Elan invoice payment

**DodgyAgent** · 9 February 2006, 16:37

Originally posted by elan5000

Anyone out there contracting through Elan.
It seems it takes them till 16th to 20th of each month to pay invoices.
They say they ONLY run payroles once a month on the 13th. Is this true? Does anyone get paid earlier by Elan?
They say they can't run the payroll sooner because they are busy waiting for unprofessional contractors to submit their timesheets/invoices, are you one of these unprofessional types who sits on a timesheet/invoice for 10 days for no apparent reason?
Are you all happy to wait this long for your hard earned money when other agencies pay within 5 working days?
They actually said they would have cashflow problems if they paid any earlier. Which rings alarm bells, because this means you could be 2 months out of pocket by the time you find out they have financial problems.

And that is on a Friday. So how many Friday 13ths are there this year?

**Snowman** · 9 February 2006, 16:38

I have problems with Elan also. They take at least three weeks to pay an invoice and they insist on it covering exactly one calendar month. All other agencies allow the contractor to choose the invoicing period and pay the bill within one week. When this was suggested to Elan, they said that if they paid it within one week, they would go bankrupt! That started serious alarm bell ringing so I am talking urgently to the customer to get the agency changed to one who does pay within a week as soon as the contract comes up for renewal.
Remember they closed the Canary Wharf office recently disposing of all the staff. P'raps all is not well in the state of Elan.
Giving the definition of Elan as "Vital Force" etc, perhaps they should undergo corporate rebranding as "Turgid"

**privateeye** · 9 February 2006, 16:40

If your contract specifies other payment terms then push for those - else always make sure you read the contract. If you are not happy then best not sign.

They can run the payroll anytime they want - other agencies manage. Its one of their own rules so they can change it if they want.

**elan5000** · 9 February 2006, 16:51

There is no breach of contract, unfortunately there are the clauses:

"Payment Terms: Monthly by BACS"

"an original Work Progress Form and Expense Form with a monthly Invoice are faxed to Elan at the latest by 5.30pm on the 10th of each month following the last month worked (if this day falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday then it needs to be faxed the last Business Day before the 10th of that month)."

Which doesn't actually say, we will do nothing with it till the 13th. And if it's in on the 1st, we will sit on it and ignore it for a fortnight.

Personally I think it's all down to cashflow and either maximising interest from investments or minimising interest from expenditure. The 13th probably ties in to some interest period for them.

**Snowman** · 9 February 2006, 17:02

Likewise with me. There are similar obscure clauses in my contract so I realise I can do nothing during this assignment to fix it other than make sure any extensions are with one of the myriad agents who do pay within a week.

It is

our right to change agents if we wish as the law now expressly prohibits all handcuff clauses that used to restrict these changes. I would suggest that other Elan contractors who are subject to this draconian pay schedule change at their next renewal and all contractors taking up a new assignment with Elan look out!

**expat** · 9 February 2006, 17:21

Originally posted by Snowman

It is our right to change agents if we wish as the law now expressly prohibits all handcuff clauses that used to restrict these changes.

Is this really true?

**privateeye** · 9 February 2006, 17:22

Trouble is you are all seen as individuals - may I suggest to send some private messages to each other and swap contact details and then operate as more of a group to see if you can change things. If you all complained at the same time to the same person it is likely to be taken more seriously.

When IR35 kicked off Elan were openly boasting that it didn't effect them so they wouldn't change their contract - they soon changed that when they were running out of contractors.

**Mailman** · 9 February 2006, 20:30

Originally posted by expat

Is this really true?

Yes it is true.

The only way around this is if there are clauses in your contract that allows the current agents to be managed out of the relationship (most likely through a short term extension after which you can change without penalty to anyone else).

If your contract contains no such clause then you can change at your next renewal.

Mailman

**thunderlizard** · 9 February 2006, 22:30

"It is our right to change agents if we wish" - possibly, but there's no corresponding obligation for the end client to use your agency of choice.

Elan invoice payment