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Agency holding contracted notice period payment

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    Agency holding contracted notice period payment

    Hello

    This is my first post and I am sure I will be asked for more information along the way but I would like any advice or help on how to take a recruiter or end client to court over notice period payment being made. their reasons were citing I was in breach of contract terms but this is just being used as an excuse, it happen 18 months ago and I suffered server depression over this, lost the house I rented and lived in, built up debts through not being able to pay them and accepted they could do this to me, I have spoken with CAB and advise to send the letter I have copied below. I sent recorded delivery which they accepted then ignored so I have do down the conciliation route. The recruiter has blocked my mobile number so won’t accept calls unless I withhold my number, has blockled my email address as my mails bounce back and has refused to acknowledge my request/complaint,

    After watching the shows on TV I have now seen ,I can infact take them to court as I had a signed contract B2B in place with a 4 week notice period, I was let go with no notice and no genuine proven reason why, this tells me I have a case but is my case with the recruitment company of the Director in person who counter signed my contract. Please see below

    Dear Tim XXXX
    I am writing in relation to the money that has been with-held from me in relation to the agreed and signed contract terms between <agency> and <myco>, I have taken professional advice and been advised that due to the that fact I have never received a written termination of contract or the exact terms I am accused of breaching in writing, I am not bound by the 3 months rule for a tribunal and therefore still within the time to go through early conciliation followed by a court hearing should we not reach a satisfactory conclusion.
    CONCERNS
    My reasons for this communication are as follows
    1. I worked Friday 1st of Dec in the Bristol office and to date I have not been paid for my time, had my invoice rejected and no good reason given for withholding my rightful money
    2. I worked with the clients knowledge after emailing my line manager from home making myself available to work as the terms of the contract and have not been paid this money, I received an email from <my line manager> on the Monday saying to me the he accepted I was at home and to work from home that day, this money has been withheld from me
    3. Due to ill health I worked from home on Tues 2nd Dec and again emailed my line manager to say I would not be able to attend the office but I would be working from home, this was sent before 9am and made myself available work, in fact I chaired several online project meetings with global stakeholders and this included a 3 hour meeting with HR online in relation to project issues, this money has been withheld from me and the invoice rejected.
    4. As per the terms, a breach of ill health would have meant unable to work for a period of 2 consecutive months, I was unable to attend the Bristol site for only 2 days that week, are you sure this would hold up in a court of law as a period of ill health for 2 days can happen to anyone and not a reason to cite Breach of terms and forfeit the contracted terms.
    5. The contract states written notice MUST be given by both sides for either the end of contract or termination. To date I have received neither despite requests for both too numerous to count, however all emails sent have been saved. I have asked for the terms I was terminated in writing, you have failed to supply this, I have asked for my written termination notice, you have failed to supply.
    OUTCOME.
    I have been advised on the following
    I am entitled and “lawfully entitled” to invoice and claim for the 3 days it was known I provided work to the client and delivered.
    I am entitled and “lawfully entitled” to invoice and claim for the 1 months’ notice in writing, this has more weight behind it as I have never been told in writing the terms I have breached so I am now holding <agency> in breach of the agreed and signed terms of our contract. I also openly offered to attend the client’s site during this period to deliver a full handover and continue the progress of the projects; this was declined by Imperial however it was offered by my part so at no point was I simply walking away from my agreed terms
    DEADLINE
    I have also been strongly advised that I should ask for payment or a response within 3 working days of the date of this notice. It has been sent recorded delivery and signed for. I am also pursuing in the name of <agent> who is signed on the contract. Should we fail to reach an agreement I am instructed on how to proceed with an official tribunal which I will seek to do so.
    Please find attached the invoice for the 3 days known to have been worked plus the 1 months’ notice period which will stand at 4 weeks’ pay.


    Can anyone please direct me to a no win no fee type solicitor as this case is worth over 10K to m e and therefore one I could make payment from and keen to pursue.

    #2
    I've edited your post removing the real names. This was for your own protection as posting real names in a public forum can lead you into a world of pain.

    As soon as the invoice you issued for work done was late, you should have started dunning procedures. See here: The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 - Pay on Time

    You do have the option of passing debts to a debt collection agency.

    Getting paid for notice period when you've done no work can be achieved, but don't hold your breath.

    Finally - why did you wait 18 months? Like before you got severe depression?
    Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

    Comment


      #3
      You can take them to court but that's going to cost you quite a lot of time and money. You've then got the situation you are asking for money you never worked for so you've got little chance of that working.
      If they have any sense they will say they didn't terminate you, they just didn't give you any more work until the contract expired. If they withdraw work you have nothing to do and as per the contract you will not get paid.

