Terminating Consultancy Agreement with my client due to breach of signed terms

BichonPlease

Hi Everyone,

I am currently working as a Sole Trader with a client who I am offering consultancy services to as a contractor, We have a signed agreement that states I will have autonomy over my working days, hours and methods, however the client is essentially treating me like an employee, telling me when to be in the office, how many days a week, times etc to make sure I match what the current permanent team are doing, but this is beyond to collaborate as when I try to challenge this, the client is very hostile and aggressive - essentially a take it or leave it scenario.

I believe they are falsely misrepresenting my self-employed status by treating me like an employee whilst not having to pay Pension Contribution, Sick Pay, Annual Leave etc whilst enforcing me to do a number of things in line with the permanent employees. The client has also been micromanaging everything I do, highly critical and at times borderline abusive, and I want to end the agreement.

The agreement states 2 weeks notice if I wish to terminate, which I understand, however my question really is - Can I terminate with immediate affect/lesser notice as quite honestly I can't stomach another day working for them due to the anxiety and fear of culture they operate within the team, I just need to draw a line and call it a day for my sanity.

I've been recommended to give my 2 weeks notice to terminate, and then state I am unavailable for the next 2 weeks and be done with it - For context the agreement doesn't contain any agreed days or times and it doesn't state I would need to offer a replacement to complete the work if needed.

I have contacted a solicitor who would be happy to issue a termination letter to my client based on the evidence I've sent, however I don't feel as though £1200 plus VAT is something I can afford for the sake of 14 days if I can in theory just be unavailable due to illness, change of circumstances etc.

The situation is causing me a lot of stress, and any advice would be appreciated. 

tacpot12

Yes, you can terminate for breech of contract. You don't need a solicitor to write/issue a termination letter. 

You need to consider when you last got paid and when you will be paid again. 

If you terminate the contract, you need to make sure you use language which aligned with your status as a supplier (don't use terms like "I resign"). You only need to say that "In line with the termination clause in our contract, I am terminating the contract with two weeks notice. I confirm that I am unavailable to attend your premises or complete any work for you for the next two weeks."

However, before you do so, I would have a think about whether you were mislead as to what the expectation were when you were interviewed. Did you agree to be in the office 5 days a week? Did you mention that you had other clients who you would need to do work for so that your availability was not full-time? 

I've worked as a contractor twice and was happy to walk the tightrope between what HMRC expected from a contractor and how the client wanted to manage me because the rate was attractive. Part of running your own business is that you have to manage your reputation in your industry. 

DullGreyGuy

What does the contract state?

Normally a breach of contract results in you being able to claim for damages that the breached caused however terms can, for example, say a material breach not rectified within X days of notification of the breach then gives the other party a right to terminate without notice. 

There may be easier routes however if your contract gives you the right to decline work etc then just hand the notice in and decline work during the notice period. 

As you are self employed IR35 isnt an issue, your day rate as a consultant no doubt reflects the lack of matters like pensions and sick days, so is having to go to team meetings etc really that bad? Sounds like they arent being that critical of your work otherwise they;d be getting you to repeat it at your own expense. 

Grumpy_chap

BichonPlease said:

Hi Everyone,

I am currently working as a Sole Trader with a client who I am offering consultancy services to as a contractor, We have a signed agreement that states I will have autonomy over my working days, hours and methods, however the client is essentially treating me like an employee, telling me when to be in the office, how many days a week, times etc to make sure I match what the current permanent team are doing, but this is beyond to collaborate as when I try to challenge this, the client is very hostile and aggressive - essentially a take it or leave it scenario.

I believe they are falsely misrepresenting my self-employed status by treating me like an employee whilst not having to pay Pension Contribution, Sick Pay, Annual Leave etc whilst enforcing me to do a number of things in line with the permanent employees. The client has also been micromanaging everything I do, highly critical and at times borderline abusive, and I want to end the agreement.

The agreement states 2 weeks notice if I wish to terminate, which I understand, however my question really is - Can I terminate with immediate affect/lesser notice as quite honestly I can't stomach another day working for them due to the anxiety and fear of culture they operate within the team, I just need to draw a line and call it a day for my sanity.

I've been recommended to give my 2 weeks notice to terminate, and then state I am unavailable for the next 2 weeks and be done with it - For context the agreement doesn't contain any agreed days or times and it doesn't state I would need to offer a replacement to complete the work if needed.

I have contacted a solicitor who would be happy to issue a termination letter to my client based on the evidence I've sent, however I don't feel as though £1200 plus VAT is something I can afford for the sake of 14 days if I can in theory just be unavailable due to illness, change of circumstances etc.

The situation is causing me a lot of stress, and any advice would be appreciated. 

You really need to consider the long term beyond two weeks.

You can give two weeks' notice (to end at the month end) and then say you are not available in the interim two weeks, assuming the contract allows you to do that.
It will jeopardise any future work with the same company or, possibly, the same individuals in a different company (people do ted to move around).
It may mean you do not get paid any outstanding pay that is due.
The Client organisation may try to recover any losses they incur from you, if they consider you have breached the contract.

Can you give the two weeks' notice of terminating the contract, which will neatly take you to month end 31st March, or the Client might be just as happy with the last Friday of March if you ask them.  Then suffer the situation for a fortnight, all the while ensuring a professional handover of ongoing workflow?

That might mean some short term pain, but longer term stress might be higher if you just walk away without the proper notice.

martindow

I tend to agree with Grumpy_chap as it would be in your interest to leave on as good as terms as possible.  It will feel very different working a few days knowing that the situation is coming to an end.  You are not tied to specific days so, if you find it intolerable even with an end date, you still have the option of making yourself unavailable for the remaining days.