Agency threatening legal action if I leave my role!

[otisb]

Hello All,

I am currently in a fixed term contract which is due to end in 6 weeks time.

My current contract doesnt have a specified notice period for either the me (contractor) or the employer.

I contacted my agency today to find out what my notice period is if I wanted to leave - and I was told that as its a fixed term contract, im not allowed to leave, and if I do leave to go to another job they can pursue me legally for loss of earnings! My agency are concerned that it will make them look bad if I leave - and obviously its in their interest for me to stay.

As there is no notice period specified in my contract, I would have thought its up to me to negotiate a reasonable notice period with my employer?

How does this sound to you guys, am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance.

Otis

[eek]

Hello All,

I am currently in a fixed term contract which is due to end in 6 weeks time.

My current contract doesnt have a specified notice period for either the me (contractor) or the employer.

I contacted my agency today to find out what my notice period is if I wanted to leave - and I was told that as its a fixed term contract, im not allowed to leave, and if I do leave to go to another job they can pursue me legally for loss of earnings! My agency are concerned that it will make them look bad if I leave - and obviously its in their interest for me to stay.

As there is no notice period specified in my contract, I would have thought its up to me to negotiate a reasonable notice period with my employer?

How does this sound to you guys, am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance.

Otis

who is your employer?

[Scruff]

Look to your contract for the defined options, which are normally under a heading call "Termination".

If there is no termination option, then you don't have a defined exit and are obliged to complete the contract, unless a material breach is effected by any/all of the parties to the contract.

They can "sue" you for damages, and anyone can "sue" one another for damages, since it is a Civil action...whether they succeed or not is the issue and, if they succeed, what chance do they stand of collecting (Pyrrhic victory)?

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

You have 6 weeks left For Christ's sake. Just ride it out and leave.

[Mich the Tester]

You have 6 weeks left For Christ's sake. Just ride it out and leave.

WHS, and never call clientco 'employer'. Think IR35.

[Troll]

Just ring in sick for 6 weeks

HTH

[DirtyDog]

WHS, and never call clientco 'employer'. Think IR35.

It's an FTC - they are the employer.

[oscarose]

I'd just walk and forget about it. Don't worry about any threats, it's not worth it.

[vetran]

why are you leaving?
If its a significant reason (ill health, family issues etc) you may get more sympathy if they sue and from the client. They may just be sabre rattling.
What loss will the agent experience? Are you willing to pay towards that?

6 weeks seems like a reasonable time to hang on for and avoid the stress.
what does the client feel about it? If there is no work to do they may want to cancel.

[ASB]

If it is a fixed term employment contract (which it may be, but this is completely unclear) then the notice period should be 1 week unless specified otherwise.

This may, or may not, help.

https://www.gov.uk/fixed-term-contra...dterm-contract