      On the whole contractors do not get paid notice period for not working it.

      You are due money for the days you worked for sure. Dunning the agent at the time would have made this happen. You should still get it if you keep working the agent hard but a month's money that you arguable weren't due from 18 months ago? I very much doubt it.

      Plenty of threads on a similar situations about notice and non payment if you do a search using the method outlined in the FAQ section. Try something like..

      Agency not paying notice site:forums.contractoruk.com
      Last edited by northernladuk; 6 May 2019, 17:49.
      'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

      Comment


        #4
        Time to move on and accept you'll not be paid for 3 days.

        Forget the month 'notice period'. That ain't gonna happen. Certainly not 18 months later. This is a business contract not an employment one so forget any health issues as they are just not relevant.

        You can chase for the 3 days, but given your situation it seems likely that would be counterproductive even if you did win (it's hard and stressful to win these).

        Tribunals are for employees. Forget that.

        No win no fee solicitors are a waste of your time (and they wouldn't touch this with BPs). You're representing a business, not some loser with a back injury.

        Forget it. Move on. Sleep better.
        See You Next Tuesday

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Lance View Post
          Forget it. Move on. Sleep better.
          And concentrate on building a warchest from day 1 to avoid situations like this.
          'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Lance View Post
            Time to move on and accept you'll not be paid for 3 days.

            Forget the month 'notice period'. That ain't gonna happen. Certainly not 18 months later. This is a business contract not an employment one so forget any health issues as they are just not relevant.

            You can chase for the 3 days, but given your situation it seems likely that would be counterproductive even if you did win (it's hard and stressful to win these).

            Tribunals are for employees. Forget that.

            No win no fee solicitors are a waste of your time (and they wouldn't touch this with BPs). You're representing a business, not some loser with a back injury.

            Forget it. Move on. Sleep better.
            This. I wish it was not the case but it is.

            With mental health issues you are generally better off on the permanent route. Though I did get sacked from a permie role due to mental health issues they caused. Its not easy and I hope you can move on.
            Last edited by BrilloPad; 7 May 2019, 08:21. Reason: typo - iy to it

            Comment


              #7
              Ok, thank you for the replies and i get some of what you are saying but on the notice period,

              1, It was written in to the professional B2B contract thnat each party MUST give 4 weeks notice in writting to terminate, ifi had just walked out for a new role with Zero notice i am sure a company would have chased me

              2, I have it written i was terminated due to a breach of contract terms. "As I stated to you on the 6th of Dec when we spoke on the phone the client instructed both you and me that they had terminated your contract with immediate effect as a result of your unapproved non-attendance being a breach of contract on Fri 1st, Mon 4th and Tue 5th Dec"
              what they have tried to do is use a BS excuse that has no merit, how can anyone say you are in breach of contract terms when you had 2 days off sick, worked from home and had your line managers knowledge that was happening.,

              I left it for so long as i tried the CAB route who were uselss looking back, i have looked into this and for an amount over 10K it will cost me about £400 to submit the claim online then take it to the county court,. this I am still going to do once i have the £400 spare again, thats part of the reason for the dealy, This company has chossen 100% to ignore my calls, block my emails about the request and not respond so if they decide to reject the letter from the court and fail to atten it could also go in my favour by default

              this isnt causing me sleeples nights, just dont see why a @~&T of an agency shouold be aloowed to walk all over us

              thanks for what you have said but it wasnt any more use than i already know so i will go down the county court route next month.

              cheers

              Comment


                #8
                you are assuming that a notice period is about you getting paid. It's not.

                It's a period of notice, for either of the businesses to inform the other that they wish to end the contract. Nothing in the notice period entitles the supplier company to payment for that period other than when work has been done.

                A notice period for an employment contract is very different. The employer does have to pay, but also can dictate what work is done. In some rare circumstances the employer may allow the employee to not work his notice period. This is called gardening leave. This scenario is unrelated to a business contract but is commonly thought to be the same.

                In your scenario #1. What exactly can they chase you for? You are still in contract, but are not providing any service. You'll not get paid but they'll still not get the work done. They might threaten to sue you, but not have much luck.
                See You Next Tuesday

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Lance View Post
                  you are assuming that a notice period is about you getting paid. It's not.
                  this

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Lance View Post
                    Nothing in the notice period entitles the supplier company to payment for that period other than when work has been done.
                    Probably the number 1 misunderstanding by people new to contracting (some might even be years into contracting before finding this out I guess)

                    While it has the same name, it is just not the same as permie notice.

                    Comment

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