Breaking Contract of Employment?

SandyRamp

I will give a bit of background to my situation first :

Started work as a sub-contractor on a self employed basis with a big firm back in January. My contract is due to end mid Jan 2013. I have been told that renewal of my contract after that is in no way guaranteed due to them losing out on a few big contracts. They have taken on a lot of staff recently so any positions that do come up would be very competitive.

Basically today I got a call from another company offering me work on an initial 3 month contract, but more or less guaranteed for a least a year after that, and they are fairly sure there will be plenty of work after that also.
The work is closer to home, so it would mean less commuting and be a lot cheaper on travelling expenses. I wouldn't be self employed which is a BIG draw for me

Here is the problem : They want me to start ASAP, definitely before Xmas. I would much rather take my chances with this second job, but I am aware I would be in breach of my first contract. It seems a waste to throw away the chance of a better job for the sake of the 2 months left on my contract.

What are the implications of breaking such a contract? If anyone has been in this position or can offer any insight into where I should go from here it would be much appreciated!

Stheno

Have you not got a notice period written into your current contract?

antodeco

You should have a notice period in your contract, however, Id imagine that it would be 1 month. Are you registered as being self employed and being paid by them, or are you down as an employee of them?

tatli_lokma

do you have any leave accrued? This might be allowed to use in lieu of notice. Anyway, at this stage the company you are currently with should be preparing to give you notice of the intention to cancel your contract soon enough. They must give you at least a months written notice, so mid December they need to be advising you of what the situation is.

Bearing this in mind, I would approach HR in your current company. Explain the situation. Explain that you want to give the other company an answer as soon as possible out of courtesy. Ask them if they have had any decisions on the status of your contract renewal. Tell them you would appreciate it if they would try to advise you as soon as possible what the situation is. Any decent company will appreciate that no one wants to turn down a job when a few weeks later they might not get renewed. If they are anyway decent human beings they will understand your situation. They might even be releived to hear you have another position as this will mean they can happily not renew your current contract. If this is the case, then they might be very happy to discuss a compromise so that you can finish early and not hold you to your contract.

SandyRamp

There is nothing in my contract about how much notice I have to give them, I had assumed it would be one month alright.

I am registered as self-employed, pay VAT etc., this company hired me to work as a contractor with a Government Department that they have an agreement in place with. The Department paid them for my work and they pay me.

I cannot count any leave towards it due to being self-employed. My contract states that I must complete 220 days work within a 15 month period. I have calculated that if I do not take any days off, the earliest I can finish is mid-Jan, which is what I was initially aiming for.

I am paid 2 months in arrears also, so if I were to break my contract would they be entitled to withhold my salary for the previous 2 months?

The company I am with now is the biggest in the country in my industry, and any further work I get with other companies will probably require me to liaise with them from time to time so I don't want to leave things on a sour note with them.

Mrs OBumble

This isn't really a W&J problem - you're clearly not an employee, so employment laws etc don't apply.

If you'd like the thread moved over to Entrepreneurship and Business Management, then report this post and one of the mods will do it for you.

But really, I think you've answered your own question: you don't want to leave things on a sour note with your current main contractor.

OTHO, you could talk to them about whether they would like to break your contract - is there anything unexpected happened re project speed or work rates that might make them want a change?

SandyRamp

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

This isn't really a W&J problem - you're clearly not an employee, so employment laws etc don't apply.

If you'd like the thread moved over to Entrepreneurship and Business Management, then report this post and one of the mods will do it for you.

But really, I think you've answered your own question: you don't want to leave things on a sour note with your current main contractor.

OTHO, you could talk to them about whether they would like to break your contract - is there anything unexpected happened re project speed or work rates that might make them want a change?

Ok, have reported the post, thanks for that!

Peterdalkey

OP, you do not want to sour any relationship with a large company that you may neeed to work with on projects in the future. My best advice is to simply put your cards on the table. Go to the most senior person in the company that you have open access to and ask to be released from your contract. If you dont like the answer, go higher. I expect they will do the decent thing and help your career progress, especially if they are unlikely to have ongoing work for you. You will definitely earn the respect of all you deal with including your new employer and come out of it with your integrity intact.
Unless you ask you will never know, it may even suit them nicely given the downturn in business and orderbook.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Cheers

peter

Voltex

SandyRamp wrote: »

There is nothing in my contract about how much notice I have to give them, I had assumed it would be one month alright.

I am registered as self-employed, pay VAT etc., this company hired me to work as a contractor with a Government Department that they have an agreement in place with. The Department paid them for my work and they pay me.

I cannot count any leave towards it due to being self-employed. My contract states that I must complete 220 days work within a 15 month period. I have calculated that if I do not take any days off, the earliest I can finish is mid-Jan, which is what I was initially aiming for.

I am paid 2 months in arrears also, so if I were to break my contract would they be entitled to withhold my salary for the previous 2 months?

The company I am with now is the biggest in the country in my industry, and any further work I get with other companies will probably require me to liaise with them from time to time so I don't want to leave things on a sour note with them.

If your a self employed contractor, can you not get someone to complete the work on your behalf? If you complete the work faster than or in a more efficent manner is there a benefit to you in better profit? Do you have to provide all your own tools and premesis? Do you have full control over how you do your work?
If no is the answer those questions it sounds like a contract of service rather than for service. Ref(Henry Denny – v - Minister for Social Welfare 1998 1 IR 34).

AndyJB

Afternoon,
I would agree with the suggestions from Peterdalkey and Mrs OBumble, you need to talk with your current client and see if there's any possibility of a negotiated /clean exit or a decent extension.

Keep us posted.

Best of luck.