opt in or out of employment agency act 2003

[ian_armstrong101]

Hi
I am new to the contracting world. I have applied for a job today and before the agent will submit my application they have asked me the following question:

"indicate your standpoint regarding opting in or out of obligations offered by the Employment Agencies Act 2003"

my question is what do they mean and what is best for me?

my situation is:
- it is currently a 1 month contract - it may roll on
- it will pay £38 per hour
- I will go through an umbrella company to get paid rather then set myself up as Ltd.
- I am still looking for a permanent role

Please help

Thanks
Ian

[mrdonuts]

I am new to the contracting world.

absolutely, you probably wont get the job(unfortunately) so dont worry about it

[Ardesco]

IN

If you opt in the agency have to pay you within 14 days and they cannot deny payment if you don't have a signed timesheet. Opting In or Out has no effect on IR35 (despite what the pimp will tell you).

The pimp will try and get you to opt out because if you opt in they are legally required to check your CV is not a pack of lies and validate your references. This takes time and effort that the pimp will not want to put in.

[zara_backdog]

Have you really done your homework if you have to ask this? Try using the search to see what has been said here before.

[ian_armstrong101]

I have just realised that I have some permanent applications in with the same employer, so should I wish to switch back from contract to permy (as I am only doing this short term as I am currently redundant) then from what I have read I would be safer to be opted in.

Do you agree with this?

[Beefy198]

I would lean towards in too.

Although, I have to say that I'm shocked that we've actually found an agent that asks someone this BEFORE putting someone forward!!

[Gonzo]

In your case it doesn't sound like you are intending to be a long-term contractor so I would accept the agent wanting you to opt out.

If you were intending to contract long term then there are aguments of why you would want to stay opted-in (which is the default position if you do nothing).

- opted in, the agent has to pay you, even if they haven't been paid by the client.

- opted in, the agent has to check that you are not an illegal immigrant and that your qualifications are genuine.

- opted in, the agent can't put a restrictive clause in your contract preventing you from working direct for the client in the future.

I suspect that if you don't opt out you wont get put forward for the job (they are not allowed to do that, but it still happens). Only opt out if they push you to do so though.


It is also worth noting that if you opt-out, then the umbrella company you use has to do the opt out too. If that hasn't happened before you meet the client then it is too late to opt-out. Agents generally don't understand that though, and I wouldn't spend any time trying to explain it to them if I were you.

[ian_armstrong101]

Thank you for your help. I do have some permenent applications in with the same client so with this last reply I feel I have to opt-in.

Ian

[tim123]

In your case it doesn't sound like you are intending to be a long-term contractor so I would accept the agent wanting you to opt out.

If you were intending to contract long term then there are aguments of why you would want to stay opted-in (which is the default position if you do nothing).

- opted in, the agent has to pay you, even if they haven't been paid by the client.

Even if you opt out, you should NEVER ever accept a contract with a clause that says otherwise.

This has never been standard practice in the industry.

tim

[tim123]

It is also worth noting that if you opt-out, then the umbrella company you use has to do the opt out too.

In the Agent's dreams.

There is no legal basis on which the brolly is a "work seeker" and thus cannot opt out (and therefore neither can the contractor).

tim