Agency confusing between Working Time Directive & Conduct of Employment Agencies Act

[mekool]

I have received a formal contract from the agency now and have been reviewing it (I haven't signed it yet), I will submit it to QDOS tomorrow, but so far I noticed that the agency has been deliberately trying to confuse me between opting-out of the Working Time Directive & The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

The formal contract I have received has both:

(1) Opt-out clause for "The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003"
It reads something like this - The Contractor(Ltd Co) and the Consultant(me) have given notice to opt out from The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

(2) Opt-out clause for Working time directive
The agency have attached a disclaimer to sign to opt-out of the Working time directive. This disclaimer has to signed between Myself and My Limited Company. I do not see a reason why they would force me to opt-out of the Working time directive.

Another line reads - It is a requirement of the Client that the Consultant signs a Working Time Directive opt-out disclaimer.

Is this not an IR35 warning flag - the client company asking me to opt-out of Working Time Directive.

Also, is AWR the same thing as (1) or (2) above?


Should, I say no to the above.

The agency may accept my arguments and may remove these clauses from the contract, on the other hand they may find "another suitable candidate". No idea what should I do in the latter case - just walk out or accept.

Also, I feel that the Agency has been confusing me between Working Time Directive & Conduct of Employment Agencies Act.

[mekool]

Contractor vs Consultant

Another bit confusing me is the use of term Contractor and Consultant in the contract document.

From what I have gathered reading the contract,

Contractor means - My Limited Company
Consultant means - Me

Is this a fairly standard use of these terms?

[Clare@InTouch]

Another bit confusing me is the use of term Contractor and Consultant in the contract document.

From what I have gathered reading the contract,

Contractor means - My Limited Company
Consultant means - Me

Is this a fairly standard use of these terms?

Yes, and is a good thing from an IR35 point of view as the contract is, presumably, between the client or agent and the contractor. You're named purely as a consultant of the contractor, leading to the presumption that it's not personal to you.

It takes more than that to show a lack of Personal Service, but it's a good thing nonetheless.

[Clare@InTouch]

I have received a formal contract from the agency now and have been reviewing it (I haven't signed it yet), I will submit it to QDOS tomorrow, but so far I noticed that the agency has been deliberately trying to confuse me between opting-out of the Working Time Directive & The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

The formal contract I have received has both:

(1) Opt-out clause for "The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003"
It reads something like this - The Contractor(Ltd Co) and the Consultant(me) have given notice to opt out from The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

(2) Opt-out clause for Working time directive
The agency have attached a disclaimer to sign to opt-out of the Working time directive. This disclaimer has to signed between Myself and My Limited Company. I do not see a reason why they would force me to opt-out of the Working time directive.

Another line reads - It is a requirement of the Client that the Consultant signs a Working Time Directive opt-out disclaimer.

Is this not an IR35 warning flag - the client company asking me to opt-out of Working Time Directive.

Also, is AWR the same thing as (1) or (2) above?


Should, I say no to the above.

The agency may accept my arguments and may remove these clauses from the contract, on the other hand they may find "another suitable candidate". No idea what should I do in the latter case - just walk out or accept.

Also, I feel that the Agency has been confusing me between Working Time Directive & Conduct of Employment Agencies Act.

AWR won't apply if you're trading through a Limited Company.

Opting out of the working time directive has no impact on IR35, it simply means you're willing to work extra hours. You can withdraw the opt-out for that at any time.

Opting out of the agency regs is a different thing entirely, and there are lots of threads here about that!

[TheFaQQer]

Another line reads - It is a requirement of the Client that the Consultant signs a Working Time Directive opt-out disclaimer.

You can only opt out of the working time directive in terms of your employment, ie the opt out would need to be between you personally and your employer (Ltd or umbrella).

You shouldn't have anything between you personally and the client, unless you are their employee.