Agency Withholding Payment

[rtgibson]

Hi,

I am about to got to the small claims court regarding some unpaid invoices for which the agency has received monies from the end client. I submitted signed timesheets etc as requested and did pretty much everything I can think of to comply with the contract. So I can't figure out what the agency is going to pull out of the bag regarding the contract to use in their defence, so going over and over the contract in fine depth again and again the only slight thing I can think of is the number of days I had off during the contract where I notified the end client but not the agency. The clause reads: -

"... providing that notice of time off for annual leave for the representative shall first be given by the supplier to **** not less than 14 days prior to the relevant leave period."

My answer to this is that it wasn't for annual leave/holidays etc. it was for hospital visits etc for baby scans etc - (our baby was quite ill so we had more scans than usual and trips to hospitals etc.) So should I still be OK with this - also it's important to note that there wasn't a number of specified working hours per week on the contract.

The clause in the contract for with holding payment reads: -

"... save that **** may as a set off deduct or withhold sums from payments due to the supplier where **** has suffered loss for where the supplier is liable."

Does this above clause mean that they would try and get me on the amount of time off - i.e. they didn't earn as much as they thought they would - bear in mind that next to the amount of hours to work each week it says 'N/A'.

Also my final question is - if somebody is going to withhold payment from you do they by law have to notify you (be it in writing or otherwise) within 5 days of the invoice becoming overdue, I'm think here of something called Section 110 and 111 of some law or other - I had a quick poke around on the net. I received no notification ever - not even to this day (some 4 months on).

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[TheFaQQer]

Welcome - hope the baby is OK now.

Question one - did you opt out of the agency regulations, in writing, before being introduced to the client? If you did not, then you will win the case, as they must pay you for work that has been done (whether they have received payment or not)

Question two - have they given you any explanation about why they aren't paying you? I'm pretty sure that they can't just arbitrarily say "no".

Question three - are you a PCG member? If so, then you should talk to their legal helpline, just to get some advice on why the agency might think they have a right to withhold the payment. If not, then you may have legal helpline cover with your home or car insurance which is always worth a try.

My gut feeling says that the agency would need to show that they have suffered a loss by your not being at work, and I don't think they will be able to prove it to an extent which would justify their actions.

Best of luck with it all, anyway.

[PrinceNamor]

spill the beans...which agency?

[rtgibson]

Thanks for response

In response to the questions. Firstly and of course most importantly baby is better but we're not out of the woods yet (serious heart condition).

Now onto the questions.....

Yes - unfortunately I did opt out of the work regulations, it always seems like the right thing to do when more hours are on offer.

No - they haven't even notified me yet of any reason or infact any intention not to pay - they simply never payed and then cut off all forms of communication with me despite me calling/emailing for days/weeks on end. They haven't made any attempt to contact me even after I started claim proceedings

No - not a PCG member.

I'm not sure how the agency will be able to show that I may have caused them a loss - obvioulsy they thought I would be working more hours (as did I) - however no amount of hours were specified on the contract (it says "N/A") so how would they prove what they were expecting to earn. Also the time I had off would surely go down as 'compasionate leave' as opposed to 'annual leave' it was not after all a holiday most days were spent attending hospitals some were spent comforting the missus.

PrinceNamor - Obviously with the court involved it wouldn't be right to name the agency - you won't have dealt with them anyway or even heard of them, when I started trying to find out a bit more about them I found that it was basically a one man band from down south operating as a sole trader not even Ltd he was being bank rolled by another chap whos name I only found out by doing a WhoIs on their domain name and the name came back as the same address the agency was registered at - hey presto I am a detective...

I'll post back here on Saturday to let you know how it went - just cannot get my head around what he is going to try and pull out the bag in the court.

Cheers Guys

[r0bly0ns]

Sorry, but I don't think compasionate leave applies here.

A company has to allow non paid leave for family emergencies by law, however your company still has an obligation to fulfill the contract. As your employer is your own Ltd company, yes you can take the time off, but depending on your contract you may be obligated to provide someone else to do the work while you are not there.


