horrendous Contract clause in my contract

dannyp123

Hi, I am working as contractor through an indian agency. unfortunately, at the time of signing contract I didnt read the contract terms & conditions as I never expected such horrendous clause in UK by any agencies or employer. As the clause at the end of contract if I work for same employer direct or indirect I will have to pay back 13 weeks worth of wages to the agency (lets call it agency A).
My problem is that my very same employer want to move our team including me to other agency lets say agency B because employer is not happy with agency A. But in my case I am bound with the above contract clause with agency A. The 13 weeks wages are coming close to 20k which is way too much...and I am not making this move it is the employer who is wanting to make the move to other agency

I am worried what to do and how avoid this slavery contract clause without paying anything

Thanks in advance
Danny

HappyMJ

I wouldn't worry about it. You will be with the same client. It's up to the client to pay the costs of moving the contractors to another agency.

Clients take on contractors as employees quite regularly. It's up to the client to buy the contractor from the agency. It's not your problem.

dannyp123

Thanks for your reply. since this issue is with me only, not with other contractors, so client or employer may not be happy to pay the huge chuck to agency. I am wondering should i talk to agency and ask them to waive off those clauses or what if I join new agency without telling the current agency?

BigAunty

My colleagues who are contractors in IT have faced similar issues. I don't think this is an entirely unusual or rare clause in a contract.

I don't feel it's necessarily the case that the risk lays with the client, if its a contract signed by the OP like the previous poster has suggested.

Basically, with my friends they have worked at a client site with a contract signed directly with a consulting company. They've then not wished to work with the consulting company anymore because the rate of pay is so low, the consulting company has employed who they regard as incompetent colleagues with fake qualifications/fake CVs who are not trained in the key technology they claimed to have, so they end up doing all the work while their 'colleagues' surf the net at work and spend all day texting their mates.

The client company is impressed with my friend and invites them to work with them again with the contracts issued via a recruitment company. Even though my colleague is no longer with the consultancy, and even if it is ages after they've worked at the client site, there is a clause in their contract that shafts them from returning.

The only way around it is to get permission from the consultancy to return back to the client, or ignore it and face the risks, AFAIK.

I think the OP needs to join a professional body for contractors who will provide expert advice on their contract, who have forums dedicated to discussing this type of contractual issue and who offer reviews of contracts before signing them, and legal protection and free legal advice to its members.

patman99

Op, what are the hances of the Agency finding-out that you have moved to a new Agency ?.

Does this term in your contract breach the Unfair Terms In Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 ?.

If it were me, I'd risk telling the Agency I would be leaving their employe on whatever date the switchover is planned for, and am moving to take up a role with a blue-chip employer.

Neither Agency 'B' nor the company who are contracting you will ever mention to Agency 'A' that you have switched over and unless you are dumb-enough to drop yourself in it by posting on FB or LinkedIn, then they will never find out.

I had a spell with a company via an agency last year. The Agency contract clearly stated that I could not work directley for the client until a year has passed from the end of my agency asignment at the client.

I re-joined the client as a direct employee les than 6 months after my asignment as an agency worker ended. The Agency has no idea I am back there.

agrinnall

Presumably you'll never take another contract without reading it first. While I don't think the clause is that unreasonable I would expect the client to cover the cost as it's being done at their behest - although there must be a chance that when they find out how much it'll cost them they'll just terminate you.

MataNui

Surprised none of your colleagues have this as its a pretty standard clause for IT contractors if you get your work through an agency.