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Ambiguous Termination Clause

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    Ambiguous Termination Clause

    Had my contract extended then terminated while I was on holiday, for no apparent reason. ( my job title was being changed and my manager was a little insecure, simply because over time I became the go to guy "without the job appropriate title" )

    I worked for a very large betting company and the agency employs many hundreds if not thousands of contract IT workers via this well known employment agency. I asked the agents nicely to pay my two week notice period. They were clear and unequivocal about the fact there they will not be paying me for my notice period. Now this is where it gets very interesting.

    Point 1
    The very nice lady who responds to my emails from the agency referred me to article 12 section (d), see below

    E***ris shall have the right to immediately terminate this Agreement without liability to the Company by giving notice in
    writing:
    (a) if the Company is in material breach of any of its obligations under this Agreement; or
    (b) if the Company makes a voluntary arrangement with its creditors or becomes subject to an administration order,
    goes into liquidation or becomes insolvent; or
    (c) in the event that the Company fails to provide the on-boarding documents detailed in Schedule 3 within 5 working
    days of the commencement of the Project Period.
    (d) if the Client no longer requires, for any reason, the Project Services provided by the Company; or
    (e) at any time prior to the start date of the Project Period.

    The implication of section d is that the end client could turn around and say you are not longer required. pack your bag up and go, (like a decree / directive or and executive order ) isn't that what a contract is meant to protect against ??.

    Point 2
    The contract also states the following

    The Company and Experis shall each have the right to terminate this Agreement by giving the notice stipulated in clause 14 ( 2 weeks notice period for both parties )
    of this Agreement. This Agreement may also terminate by mutual consent if the Project Services are completed to the
    satisfaction of the Client prior to the Project Period end date.

    Which means there is a notice period of 2 weeks baked into the the contract. They two clauses seem to contradict each other.

    I contacted IPSE legal helpline given I'm a member. That did not help much as they were not interested in seeing the contract as its a phone advisory service, the lady was very rude, condescending and just seemed to fire off every statement loudly. In the end she said concluded that its a 50/50 situation and could not comment any further unless she sees the whole contract, which she could not see as it's phone only service.
    I considering a small claim court action against the agency. Do I stand any chance of winning ?


    I got this excerpt from a website - http://bit.ly/214cQMd
    There may be a ‘for any reason’ clause that allows both you and the client to end the agreement for any reason at any time (with or without notice)

    #2
    Whack in a claim, Experis may well pay up

    Comment


      #3
      Erm... No signed time sheet, nothing to pay?
      I was an IPSE Consultative Council Member, until the BoD abolished it. I am not an IPSE Member, since they have no longer have any relevance to me, as an IT Contractor. Read my lips...I recommend QDOS for ALL your Insurance requirements (Contact me for a referral code).

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by SlipTheJab View Post
        Whack in a claim, Experis may well pay up
        You really are a very clever man
        The Chunt of Chunts.

        Comment


          #5
          You will eventually get two weeks notice if you put up a fight, but don't expect any work and hence pay.

          HTH

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by dreamer View Post
            Had my contract extended then terminated while I was on holiday, for no apparent reason. ( my job title was being changed and my manager was a little insecure, simply because over time I became the go to guy "without the job appropriate title" )
            If that's the only reason you were terminated then you will have to take it all the way to court before they decide whether to pay out. Then if they pay out it's only because they want to avoid bad publicity.

            Contract clauses can't actually override the law so if you were discriminated against, reported health and safety concerns, etc and were removed then you would have a case to get at least that money out of them and probably the entire extension. (In this case none of that applies.)

            In future read your contracts thoroughly when you get them, see if any clauses contradict each other and if they breach some of the laws you know then flag them to your reviewer. If your reviewer can't deal with them get another one who can.
            "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

            Comment


              #7
              I think I stopped reading at the 'manager', 'job title' and the employed stuff. Is this for a contract gig or permanent employment?

              So the crux of this is you want paying for 2 weeks notice period you didn't work? If this is a contractor role do you have a section that says you get paid on receipt of a signed time sheet. You have no time sheet because you didn't do the work so you don't get paid. Notice periods are not for contractors. If you want a contract that protects you go permie.

              That about right?
              Last edited by northernladuk; 26 February 2016, 19:26.
              'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
                I think I stopped reading at the 'manager', 'job title' and the employed stuff. Is this for a contract gig or permanent employment?

                What exactly are you asking?
                Quitter.

                I didn't get that far, to be fair, it made me reach for my "special" medicine.
                The Chunt of Chunts.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by MrMarkyMark View Post
                  Quitter.

                  I didn't get that far, to be fair, it made me reach for my "special" medicine.
                  Sounds like they've done him a favour. He's so far inside IR35 it must hurt but I'd say he doesn't have a clue what that means. It's got part and parcel written all over this one.
                  'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
                    Sounds like they've done him a favour. He's so far inside IR35 it must hurt but I'd say he doesn't have a clue what that means. It's got part and parcel written all over this one.
                    Tenth word in...

                    Originally posted by dreamer View Post
                    Had my contract extended then terminated while I was on holiday, for no apparent reason.
                    Dreamer he may well be.

                    Good Luck

                    qh
                    He had a negative bluety on a quackhandle and was quadraspazzed on a lifeglug.

                    I look forward to your all knowing and likely sarcastic and unhelpful reply.

                    Comment

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