Contract Renewal via email

[mky21]

Hi,

I run a Ltd Company and contract as an IT Consultant through an agency, My contract is due to expire on the 31st March, and the agency sent me this email :-

"Hope you are well. I believe an extension has been offered until 28th August. Is this acceptable to you? "

I replied "hold fire" at first as I had another offer on the table .. then when things started to take longer than I wanted to wait I replied :-

"Looks like red tape is hindering things, I have told them I would only be interested if they got the paperwork on the table this week and it looks like they wont be ready that quickly, so I will accept the extension here."

And the response I got was :-

"Ok, no problem. I will let <COMPANY NAME> know that you are accepting the extension, and will send across the paperwork as normal. "

I now do not want to extend, so informed the company this today, to which they responded "but, you have already renewed" .. Which I am pretty sure I have not seeing as I have not had any paperwork to sign.

So what legal state am I in ? Can an email be used as a contractural agreement seeing as you could never be 100% sure who actually sent it and it does not contain any signature .. plus the fact that if the agency were to use an email as the agreement (they always send out 2 x copies of the contract with contract dates for me to sign and send back) then wouldnt they need to inform me of that, and also, the wording is "I -->> beleive <<--"

Just need to know where I stand before argueing the toss with them ..

Cheers
MarkT

[pmeswani]

Hi,

I run a Ltd Company and contract as an IT Consultant through an agency, My contract is due to expire on the 31st March, and the agency sent me this email :-

"Hope you are well. I believe an extension has been offered until 28th August. Is this acceptable to you? "

I replied "hold fire" at first as I had another offer on the table .. then when things started to take longer than I wanted to wait I replied :-

"Looks like red tape is hindering things, I have told them I would only be interested if they got the paperwork on the table this week and it looks like they wont be ready that quickly, so I will accept the extension here."

And the response I got was :-

"Ok, no problem. I will let <COMPANY NAME> know that you are accepting the extension, and will send across the paperwork as normal. "

I now do not want to extend, so informed the company this today, to which they responded "but, you have already renewed" .. Which I am pretty sure I have not seeing as I have not had any paperwork to sign.

So what legal state am I in ? Can an email be used as a contractural agreement seeing as you could never be 100% sure who actually sent it and it does not contain any signature .. plus the fact that if the agency were to use an email as the agreement (they always send out 2 x copies of the contract with contract dates for me to sign and send back) then wouldnt they need to inform me of that, and also, the wording is "I -->> beleive <<--"

Just need to know where I stand before argueing the toss with them ..

Cheers
MarkT

If what you are saying on this forum is correct and accurate, you have not officially accepted the extension.

Email confirmation is legally binding as well as postal and verbal agreements.

However, if you insist that you will only accept the extension once you have received the paperwork for you to sign and return by this week, you have not deemed to have accepted the extension. Forward your email to the agent and ask them to state where you have stated that you have accepted the extension. Advise them that you will not set foot on site after the end of the current contract until you have signed the contract and returned it to them.

However, if the contract is satisfactory prior to returning the signed document and the deadline has passed, you can verbally or electronically accept the extension and return the signed document back to the agency for their records.

However, I am sure someone will offer better advice.

[centurian]

Just need to know where I stand before argueing the toss with them ..

Cheers
MarkT

All IMHO....

E-mail communications are legal and you can be held to an agreement based upon the content.

Now you can argue that your agreement is "subject to contract" i.e. - you need to review the exact details of the contract before confirming.

The difficulty here is that it is an extension, so you presumably already know the wording of the contract.

Now if they sent through a contract with slightly different wording, you could state that the contract was not...err.. consumated.

However, if they send you a new contract with the exact same wording as your existing contract, that's harder to wriggle out of.

seeing as you could never be 100% sure who actually sent it and it does not contain any signature

Also, IMHO...

Proving the veracity of an electronic communication is completely separate from the underlying legality of the e-mail.

I.e. If you can show that you never sent the e-mail, then you're off the hook, but you can't say that it isn't enforceable just because e-mails can be faked/intercepted.

[FarmerPalmer]

"Looks like red tape is hindering things, I have told them I would only be interested if they got the paperwork on the table this week and it looks like they wont be ready that quickly, so I will accept the extension here."

It looks to me like you have accepted the extension, in writing.

[centurian]

It looks to me like you have accepted the extension, in writing.

Yeah, was this the exact wording you used.

"so I looks like I will accept the extension here"
"so I will probabaly accept the extension here"
"so I will have to accept the extension here"

All have a degree of ambiguity, but "so I will accept the extension here" seems pretty clear as to what you mean.

Of course, whether the agency would really try and pursue you for this is another matter. Clearly their first play is to try and get you to just shrug and accept it.

[pmeswani]

It looks to me like you have accepted the extension, in writing.

Oops, I missed that line.

[Turion]

OK, so let's assume he has legally accepted the extension. This is what he can do to get out of it:

1) Use your sub clause

2) Give immediate notice. If he has a notice clause, then use it now. Client probably won't want him to stay if he's going soon anyway.

3) Clients don't like reluctant workers. Show the attitude and they'll show you the door.

4) Go sick, hurt your back, get a sick note for a month and don't turn up. Client will send get well card with notice of termination

5) If you're a drama queen, when the big knobs do their weekly trawl around the office, jump on your desk, expose your crown jewels and hoot like a coot.

etc, etc ....Basically, if you wanna leave, then leave.

[cojak]

Never reply to extension email unless you definitely want it.

You don't have to do or say anything until the last day.

[AlfredJPruffock]

Would it really be so terrible to stay ?

Ive never turned down extensions - I always feel a little flattered.

Better the Devil you know ....

[Turion]

Would it really be so terrible to stay ?.

If you're cut out for something better then yes. 10 years ago I could have stayed in a nice £15/hr support role. Instead, I left and during a challenging 4 years learnt java and then got into SAP.

I never accepted a renewal unless it advanced my cause. I never let a few months on the bench deflect me, never let agents, clients and other numpties stop me. You see, I saw what people were earning doing SAP, knew I could be doing it and got there. Been doing it 6 years now.. Never looked back