Client owes £5k

Zazen999

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Yes but these terms are with the client not the staff. You cant enter into contracts that restrict them without their consent which arguably you did.

Did you have them agree to terms barring them from working outwith your agency for a client unless it was done formally through you.

If not I would suggest your terms potentially wouldnt stand up in court.

It's the client he wants to invoice, not the candidates....

Weirdlittleman

Zazen999 wrote: »

It's the client he wants to invoice, not the candidates....

Yes but his terms potentially restrict the candidates which I suspect could be a stumbling point. Would you be happy if you found out you were out of a job due to terms and conditions between your employer and a third party which involved you? I guess not.

Anytime I have known agencies they make the candidates sign terms and conditions too so that both the candidate and employer agree to the fees. I suspect this is to avoid any disputes.

Just by having the term in the contract doesnt make it legal or enforceable.

sorryitsme

Are you a member of any support organisations in your agencies line of work?. My mother owned a care agency 56 years ago and she was a member of UKHCA, who would advise and support her through any problems. If you are, they would be able to advise you what avenues you could take.

sorryitsme

whoops i meant 6 yrs ago. she not even 56 yet!

Zazen999

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Yes but his terms potentially restrict the candidates which I suspect could be a stumbling point. Would you be happy if you found out you were out of a job due to terms and conditions between your employer and a third party which involved you? I guess not.

Anytime I have known agencies they make the candidates sign terms and conditions too so that both the candidate and employer agree to the fees. I suspect this is to avoid any disputes.

Just by having the term in the contract doesnt make it legal or enforceable.

He's not restricting the candidates from working there though is he, just that he wants his 'finder fee'; which is how recruitment companies operate.

sorryitsme

We encountered this quite a lot when we supplied catering staff to schools. You have to weigh up if there will be potential ongoing work in the future. We lost about 20 staff to schools, but just charged a nominal fee of £350 (against our T&C finders fee)

We ended up having ongoing work for the next 5 years (good reference for tenders etc) and in the long run made more than if we charged the full fee and they never used us again.

bap98189

I would expect that the Email coupled to the fact these people started working for the company will be enough evidence to convince a court that the company agreed to the terms of the contract. Keep that Email along with copies of any other correspondence you have had with them..

As others have said, you need to invoice them first. Then when it is not paid, you need to send it again with a letter requesting immediate payment. Then finally you need to send it a third time, with a letter stating if it is not paid within 28 days you will start court action to recover the debt. Ensure all of the above are sent by recorded delivery and keep the POD's. Finally, you may have to instigate court action.

Weirdlittleman

Zazen999 wrote: »

He's not restricting the candidates from working there though is he, just that he wants his 'finder fee'; which is how recruitment companies operate.

He is because he is in essense saying that those people cant work for a firm unless he agrees to it. If they signed terms to this effect then fair enough. If not I suspect they would have a good case to fight it.

As I said earlier this is precisely why most agencies ensure the candidates also sign up to terms.

I would be very surprised if this is enforceable in a situation where the candidates both claim they resigned from the agency and approached the company independently.

In those circumstances the finders fee imo could well be deemed unreasonable and invalid in absence of a term which prevents the candidates doing so.

However nothing to stop him invoicing them for the finder fee. I would just strongly suggest before he goes any further he gets proper legal advice to clarify the legalities as it involves third parties and not just him and the firm

DVardysShadow

Weirdlittleman, could you go back and edit the quote in your post #11 please? OP was unwise to have included his T&C's and has edited them out - perhaps you would do the same?

harry112

Hello again,

I have since visited the client and handed in all invoices due. I also managed to make a little video clip of the clocking in cards and the signing out book which included the names my two candidates and the date. I have spoken to the client and they said they have processed the invoices for payment next week, however, they have not processed the £5k invoice because they will be forwarding this onto their legal team. They also asked for a letter detailing more information about this particular invoice. I briefly explained that the candidates were being employed on a permanent basis which breeched our ts and cs, the person I was speaking to is in charge of the finance, she did not disagree with me but just said that she wants it in writing. I also have this conversation recorded.

I was thinking of sending them a letter explaining why they are being charged, also a copy of the Ts and Cs with the breeched points highlited and a print out of the email confirmation in which the Client agreed to the Ts and Cs. Is there anything else I should send? I will also be sending this via recorded delivery. Is there a templated letter I could use?

Thanks