Hey all,
I''m incorporated and contracting through an agency to a client.
The contract I signed with the agency specified a 12 month term for consultancy services to their client. That term is to complete in the next few days, the contract will then expire.
The contract had within it a termination clause:
"9. RESTRICTION ON THE CONSULTANCY
The Consultancy shall not and shall procure that the Consultancy Staff shall not for a period of 6 months following the termination of the Assignment supply the services of the Consultancy Staff directly, or through any other person, firm or company, to any Client for whom it has carried out the Assignment at any time during the previous 6 months. "
Standard enough, a bind that stops you from quitting and just joining the client directly.
What I want to know is this...
In the UK would a contract with such a termination clause be enforceable after the contract naturally expires - i.e. the term length (12 months) of the contract expiring?
I.e. is expiration = termination in this situation? Or in all situations? Or, does the expiration then negate this clause because the contract was not ended by an action that would define termination, (breach etc.) as "Termination is NOT expiration"?
The contract has another point in it....
"15.1. This Agreement shall commence on the date set out in the Schedule and shall continue until completion of the Consultancy Services to the reasonable satisfaction of the Client at which time this Agreement shall expire automatically unless previously terminated by the Employment Business or the Consultancy giving the other party the period of notice specified in the Schedule."
When referenced in this way, the wording is presumably very ambiguous, but with emphasis in the right place expiration and termination could:
(1)be referenced as two distinct states
OR
(2)it could be stating that termination occurs at the end of the contract if it is OR if it is not purposely ended by a specific action, i.e. termination occuring "naturally".
I stand a little befuddled and in want of a definition of expiration vs termination.
Anyone?
I''m incorporated and contracting through an agency to a client.
The contract I signed with the agency specified a 12 month term for consultancy services to their client. That term is to complete in the next few days, the contract will then expire.
The contract had within it a termination clause:
"9. RESTRICTION ON THE CONSULTANCY
The Consultancy shall not and shall procure that the Consultancy Staff shall not for a period of 6 months following the termination of the Assignment supply the services of the Consultancy Staff directly, or through any other person, firm or company, to any Client for whom it has carried out the Assignment at any time during the previous 6 months. "
Standard enough, a bind that stops you from quitting and just joining the client directly.
What I want to know is this...
In the UK would a contract with such a termination clause be enforceable after the contract naturally expires - i.e. the term length (12 months) of the contract expiring?
I.e. is expiration = termination in this situation? Or in all situations? Or, does the expiration then negate this clause because the contract was not ended by an action that would define termination, (breach etc.) as "Termination is NOT expiration"?
The contract has another point in it....
"15.1. This Agreement shall commence on the date set out in the Schedule and shall continue until completion of the Consultancy Services to the reasonable satisfaction of the Client at which time this Agreement shall expire automatically unless previously terminated by the Employment Business or the Consultancy giving the other party the period of notice specified in the Schedule."
When referenced in this way, the wording is presumably very ambiguous, but with emphasis in the right place expiration and termination could:
(1)be referenced as two distinct states
OR
(2)it could be stating that termination occurs at the end of the contract if it is OR if it is not purposely ended by a specific action, i.e. termination occuring "naturally".
I stand a little befuddled and in want of a definition of expiration vs termination.
Anyone?
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