Awaiting portal login and passwors

[jayjay69]

Good morning fellow contractors !
Looking for some advice on a current contract I have started 4th June at a local company for 4 weeks initially but already been told it will extend to end of July.
Basically my agency have not sent me my login details for their portal so I can see contract details and more importantly my timeheets and to add invoices.
I have chased them up numerous times before starting and spoken to my account manager direct who apologised and mumbled on about back office issues, switching over to a new system etc but should have details by close of play this week.
I would like to get this resolved asap as I was expecting to get my first week in and signed off but at the moment I feel I am effectively working for free waiting for the agency to pull it's finger out.
It is bad enough that I have to wait 12 working days for the payment to clear.
One of the contractors onside who has been here three months has said he is constantly having to pay £50 upfront for chaps to get his funds cleared because they are paying late and he cannot afford to wait on their timescales.Also the IT manager signs off timesheets late and always needs chasing up.
I took this as I have just finished a 2 year contract and wanted this to tied me over while awaiting interviews for two longer term ones which will start the end of this month.Plus I am picking up skills in Xenapp and Citix which I need for my CV. The rate is cr@p but it is 8 mins from home so at least I am not having to fork out for travel or fuel etc.
I plan to walk next week if they do not have the details sent over as basically I can see myself getting turned over for this awaiting their payments two and a half weeks later.How do I stand legally on this ?
Any advice ? Should I stick this out and lose potential £2k for the month or cut my losses and not be sat here providing a free service to this company ?

[HugeWhale]

So you have a four week contract that they may or may not extend.
You can't submit timesheets till the end of week 2 at the earliest.
Client manager may sign it off at week 3 if you're lucky.
12 day payment terms - you'll first get paid maybe two weeks after the contract finishes, if everything goes well. And they have a reputation for paying late.

If I were you, I'd walk. But that's me: you're in a different position and only you can decide. You've just come out of a two-year contract and already have interviews lined up.

Take a break. Travel. Do up your car. Catch up with family. Ride your motorcycle. It's only 2K and you yourself are not sure if you'll ever get paid.

[jayjay69]

So you have a four week contract that they may or may not extend.
You can't submit timesheets till the end of week 2 at the earliest.
Client manager may sign it off at week 3 if you're lucky.
12 day payment terms - you'll first get paid maybe two weeks after the contract finishes, if everything goes well. And they have a reputation for paying late.

If I were you, I'd walk. But that's me: you're in a different position and only you can decide. You've just come out of a two-year contract and already have interviews lined up.

Take a break. Travel. Do up your car. Catch up with family. Ride your motorcycle. It's only 2K and you yourself are not sure if you'll ever get paid.

Hi..
Thanks for the swift reply and advice.
My head is telling me to walk as tbh I don't want to be going through the hassle !
The client themselves are ok and in the process of arranging accounts/laptop/phone etc and as mentioned I am picking up some vital experience for my next contracts.
This is the first time in 5 years of contracting that I have encountered an agency that is causing an issue.
I have funds left over from my other contracts I can use for bills etc but do not want to be dipping in to my Business account having saved up a lump sum. With this 4 week job I would have more disposable sums to use for the end of the month or so that was the idea.
The client has been taken over by a large corporation and all the IT staff ( 10 in total inc me ) are being moved across with them. Those IT staff are ex contractors who have been provided by a 3rd party but have decided to go perm.
I have been asked my holidays from the manager I report to ( One week July and one week Aug ) so he can rota me in for the next few months so I know the work is there and they want me to stay on.
I am thinking of approaching this manager to say I will be walking unless I have portal access in which to input timesheets ? Not sure what people's thoughts are on this.
I basically don't want to antagonise Agency\client but they have left me in a difficult situation with this timesheet issue. Perhaps I should not have started without this being in place first !

[WTFH]

Basically my agency have not sent me my login details for their portal so I can see contract details and more importantly my timeheets and to add invoices.