Having said that, I still think you are in the right on this one, and that the agency should pay up. I also personally think the small claims court would agree with you.


However, as the person you are chasing is just that, a person and not a company, I am not sure what the legal position is.
As you are not a member of the PCG, I would speak to the Citizens Advice Beuro as they should be able to help with this one.

[DodgyAgent]

Hi,

I am about to got to the small claims court regarding some unpaid invoices for which the agency has received monies from the end client. I submitted signed timesheets etc as requested and did pretty much everything I can think of to comply with the contract. So I can't figure out what the agency is going to pull out of the bag regarding the contract to use in their defence, so going over and over the contract in fine depth again and again the only slight thing I can think of is the number of days I had off during the contract where I notified the end client but not the agency. The clause reads: -

"... providing that notice of time off for annual leave for the representative shall first be given by the supplier to **** not less than 14 days prior to the relevant leave period."

My answer to this is that it wasn't for annual leave/holidays etc. it was for hospital visits etc for baby scans etc - (our baby was quite ill so we had more scans than usual and trips to hospitals etc.) So should I still be OK with this - also it's important to note that there wasn't a number of specified working hours per week on the contract.

The clause in the contract for with holding payment reads: -

"... save that **** may as a set off deduct or withhold sums from payments due to the supplier where **** has suffered loss for where the supplier is liable."

Does this above clause mean that they would try and get me on the amount of time off - i.e. they didn't earn as much as they thought they would - bear in mind that next to the amount of hours to work each week it says 'N/A'.

Also my final question is - if somebody is going to withhold payment from you do they by law have to notify you (be it in writing or otherwise) within 5 days of the invoice becoming overdue, I'm think here of something called Section 110 and 111 of some law or other - I had a quick poke around on the net. I received no notification ever - not even to this day (some 4 months on).

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers

I began to jump to a wrong conclusion before readin your thread, I have deleted my response

The agency has no right to withold payment. If they have an issue they still have to pay you and then sue you. If they are worried that you may disappear then the money can be placed into an escrow account.

Presumably you communicated all your problems to your boss at work and that they supported you on this, or did you just disappear without telling anyone?

The quickest way is to serve them a winding up order

[TheFaQQer]

I began to jump to a wrong conclusion before readin your thread, I have deleted my response

The agency has no right to withold payment. If they have an issue they still have to pay you and then sue you. If they are worried that you may disappear then the money can be placed into an escrow account.

Presumably you communicated all your problems to your boss at work and that they supported you on this, or did you just disappear without telling anyone?

The quickest way is to serve them a winding up order

Ah - so that's where the post went! I was just responding to your comments, but it went...

Let's hope that the "agency" in question gets what's coming to him. Sounds to me like he's got no cash to pay out (even though he's received the money from the client) and that's why the OP can't get in touch with them.

Hope not.

[DodgyAgent]

Ah - so that's where the post went! I was just responding to your comments, but it went...

Let's hope that the "agency" in question gets what's coming to him. Sounds to me like he's got no cash to pay out (even though he's received the money from the client) and that's why the OP can't get in touch with them.

Hope not.

Shows that I can I press a delete button quicker than you can press a Save button

[NotAllThere]

Yes - unfortunately I did opt out of the work regulations, it always seems like the right thing to do when more hours are on offer.

That's not what was asked. The question is "did you opt out of the agency regulations, in writing, before being introduced to the client?"

If you "opted out" in any form other than in writing, or you "opted out" only after being introduced to the client, you are not "opted out".

( Even if the answer is still yes, it's important to be clear ).

[TheFaQQer]

That's not what was asked. The question is "did you opt out of the agency regulations, in writing, before being introduced to the client?"

If you "opted out" in any form other than in writing, or you "opted out" only after being introduced to the client, you are not "opted out".

( Even if the answer is still yes, it's important to be clear ).

And, perhaps more importantly, if you insisted otherwise, could the agency prove you opted out, in writing, before meeting the client? I'm guessing not.