One outstanding payment two Defendants?

[MasterCoder]

I am an IT contractor, I write code. I signed an NDA with the client so they say all the work I did belongs to them and was one of the reasons they did not pay, they said that I did not deliver finished work even though the contract was terminated before I had finished the work. They also took offence over me not send them all the code I had worked on immediat after the contract was terminated.

One other thing, I am putting together a bundle for the hearing, whats the latest I can send it to all parties.

Thanks
Mark

Hi Mark

This is a good starting point:

1. What was the nature of the contract? Was it a fixed term engagement or was it based on a deliverable?
2. What was your working arrangement? Two things, did you work through a PSC or via Umbrella? Were you required to go into an office to work or was it fully remote?
3. What were your payment terms? Typically a contractor is on a day rate payable fortnightly or monthly? Or were you paid when the work was delivered?

I ask because it's rare for agencies to put people into roles on the basis you describe; that you had all the code and were expected to send it over to the client. Usually, you'd be writing code and saving it to their private repository and running/testing it on their hardware.

These are the important questions.

FYI - I'm a contract developer, been around the block. I can probably give you some good advice if you give me more details.

[UrbanGoose]

Hi Mark

This is a good starting point:

1. What was the nature of the contract? Was it a fixed term engagement or was it based on a deliverable?
2. What was your working arrangement? Two things, did you work through a PSC or via Umbrella? Were you required to go into an office to work or was it fully remote?
3. What were your payment terms? Typically a contractor is on a day rate payable fortnightly or monthly? Or were you paid when the work was delivered?

I ask because it's rare for agencies to put people into roles on the basis you describe; that you had all the code and were expected to send it over to the client. Usually, you'd be writing code and saving it to their private repository and running/testing it on their hardware.

These are the important questions.

FYI - I'm a contract developer, been around the block. I can probably give you some good advice if you give me more details.

Thanks MasterCoder

I run via a LTD and the contract was a fixed term of 6 months.
I was required to be onsite for two weeks then remote, this changed and i was forced to be onsite until the early termination of the contract.
I was on a day rate and payment terms where weekly on sign off of a timesheet by the end client.
I commited to my own repo as the company had not set up an internal repo until I was forced to work onsite at which point I was granted access to the internal repo

My personal thoughts are that I was hired without IT consent and for the most part ignored by IT until it became apparent I would be on their budget at which point I was bought on board and then dispensed with as quickly as possible.

I am dont care that much about the quick end to the project but then wrangling between the clients IT department, its Management and the Recruitment Agent means that my last few days did not get signed off and the Agent looks to of struck a deal with the client so they did not pursue payment and could replace me with no fallout.

My main fear is that a Judge will question why I am taking both the Agent and End client to court as my contract was with the Agent.

[MasterCoder]

Thanks MasterCoder

I run via a LTD and the contract was a fixed term of 6 months.
I was required to be onsite for two weeks then remote, this changed and i was forced to be onsite until the early termination of the contract.
I was on a day rate and payment terms where weekly on sign off of a timesheet by the end client.
I commited to my own repo as the company had not set up an internal repo until I was forced to work onsite at which point I was granted access to the internal repo

OK, so you're a PSC contractor. I should have asked what your notice period is! I'm guessing a week? There's a saying amongst the old timers, 'your contract is only as good as your notice'. The speed at which you can be terminated can be a little frightening and I can promise you that the agents and end clients will do everything in their power to avoid paying your notice. I was once given notice the day before we went on a Christmas break and because the office was shut for the next 7 days they didn't need to pay my notice. In any case, don't put too much into how quickly you've been let go, that's the very nature of the contracting beast. Not sure if you're new to this contracting game but you get more attuned to the way agents behave and can sniff out the bad contracts.

My personal thoughts are that I was hired without IT consent and for the most part ignored by IT until it became apparent I would be on their budget at which point I was bought on board and then dispensed with as quickly as possible.

In order to have even got you on site, the agency would have needed a purchase order from the end-client. Remember, they bill over and above what you bill the agent and they will need paperwork from the client to say categorically they want to hire someone. Even if it were true, your contract is with the agency and that is for them to handle with their client.

I am dont care that much about the quick end to the project but then wrangling between the clients IT department, its Management and the Recruitment Agent means that my last few days did not get signed off and the Agent looks to of struck a deal with the client so they did not pursue payment and could replace me with no fallout.

Just start the dunning procedure, send the agent emails and letters, (all letters recorded delivery), stating that you expect the invoice to be paid for the week you are owed. Give them 28 days on the first email/letter. Follow up with a reminder on the 14 day period and then again 7 days before it's due. Make sure that you emphasise that you are prepared to go to court and hopefully they'll cough up.

My main fear is that a Judge will question why I am taking both the Agent and End client to court as my contract was with the Agent.

You would only take the agency to court. You have nothing with the end client and attempting to take them to court as well would make you look a bit silly. The agency is your only point of contact and the only party you should mention in any claim.

Can you:

1) Prove you were onsite doing the work?
2) Prove you weren't given the opportunity to finish the work?

I assume you have emails etc, that state you need to start going to the clients site? That will show, at least partially, there was expectation on their behalf to have you on site and therefore show you were engaged. A time sheet is only designed to say you were in on those hours, they cannot with hold signing a time sheet if they want to say you aren't doing work correctly for example.

I think ultimately you might want to consider the amount outstanding vs the cost of enforcing payment through the courts. Do you have any insurance via your LTD to cover legal expenses?

[UrbanGoose]

Thanks for your input Mastercoder. I see it as both the Recruiter and End Client being complicit in not paying and have started small claims against them, I see it as the Judge taking the view on who is responsible. We will see how it goes.