Agency Refusing to Pay Me After Leaving Contract with No Notice & No Signed Timesheet

[sal]

If you refuse to tell them the personal reasons why you left as far as they are concerned you just walked out.

In future tell the client manager the problem as experienced managers have seen a lot. Plus some clients will work around health problems even if you are a contractor and you won't have to leave.

+1 and just drop it and consider yourself lucky that the agency is not seeking damages for breach of contract instead.

[SueEllen]

If you refuse to tell them the personal reasons why you left as far as they are concerned you just walked out.

In future tell the client manager the problem as experienced managers have seen a lot. Plus some clients will work around health problems even if you are a contractor and you won't have to leave.

[malvolio]

Perhaps look up "Force Majeure"...?

However my sympathies are with the client. You won't have produced anything meaningful in one week and you've cost them time and effort replacing you, so you can understand why they don't feel you've done enough to earn payment.

Whatever rights you have are in your contract, nowhere else. If you blew the notice period requirement, then that contract doesn't actually apply anyway.

It's hard, but your best option is to walk away, forget the week's money and get on with the next contract when you are able to.

[ziggystardust]

Due to serious and sudden personal health problems I was forced to leave a 6 month contract 1 week into starting with no notice, which was regrettable but I explained to the agency that I would be unable to continue working for the client and competently complete the work.

I sent an email to my agency contact and offered a substitute as an alternative but received no response, only to say that they were sorry to hear I could not fulfil the contract, which requires 1 months notice, and to return my pass to the client. I had not completed and had a timesheet signed as I left suddenly. However, a month had passed and after submitting my invoice the agency replied to say they could not pay me without a timesheet signed but would accept an email authorisation from the client. I did as they requested but received no response from the client, yet a couple of days later I received an email from the agency's regional director to say to not contact the client directly again and to communicate through them. She also requested that I state what work I had completed during the time I was there for timesheet approval which I did.

Later that week the director called to say that she had to speak to the client to see what they think about having to pay me and how much because I was not there long enough to "add value" and left without notice, leaving them in the lurch. I have not heard back since and my question is do I have any rights to be paid or should I just not pursue this as I breached my contract? The reasons I left were serious but I did not wish to go into this with both parties due to the personal nature. I am opted in but the agency have stopped communicating with me altogether.