Employer must buy me out from an agency??

lotto

I hope this is in the correct place, but here goes.

I decided to go back to work and joined an agency. I was sent by them to a school to help with after school care for 2hrs an evening during term time to cover for sickness.
I loved it and still keep in touch with the girl who ran it, even though it was six months ago. I heard that the job has now become permanent and they are looking to advertise. The problem I have is that the school has been told that if I was to be given the job, they would have to pay a considerable amount to the agency, (£thousands)
Even though I am currently not working for them. Is this correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bogalot

There is normally a tie in period after contracts where the employer cannot employ you directly without paying an introduction fee. I'd be surprised if that was in the thousands for the situation you describe. The employer will have a copy of their contract so they should know the detail.

Guest101

depends on the contract between school and agency - this is sometimes the case.


Slightly different but I was 'bought out' for approx. £2k, but I was transferring directly from agency to employer. Employer thought it was worth it

engineer_amy

It could be partly correct - Agencies will state a re-engagement clause in their contract with the company. Most clauses will be along the lines of "If the temporary worker introduced by the agency is re-engaged by the company within 6 months from the date of the last assignment, we will charge a fee of £x" The fee is usually a percentage of the annual salary of the position. Which, realistically, if the position is only 10 hours per week, the fee is only likely to be a few hundred pounds


Some agencies will extend this to a year or more, and if the company has signed the terms and conditions then there's not much they can do about it, the agency will charge a fee to the company - BUT ONLY IF THEY ARE AWARE OF IT. Will the agency know if the school has employed you? Will you tell the agency? Will the school?

bargainbetty

If the agency introduced you to the employer, then they are entitled to a recruitment fee for between 6-12 months, depending on the terms of their contract with the employer. This is standard practice for agencies, and the employer will need to check the terms to see how long the agreed period lasts.

For some temp workers it is six months, for permanent roles it is often 12 months. I was once told by an agency that even though I had been put forward for a different role by a different agency, the fact that he had sent my CV in three months earlier meant that he would claim the full introduction fee. As a result, the employer told me they wouldn't call me in for risk of having to pay two fees if I was hired.

The fee is normally a percentage of your annual salary, so it can be thousands, depending on your wage.

Guest101

bargainbetty wrote: »

If the agency introduced you to the employer, then they are entitled to a recruitment fee for between 6-12 months, depending on the terms of their contract with the employer. This is standard practice for agencies, and the employer will need to check the terms to see how long the agreed period lasts.

For some temp workers it is six months, for permanent roles it is often 12 months. I was once told by an agency that even though I had been put forward for a different role by a different agency, the fact that he had sent my CV in three months earlier meant that he would claim the full introduction fee. As a result, the employer told me they wouldn't call me in for risk of having to pay two fees if I was hired.

The fee is normally a percentage of your annual salary, so it can be thousands, depending on your wage.

Short sighted by the employer though, engaging two agencies...

lotto

Thank you! I shall do some homework.

xapprenticex

The buyout is usually around monthly wages times by 2. I doubt its £2k for you because you did little hours unless their buyout is based on if you was working F/T.

ACG

The employer needs to read the contract they signed with the agency.
There is nothing you need to do.

Personally I would argue that if there has been a 6 month break between you leaving the temp job and now being taken on permanently there is an argument the agency is entitled to nothing.

I remember I worked for Royal mail as a temp about 14 yeas ago, would the agency be entitled to some commission now if RM took me on permanently? Of course not, so it is just a case of finding out where that cut off point is.

steampowered

It is very common for agency contracts to contain a term which require the employer to pay a sum of money if they hire an agency worker within a certain period of time after the assignment.

This is in there to stop employers engaging an agency to find agency workers, and then not paying the agency by asking the agency workers to sign separate contracts.

I'm not an HR expert, but the agency contracts I've seen have tended to have a period of around 3 months. I'm a bit surprised that the agency would still be entitled to anything after six months.

There is a very simple way to resolve this. The school simply needs to read a copy of the contract they signed with the agency, or the T&Cs it received at the time. That will state what the cut-off time is.