I realise you think the timesheet are more important, but have you actually signed a contract - you say you don't have access to see its details which makes me think you haven't.

[northernladuk]

I realise you think the timesheet are more important, but have you actually signed a contract - you say you don't have access to see its details which makes me think you haven't.

This is the first thing that occurred to me when I read it. Log in to view the contract details? What exactly did you sign if you haven't seen the contract details? The contract will dictate the method of invoicing and the payment details. If you don't know those you shouldn't have signed it or started.

Find what the agreed payment timescales and methods are. If they aren't meeting them they could be in breach of contract. Find what you appetite for risk is. How long are you willing to work with no prospect of payments? When you reach that point tell them you won't be going in.... AND DON'T GO IN if it's not resolved. They will lose their commission if you don't so it's their interest to step up. You've got to play hardball here else they are just going to pull your pants down.

I can't help thinking you've helped this mess by not getting this sorted before starting.

[jayjay69]

This is the first thing that occurred to me when I read it. Log in to view the contract details? What exactly did you sign if you haven't seen the contract details? The contract will dictate the method of invoicing and the payment details. If you don't know those you shouldn't have signed it or started.

Find what the agreed payment timescales and methods are. If they aren't meeting them they could be in breach of contract. Find what you appetite for risk is. How long are you willing to work with no prospect of payments? When you reach that point tell them you won't be going in.... AND DON'T GO IN if it's not resolved. They will lose their commission if you don't so it's their interest to step up. You've got to play hardball here else they are just going to pull your pants down.

I can't help thinking you've helped this mess by not getting this sorted before starting.

Hi guys
Thanks for the honest response !
I agree I should have ensured these were in place before starting. TBH I finished the 2year contract , got another contract for 10 days which ended 1st June and a start date of 4th for the current one. The idea being to bank money ready for the ones at the end of June. In hindsight it is good to get the contracts especially in the job drought location I am currently in but too eager to get started.
So going through my email chain I can see a conformation of interview , an acceptance email for the role just after , a login to a portal for uploading of ID , references etc. Also on this mail is a line which states you will receive your Login ID/Password once your contract is available here you can view your contract details, timesheets, upload invoices etc...so I can see now that all these items are on this portal.
Think I have made a classic mistake here and should not even be on the client site at the moment as technically I have not seen my contract !!!!
Arrrgh ! Annoyed with myself !

[northernladuk]

No point asking if you got an IR35 check then I guess....

[jayjay69]

This is the first thing that occurred to me when I read it. Log in to view the contract details? What exactly did you sign if you haven't seen the contract details? The contract will dictate the method of invoicing and the payment details. If you don't know those you shouldn't have signed it or started.

Find what the agreed payment timescales and methods are. If they aren't meeting them they could be in breach of contract. Find what you appetite for risk is. How long are you willing to work with no prospect of payments? When you reach that point tell them you won't be going in.... AND DON'T GO IN if it's not resolved. They will lose their commission if you don't so it's their interest to step up. You've got to play hardball here else they are just going to pull your pants down.

I can't help thinking you've helped this mess by not getting this sorted before starting.

It looks like I signed a pre ID check ..
Got some more information on the start date email which states - Once your contract has been drawn up you will
be sent your logins and passwords so you can go online and to read through and approve the contract. This will also be the
process for any future extensions....
Well I think classic mistake should have read the small print first ! I have chased my account manager numerous times and also emailed their portal team as well with no response and no details sent to my personal mail. I am taking the advice on here from HugeWhale and am walking !
Many thanks so far to all who responded ...naïve mistake on my part !

[DeludedKitten]

The cleint wants to keep you. You want to stay. But the issue is that you aren't getting paid - so tell the client all of that and highlight that you cannot work at risk all the time.

You're not getting paid any time soon so make sure that you (a) aren't relying on this income to make ends meet (or more), and (b) you know what to do to chase that missing money when they don't pay you and you've left.

[jayjay69]

No point asking if you got an IR35 check then I guess....

That would be a no !