Start this Monday but no contract

[TheFaQQer]

Personally, I would lean towards starting work with a view to cutting the contract short if they couldn't come up with agreeable terms.

That presumes that there is an easy way out of the contract.

I'd give the company a sample PCG or Qdos contract, and point them to the PCG guidance on the new legislation, and check that they are happy with that.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I wouldn't let the complete lack of signed contract stop me from turning up on day one, so long as:

a) Rate and billing terms have been agreed
b) The contract was made available to me by the end of the first day, or I won't be in for day two (and they will be getting billed for day one regardless)

What I wouldn't do is turn up having already been presented with a contract that I wasn't happy with and hadn't signed, if negotiation was still ongoing; I'd be worried turning up could constitute acceptance of the last contract that was exchanged.

[Old Greg]

I'd register for DueDil and (if they are a small SME) see if they've got the green to pay you.

qh

+1 I had my suspicions about an SME a few weeks back. 30 minutes after getting onto duedil I had the 6 month liquidators' report of the overseas company that had been the sole owner of the SME before 999 new shares (representing 99.9% ownership) of the SME's shares were transferred to another similarly named company with identical ownership etc. etc.

I politely made my excuses.

[Wanderer]

What I wouldn't do is turn up having already been presented with a contract that I wasn't happy with and hadn't signed, if negotiation was still ongoing; I'd be worried turning up could constitute acceptance of the last contract that was exchanged.

Good point and you would be right to be concerned - this is known in law as Battle of the forms.