitely nice to have.

COAL IT on the other hand, alright contracts but chasing up for payment once the last contract had finished was a major issue.

[craig1]

I've meant to post this for a while but the inner cynic in me held me back...

The one single agency that I've worked for that has never messed me around is DGH Recruitment. Weekly bill, weekly pay that's only ever missed if you're late with your invoice and email approved timesheet. The topping on the cakes is that they have some top-end recruiters working for them that have been there for years and know their industries/clients very well, especially Matt and Neil.

The thing that makes them different for me is that they don't just drop you if they have no work for you or if you're unsuccessful in a role. They're the only agency I've worked for that understands that a business relationship should be two way to get the best value for everyone.

(as a side-note, I just don't understand why so many contractors scoff at weekly bill/weekly pay being unrealistic when the better agencies are happy to do so, as can be seen by some of the other positive comments on this thread)

There are some agencies out there that I'd rather be at home not earning than work through again. Not publicly naming them though as it's actually a small world and it never pays to publicly tell someone they're crap, even if they are.

[AJ1982]

Agency - NST - Working through them at the moment, montly invoicing with 5 working days payment terms, 3 out of 3, always paid ahead of time.

[Scrag Meister]

Update : Resource Solutions still provding the goods after over 4 months, weekly pay on time every time.

[bobspud]

Seeing as the thread reopened

ALS IT are the poodles privates prompt payment with a PCG contract. So very ir35 friendly. I did 2 years with them and they never missed a beat.

[7specialgems]

Another -1 here for Parity.

Monthly payers, had a couple of occasions where I've had to phone up and be forceful to get money paid over within 24 hours of it being late (especially after the Media Studies graduate type that I had on the phone told me that it was 'too bad and too late' for them to correct their payroll error and that I would have to wait four weeks until the next cycle).

Some ridiculous clauses in the Project Schedule which totally contradicts their boiler plate contract and some hideous terms in that including one entitled 'Performance Review' whereby the end client reviews and discusses the quality of the work provided by the consultant? (and if that isn't bad enough I repeat 'consultant').

I didn't have to bark very loud to get all of the glaringly obvious dodgy clauses out of my terms but I wish I'd got QDos or similar involved. I certainly will be when I am out of contract at the end of next month.

[IR35FanClub]

For testers you can't beat Centre4Testing. I've never been called for jobs other than those I can do. And sitting on the other side of the recruitment process- I've only ever been sent CVs for people who appear qualified to do the job. They appear to realise the words on a CV are not just necessarily a bunch of keywords to use in a computer search and actually ask questions before forwarding your details to an recruiting manager. Never had any payment issues either.

[mossy]

I've got to add ITHR to the list.

Old school in a way in that I get calls from my agent on a monthly basis asking to take me to lunch for a catch up and see how things are. The personal touch is no longer heard of. As such I'm willing to help refer people for other roles he has going, even to the point of putting him in touch with a South African agency as they are expanding there.

Online invoicing system it easy and paid no more than 7 days after submitted.

Happy bunny. Shame the work is not all that great so wil probably leave when my contract ends in December.

[Gordon Ice]

Yes, I had that too (I've had it with every agency I've contracted with, to be honest). The agent said they couldn't agree amendments, that it had to be a Harvey Nash Director that did so, in a tone that suggested such an insurmountable obstacle should spell the end of our discussion. I just told her in that case to get someone with the appropriate authority to call me, and one of their Directors did. We agreed terms pretty quickly after that. I've yet to see a contractual amendments discussion go any other way: it gets escalated to their Director / Grand Wizard / Pal Sitting Next To Them, then we stop playing sillybuggers. I can't fault any agency for trying it on with that alone: they're all as bad as one another on that score.

I've been with Harvey Nash for the last 4 years and they always amend the contract (mind you Bauer & Cottrell do the negotiation on my behalf) and they always pay on time. As always with Agencies it depends which of their offices you are working with (I'm with the Birmingham mob) and how good your relationship is..

[Gentile]

Thanks for that - when I've got the strength to pick up the phone to them again (can't handle it on a Friday) I'll suggest that I talk to someone with authority to make the changes and hopefully it will move along faster.

I genuinely hope it did help. However, if I may, the above approach is a real cause for concern. Once a contract offer has been extended it needs to be finalised within 48 hours or it won't be finalised at all in my experience. There's always an excuse for procrastination and putting off unpleasant but necessary tasks. Leave having "unlucky" days on which you don't want to do what you need to do to the unemployed. I advise you to give your agent a call first thing on Monday and sort out any issues that are troubling you. If you leave it too long, they'll only think you're not serious about the changes you're asking for.

[SarahL2012]

Yes, I had that too (I've had it with every agency I've contracted with, to be honest). The agent said they couldn't agree amendments, that it had to be a Harvey Nash Director that did so, in a tone that suggested such an insurmountable obstacle should spell the end of our discussion. I just told her in that case to get someone with the appropriate authority to call me, and one of their Directors did. We agreed terms pretty quickly after that. I've yet to see a contractual amendments discussion go any other way: it gets escalated to their Director / Grand Wizard / Pal Sitting Next To Them, then we stop playing sillybuggers. I can't fault any agency for trying it on with that alone: they're all as bad as one another on that score.

Thanks for that - when I've got the strength to pick up the phone to them again (can't handle it on a Friday) I'll suggest that I talk to someone with authority to make the changes and hopefully it will move along faster.

[platforminc]

+1 for Aston Carter
Been with them for over a year, I like to invoice monthly as its less paper work for me. Although they have started weekly payments now, I still invoice monthly and they pay a week or so later. No probs so far.