Non-Paying Recruitment Agency
Here’s what to do when you have a non-paying recruitment agency. This is a contractor’s stroy.
I work for more than one client. So, I do a certain number of days in a week, and then I get the client to sign for them and send it of to the agency. I have accumulated about 23 days for a particular client, and he has signed off all the timesheets for them.
However, I haven‘t said what days I have worked when I have invoiced the agency. I haven‘t kept a record. It‘s just 2 days in one week and three in another.
Now the agency say that they can‘t pay me as I haven‘t given them a record of the days worked.
IT Contractor Comment
If the client has signed for the days, that means that he is willing to pay for them. This also means that the agency are able to bill for them.
It might be worth asking the agency if they have billed for them.
It might be worth asking the client if you can bill them directly if the agency won’t pay.
I would also worry a little that this might just be a ruse to delay paying you. They might be in some kind of financial trouble.
I suppose that it is all down to what your contract says. If it says that you have to state the days, then you have to state the days. If it doesn’t then the agency are breaking their contract by not paying you and then you can go direct.
Agency Breaking the Contract
I think that they have to pay within 10 days of receiving your invoice or they are breaking the contract.
There‘s also the possibility that the client is happy, but that the client is not invoicing the client directly but some other department like Purchasing or HR – and it is these departments who are kicking up a stink.
They should get their own house in order. Also, the fact that the client has signed might mean that they legally have to pay, as he has signed on behalf of the company – despite not following their procedures.
As you know in your heart, the simplest thing in the future is just to jot down the days and do it how they want.
I would find out which of the scenarios highlighted above has kicked in and take the appropriate action. If it is purely the agency being ‘bolshie‘ than you have the opportunity to dump them – if they have broken their contract with you.
That’s what to do when you get a non-paying recruitment agency.
