Contract Breakdown

[bfg]

Welllll

IANAL
But you could always resign from company 'X' (the company you own) who is your actual employer and unless they have made you sign some sort of non-compete clause in your contract of employment (doubtful, as it is you) then they cannot stop you working for company 'Y' (which you will also own).

Check it out with your solicitor.

[DodgyAgent]

what recourse do they have

I wondered if somebody could advise me on the following

I work as a contractor for (COMPANY A) who provide a service to (COMPANY B). COMPANY B decides that the cost that I am provided for through COMPANY A is too high and therefore terminate the relationship with COMPANY A. As a consequence I loose my position.

As this is through no fault of my own am I free to go directly to COMPANY B and offer my services at a lower rate??

This has not happened to me yet, although I really would not be suprised if this was to happen. I would therefore be very grateful if any of you could advise me exactly where I would stand.

Many Thanks

If you go direct you need to check what your agency says in terms of recourse/retribution! If the contract allows you to do so but stipulates that you will need to pay a financial penalty to compensate their loss then you may be stuffed. If their recourse would be to take an injunction out preventing you from working on the site then you will not find a court that will uphold this.

Check with a lawyer (not the agency) first.

I think though that you will find that your rate is not the real reason

[Not So Wise]

. Do you know who I should turn to for confirmation, my agency??

Definatly not. They are not an impartial party.

Consult a lawyer, as you would be paying him his only alligence would be to you.

Without a copy of the contract any advise you get here would be meaningless also.

[boredsenseless]

As this is through no fault of my own am I free to go directly to COMPANY B and offer my services at a lower rate??

Ultimately it depends on the contract between you and A and also the contract between A & B.

Contracts between consultancies and clients tend to have mutual poaching agreements that state that for a period (usually a year) neither will engage in any way a person supplied or employed by the other.

If A is no longer there in any capacity you may get away with it, but if they are still involved it is unlikely the end client will want to muddy the water with a larger supplier just to get a single contractor.

Solicitor is the way forward with this one. They probably won't give you the answer you want to hear, but they will give you the correct one!

[BlasterBates]

As this is through no fault of my own am I free to go directly to COMPANY B and offer my services at a lower rate??

You would need a lawyer for definite answer but once your agent can't/won't give you a contract, it isn't the same as if you were to the "dirty" and refuse a contract from the agency and go direct.

It is unlikely they would chase it up, as in effect they lost the contract, and not because you undercut them, and they know that.

[MarillionFan]

The agency would not be a good person to speak to you. If you are friendly with someone senior at the company you are working ask them. You never know they may split the cost with you and remove the others from the chain.

[MDG534621]

Mordac, Thanks COMPANY A is not an agency however there is an agency involved.The contract basically states the obvious (I should not do anything detrimental to the interests of the consultancy) but surely if the relationship collapses due to no fault of my own then I am not in breach. Do you know who I should turn to for confirmation, my agency??

[Mordac]

If Company A is an agency, their Ts & Cs will almost certainly prevent you going direct to B within a specified period, usually 6 or 12 months.
If it's not an agency, and there's nothing in your contract to prevent you going direct, go for it and good luck.

[MDG534621]

I wondered if somebody could advise me on the following

I work as a contractor for (COMPANY A) who provide a service to (COMPANY B). COMPANY B decides that the cost that I am provided for through COMPANY A is too high and therefore terminate the relationship with COMPANY A. As a consequence I loose my position.

As this is through no fault of my own am I free to go directly to COMPANY B and offer my services at a lower rate??

This has not happened to me yet, although I really would not be suprised if this was to happen. I would therefore be very grateful if any of you could advise me exactly where I would stand.

Many Thanks