Contract clauses

[Wanderer]

So you're not adding any commercial or intellectual value to the company as a whole. 12 months exclusivity is therefore unenforceable, since it represents an unreasonable restraint of trade.

Yep, agree with that. They are just trying to take the piss and it would be laughed out of court.

The trouble is that it could be used in bluff and bluster against a future client to scare them off. Make sure they remove it.

[malvolio]

The assignment is as IT Project Leader, aka technical project manager responsible for accepting and/or refusing third-party work packages and coordinating their installation and configuration on ClientCo infrastructure.
Do you think ClientCo may have enforced it to protect themselves? And the notice period as well, seems to me to be quite strange...

So you're not adding any commercial or intellectual value to the company as a whole. 12 months exclusivity is therefore unenforceable, since it represents an unreasonable restraint of trade.

Agencies understand protecting their income stream pretty well, this is almost certainly coming from the client. Do not accept it a stated, get it down to no more than 3 months.

[kingcook]

My agent proposes me a 1 year contract with an exclusivity clause. It means that I cannot work for another ClientCo but only if represented by them.
In addition, the contract poses a notice period of 2 months on my side but 1 month on their side.
Have you ever had similar clauses in your contract ?

I have never seen anything like that. If you got the contract terminated in the first month, what would you do for the remaining 11 months without money coming in?

[zerointeractive]

Unless what he is doing has a direct commercial benefit to a rival company. We don't know enough to judge at this point.

The assignment is as IT Project Leader, aka technical project manager responsible for accepting and/or refusing third-party work packages and coordinating their installation and configuration on ClientCo infrastructure.
Do you think ClientCo may have enforced it to protect themselves? And the notice period as well, seems to me to be quite strange...

[Dominic Connor]

Malvolio is right we don't really know quite enough, it would have to be a great contract to justify that sort of risk.

Sometimes clients require agents to put in nasty clauses but this doesn't seem to benefit the client at all and so I have to assume it is a dody agent trying one on.

[TheFaQQer]

It means that I cannot work for another ClientCo but only if represented by them.

Does it really, or does it mean that you can't go back to the same client without going through them?

[malvolio]

Don't sign the opt out and they can't enforce this.

Unless what he is doing has a direct commercial benefit to a rival company. We don't know enough to judge at this point.

[Wanderer]

My agent proposes me a 1 year contract with an exclusivity clause. It means that I cannot work for another ClientCo but only if represented by them.

Don't sign the opt out and they can't enforce this.

[malvolio]

I know, but rate and mission are very good.
What is your experience with these clauses ?

Unless you are doing something fairly unique and with a serious commercial benefit to your client's business, 12 months is both unreasonable and unenforceable. Six months is the maximum, three months rather more sensible. For the same reason, they can't stop you having other clients either. So without knowing what you're doing, we can't answer the question.

Asymmetric notice is a good thing, since it is a pointer away from IR35; employees have to have mutual periods, contractors don't. Come to that, contractors don't need notice periods anyway. And if you don't understand why, time to go back to the guides perhaps.

[zerointeractive]

This is astonishingly bad.

I know, but rate and mission are very good.
What is your experience with these clauses ?

[Dominic Connor]

My agent proposes me a 1 year contract with an exclusivity clause. It means that I cannot work for another ClientCo but only if represented by them.
In addition, the contract poses a notice period of 2 months on my side but 1 month on their side.
Have you ever had similar clauses in your contract ?

This is astonishingly bad.

[zerointeractive]

My agent proposes me a 1 year contract with an exclusivity clause. It means that I cannot work for another ClientCo but only if represented by them.
In addition, the contract poses a notice period of 2 months on my side but 1 month on their side.
Have you ever had similar clauses in your contract ?