'I worked for a client for 12 months, under a 3 month contract which was renewed several times. 1 week before the next renewal was due a new manager took over and told me they didn’t need me any more. I asked about notice, and he told me to work the remaining week of my contract and that I’d be paid in lieu of notice for the remaining 3 weeks. When my last day came he told me they'd checked the contract and been told they didn't have to pay notice.'
I've seen the original contract, for 3 months from October 1997. You've told me that each time it was renewed, all that happened was that the agent faxed you a fresh schedule page, which you signed and faxed back.
Let's begin by considering the legal effect of that. There is an initial contract, which expires. One of the express terms of that contract says that it may be extended by the parties signing a renewal schedule. Even if there wasn't such an express term, then I think it is clear that where there is a contract for a period which expires, and the parties then sign a single sheet in the same form as the schedule to the original contract (except that the dates are different) then all the terms of the original contract which are not changed by the renewal schedule will continue to apply to the period of the renewal.
A copy of this renewal schedule with the agent's signature was faxed to you, you signed it, and faxed it back. That's perfectly satisfactory. By faxing the document to you in this way, the agency has made clear that it regards fax as an acceptable means of transmitting a signature, and by faxing the signed document back to them, so have you. There's no doubt that they received it, and no argument that each party signed. The fresh contract for each extension was made at the point when you faxed the signed renewal schedule back to the agency.
Your real questions I think are these: was the agency under any obligation to give you notice of the fact that it did not intend to offer a further renewal? And if not, was the position altered in any way by the conversation you had with the client when the new manager told you you'd be paid in lieu of notice?
In the absence of an express term in the contract saying that you would be entitled to notice if no renewal was to be offered, then I'm afraid it is clear that there is no right to such notice. I don't see any legal basis on which such a term might be implied into the contract. The fact that your contract may have previously been renewed three or thirty times does not give you - or them - any right to assume that it will be renewed again, and does not create any obligation on either party either to offer or to accept a further renewal. Nor does it create any obligation on the agency to give notice if no renewal is to be offered - or on you to do so, if an offered renewal is to be refused.
On the contrary, the contract means what it says; if it says you will work for 3 months ending on a particular date, and that either party may terminate it on four weeks notice, then if no notice is given, the contract will run for the whole three months. And then end. A bit like 'Alice through the looking glass', really - begin at the beginning; go on till you come to the end, and then stop!
Is the position altered in any way by the conversation you had with the new manager? We must bear in mind that this is the Client's manager, whereas your contract was with the agency. So unless the agency had lead us to believe (whether by express wording in the contract, or by expressly telling you so, or by their previous actions) that the Client had power to contractually bind them, we have to take it that the Client's representative had no power to bind the agency.
The remaining possibility to consider is whether or not the assurance by the Client's manager that you would be paid in lieu of notice created a legal obligation binding directly on the Client. There's no reason in theory why such a contract could not have been created. But here, I can’t see that one was - a contract requires clear mutual agreement on its essential terms, consideration, and mutual intent to create legal relations. I can't see that there were any other terms to this 'agreement' beyond the Client's statement that you would be paid in lieu of notice; 'Consideration' means that each party must put something into the deal, so to speak, and I don't see that there was anything you put into it beyond what you were already contractually bound to provide; and I doubt whether there was any mutual intent to create legal relations.
And finally, what does a statement that you'll 'be paid in lieu of notice' mean anyway? Probably that you'll be paid in lieu of such notice as you may be legally entitled to. And if you can't establish that you are entitled to notice in the first place, then that means you're not entitled to any payment in lieu either.
11th December 1998
I'd really appreciate your feedback on this FAQ - so mail me and tell me what you think of it, if it's been useful to you, or let me know of any specific problem you have where I may be able to help.
[Return to Roger Sinclair's 'Welcome' page]
No liability is accepted for any inaccuracy in the information in these pages - see full disclaimer
© Roger Sinclair egos@cix. co.uk 1998 - All rights reserved - see full copyright details
The information on these pages is provided free and for information only, and is provided 'as is'. Whilst believed to be correct, it is in no way comprehensive. It is provided for your interest only and is not intended to be relied on as formal legal advice. The posting of information on these pages is not intended to create a lawyer-client relationship, and you should not act or rely on this information without seeking professional advice. No liability is accepted therefore for any errors, or for any losses that may be incurred if it is relied on.
You may read these pages on-line, and download them to read later, for your own personal use.
This copyright notice must appear on every page that you print from here.
You must not redistribute these pages or any part of them in any form or medium without first obtaining my consent.
You are welcome to set up links to this website from others.
[Return to Roger Sinclair's 'Welcome' page]