Temp contract - notice period?

wanttoleave

I am on a temporary contract which i started 4 weeks ago. The contract is through an agency and I'm paid weekly via an umbrella company. The only contract details I have from the agency are my 'offer' which was an email containing my start date, duration (6 months) and day rate.

Is there anything to stop me from ending this contract before the 6 months are up - am I tied to the 6 months? If not, what would I need to give in terms of notice?

TIA!

getmore4less

1week unless there is something else that says more you have missed.

wanttoleave

Thanks! There is definitely nothing else - all I have is the agency's email with the basic details I mentioned above. I've never been sent anything by post, signed anything etc. Didn't even have an interview.

JohnnyJ75

If you are paid via an umbrella company your contract of employment is with them. It is likely to say 1 days notice so that is the notice you or the other party are required to give.

Check the umbrella company docs as they are your employer.

getmore4less

JohnnyJ75 wrote: »

If you are paid via an umbrella company your contract of employment is with them. It is likely to say 1 days notice so that is the notice you or the other party are required to give.

Check the umbrella company docs as they are your employer.

AIUI Statutory minimum is 1 week allthough you can agree to vary, but not with a contractual term.

JohnnyJ75

getmore4less wrote: »

AIUI Statutory minimum is 1 week allthough you can agree to vary, but not with a contractual term.

Having worked through an umbrella at the end of last year I can confirm the notice required by them was one day. This is because the umbrella company do not liability for any outstanding obligations from the contractor or end user. What notice they write in for the "contractor/employee" is anyones guess. With mine it was one week from me.

m-bee

You need to check with the agency. Normally they give you documents when you register with them or they might be available on the website.
I work with a recruitment agency and I'm aware that I can give less than a week's notice.

InsideInsurance

It will vary as much as perm employee's contracts do.

With my current client everyone starts on a 2 week notice and goes to 4 weeks on renewal. At my previous client it was always 1 weeks notice

Notmyrealname

wanttoleave wrote: »

I am on a temporary contract which i started 4 weeks ago. The contract is through an agency and I'm paid weekly via an umbrella company. The only contract details I have from the agency are my 'offer' which was an email containing my start date, duration (6 months) and day rate.

Is there anything to stop me from ending this contract before the 6 months are up - am I tied to the 6 months? If not, what would I need to give in terms of notice?

TIA!

No. As they've done it through an umbrella company to save themselves employers NI and therefore count you as self employed, you can just pick up the phone now and say you no longer will be doing any work for them. As you're an employee of the umbrella company and not the agency, you don't have to give the agency a weeks notice.

They can't have their cake and eat it. Either they want to have their workers give them notice in which case they pay employers NI or they want to avoid employers NI in which case they have no rights as an employer.

Notmyrealname

m-bee wrote: »

You need to check with the agency. Normally they give you documents when you register with them or they might be available on the website.
I work with a recruitment agency and I'm aware that I can give less than a week's notice.

As they don't work for the agency but work for the umbrella company, they don't have to give even an hours notice.

patman99

Just because someone works for an umbrella company does not mean they are avoiding NI.
My former colleague spent the first 6 months working through an umbrella company. He paid full NI so he could full benefits if he lost the job. Where he saved was on the Tax front. He worked-out how much it cost in running-costs to use his car for work, then got the umbrella company to pay this as traveling expenses with the rest being paid as hourly rate.