Dispute over contract terms regarding lunch

[CYPER]

Deskside Engineer
Assignment details state: Hours of work: 09:00 – 17:00 - 30 minutes lunch - Monday to Friday

When were discussing the terms over the phone the agent never mentioned that lunch break is unpaid.

I have been working here for over a month now and got 5 separate timesheets approved for 5 weeks and only today I get a call telling me that I have been overpaid and apparently lunch break is unpaid. Now they want me to amend this week timesheet and input less hours to balance the over-payment.

Nowhere in the contract does it state this. Agents emailed me this bit from the terms:

"At the end of each week of an Assignment (or at the end of the Assignment where an Assignment is for a period of less than 1 week or is completed before the end of a week) the Intermediary shall deliver to the Employment Business the Employment Business' timesheet duly completed to indicate the number of hours worked by the Intermediary during the preceding week.

7.2. The timesheet must be signed by an authorised representative of the Hirer. The timesheet must be accompanied by an invoice from the Intermediary for the Intermediary Fees due from the Employment Business to the Intermediary for the hours worked in that week. Such invoice should bear the Intermediary's name, the name of the Agency Worker who provided the Intermediary"

When agreeing to the terms I was genuinely expecting that I will be getting paid for the full 8 hours daily, so told them that unless they can provide proof this was agreed either in writing or verbally unfortunately I cannot agree to a change in the terms post factum.

What are my options now?

[pscont]

Deskside Engineer
Assignment details state: Hours of work: 09:00 – 17:00 - 30 minutes lunch - Monday to Friday

When were discussing the terms over the phone the agent never mentioned that lunch break is unpaid.

I have been working here for over a month now and got 5 separate timesheets approved for 5 weeks and only today I get a call telling me that I have been overpaid and apparently lunch break is unpaid. Now they want me to amend this week timesheet and input less hours to balance the over-payment.

Nowhere in the contract does it state this. Agents emailed me this bit from the terms:



When agreeing to the terms I was genuinely expecting that I will be getting paid for the full 8 hours daily, so told them that unless they can provide proof this was agreed either in writing or verbally unfortunately I cannot agree to a change in the terms post factum.

What are my options now?

Do you get paid by day or by the hour?
If it by day, it is for normal business day unless otherwise started. That's 7.5 hours a day. 9-17 is 8 hours less 30 mins break, so all good.
If they pay you by the hour, you charge them for 7.5 hours a day. In this case lunch break in not paid for.

[Contractor101101]

I've only ever been paid by the day and I've never had set working hours but I thought 'hours worked' would not include lunch?

[northernladuk]

Odd one this. I think most of us work on a PWD so don't need to dig in to the details of lunch and many of us eat at our desks so making it even less of an issue. I don't think there is a right answer to this one although looking back there seems to be more on the side of lunch breaks aren't paid. Some other interesting threads for you...

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...rly-rates.html

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ch-breaks.html

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...s-madness.html

Personally I can't help thinking that if you are on an hourly rate then you get paid for the work you do. Not lunch breaks. When you are on a day rate it's less important.

One thing I would certainly NOT be doing is amending timesheets to fudge the payments. This is your one source approval that you did work. You may need it in the future.

If they want to change payments and hours the do it via a separate mechanism like you providing a credit note and paying it back.

How are you engaged? Via LTD or Umbrella? I would tend to think Umbrella as it's going to be difficult to have a deskside engineer outside IR35 isn't it?

[Contractor101101]

Agree that fiddling with the timesheet is unlikely to be a good option.

[MonkeysUncle]

As above do not fudge time sheets.
I would argue that the timesheet has been approved by the client with the hours stated. If lunch is unpaid then the client should have seen this when reviewing your time sheet and raised it on the first week.
Going forward you have been informed and can fill in time sheets correctly (or carry on arguing re contract wording or lack thereof)

[CYPER]

It's a hourly rate.
The agent called me again and kept apologizing and saying I need to amend my timesheet for last week.
I feel like I have been cheated and they expect that an apology will fix things.

I even asked him if he can provide a recording of our conversations, where he says that lunch break is unpaid, but he keeps stating that it is 7.5 paid hours and at this point try to reason with him is futile.

[simes]

How about meeting them half way.

Tell the agency they will have to foot the bill to date. But you will amend going forward.

[jmo21]

Is total hours not mentioned?

I'm not sure why would expect to get paid for time not worked when on an hourly rate?

Seems obvious to me, but then so does putting total hours and specifically calling out lunch is unpaid in the contract, and the timesheet/invoice approver noticing in week 1 that the hours/invoice value were wrong.

[CYPER]

Is total hours not mentioned?

I'm not sure why would expect to get paid for time not worked when on an hourly rate?

Seems obvious to me, but then so does putting total hours and specifically calling out lunch is unpaid in the contract, and the timesheet/invoice approver noticing in week 1 that the hours/invoice value were wrong.

No, total hours is not written anywhere. Just

Hours of work: 09:00 – 17:00 - 30 minutes lunch - Monday to Friday

which I understand as working hours.
I am expecting to get paid for 2 reasons: I was never told otherwise and so genuinely thought I do and because I actually work while I eat as a lot of my work is keyboard/mouse based.
If unpaid lunch was ever mentioned in the terms or an email or over the phone I would be arguing over it now.

I will speak with the client (timesheet approver) and see what he says about this. I have a feeling he is not approving anything as I submit my hours on the agency website and the agent told me he approves them.
Also contract states that I should get paid regardless if the client pays the agency.