Client in breach of contract?

[fiju]

So I'm currently on a short term contract in between jobs, I'm over a month in since signing the contract. I've been living close to the job site, and the employer has agreed to cover accommodation costs (via reimbursement) sun-thurs nights.

The exact arrangement hasn't been mentioned in the contract, however it is mentioned verbally in emails between us before the contract was issued.

Me: "After looking into hotels, it appears that £40 will not cover one nights stay. Travelodge's website gives me a figure of £302.50 for five nights stay (Sun-Fri)."

Client:" If Air BnB is more practical, please feel free to stay in one of those, and make a note of the costs on your timesheet to me. I'll put £50 per night on the Contract, but the lower the better please."



I got a message from my employer on Saturday stating that he would not cover the Sunday night.

"Please note that accommodation will only be reimbursed for working days and not for nights that fall on weekends in preparation for the coming week. On Monday I'd expect you to be travelling down to site and starting work and not staying on the Sunday in preparation. If you choose to do this then you'll need to cover those costs. The 7 nights sent through for the last period of work should really have been 5 nights."

At no point has this been mentioned, and neither is it in my contract of employment.



A quote from the employment contract (clients name has been starred) :

"Contractor shall be responsible for all expenses incurred while performing services under
this Agreement. This includes vehicles, truck, and other travel expenses; vehicle
maintenance and repair costs; vehicle and other license fees and permits; insurance
premiums; road, fuel, and other taxes; fines; radio, pager, or cell phone expenses; meals;
and all salary, expenses, and other compensation paid to employees or contract personnel
the Contractor hires to complete the work under this Agreement.
OR
Client shall reimburse Contractor for the following expenses that are attributable directly
to work performed under this Agreement:
• Hotel Room Cost (excluding room service charges) to a maximum of £50 per
night.
Contractor shall submit an itemized statement of Contractor's expenses including all
receipts. Client shall pay Contractor within 30 days after receipt of each statement."


And to top it off, he has now told me that I was required to buy my own stationery. This is first time that this has been mentioned.
He told me that contractors are required to supply all tools and equipment for the job, and that he shouldn't even be providing me with what's been provided already.

The contract states:

"7. Vehicles and Equipment
Contractor will furnish all vehicles, equipment, tools, and materials used to provide the
services required by this Agreement. Client will not require Contractor to rent or
purchase any equipment, product, or service as a condition of entering into this
Agreement.
Any equipment supplied by the Client for use by the Contractor to deliver their services
in this agreement shall be returned upon completion of services to *****. Any loss of equipment through fault of the Contractor shall be reimbursed to
the Client and be deducted from invoiced amounts. If this Contract is terminated before
completion and or the first invoice/timesheet is submitted, ***** reserves the right to request compensation from the Contractor for any loss of equipment that occurs during this period that is owned by *****."


So I'm not too sure where I stand. Could someone cast an eye over this and tell me if he's in breach of contract and how well this would hold up legally?

Thanks.

[Mandat]

fiju said:

So I'm currently on a short term contract in between jobs, I'm over a month in since signing the contract. I've been living close to the job site, and the employer has agreed to cover accommodation costs (via reimbursement) sun-thurs nights.

The exact arrangement hasn't been mentioned in the contract, however it is mentioned verbally in emails between us before the contract was issued.

Me: "After looking into hotels, it appears that £40 will not cover one nights stay. Travelodge's website gives me a figure of £302.50 for five nights stay (Sun-Fri)."

Client:" If Air BnB is more practical, please feel free to stay in one of those, and make a note of the costs on your timesheet to me. I'll put £50 per night on the Contract, but the lower the better please."



I got a message from my employer on Saturday stating that he would not cover the Sunday night.

"Please note that accommodation will only be reimbursed for working days and not for nights that fall on weekends in preparation for the coming week. On Monday I'd expect you to be travelling down to site and starting work and not staying on the Sunday in preparation. If you choose to do this then you'll need to cover those costs. The 7 nights sent through for the last period of work should really have been 5 nights."

At no point has this been mentioned, and neither is it in my contract of employment.



A quote from the employment contract (clients name has been starred) :

"Contractor shall be responsible for all expenses incurred while performing services under
this Agreement. This includes vehicles, truck, and other travel expenses; vehicle
maintenance and repair costs; vehicle and other license fees and permits; insurance
premiums; road, fuel, and other taxes; fines; radio, pager, or cell phone expenses; meals;
and all salary, expenses, and other compensation paid to employees or contract personnel
the Contractor hires to complete the work under this Agreement.
OR
Client shall reimburse Contractor for the following expenses that are attributable directly
to work performed under this Agreement:
• Hotel Room Cost (excluding room service charges) to a maximum of £50 per
night.
Contractor shall submit an itemized statement of Contractor's expenses including all
receipts. Client shall pay Contractor within 30 days after receipt of each statement."


And to top it off, he has now told me that I was required to buy my own stationery. This is first time that this has been mentioned.
He told me that contractors are required to supply all tools and equipment for the job, and that he shouldn't even be providing me with what's been provided already.

The contract states:

"7. Vehicles and Equipment
Contractor will furnish all vehicles, equipment, tools, and materials used to provide the
services required by this Agreement. Client will not require Contractor to rent or
purchase any equipment, product, or service as a condition of entering into this
Agreement.
Any equipment supplied by the Client for use by the Contractor to deliver their services
in this agreement shall be returned upon completion of services to *****. Any loss of equipment through fault of the Contractor shall be reimbursed to
the Client and be deducted from invoiced amounts. If this Contract is terminated before
completion and or the first invoice/timesheet is submitted, ***** reserves the right to request compensation from the Contractor for any loss of equipment that occurs during this period that is owned by *****."


So I'm not too sure where I stand. Could someone cast an eye over this and tell me if he's in breach of contract and how well this would hold up legally?

Thanks.

Someone more knowledgeable on contracts will be able to give better guidance but from what you've written it doesn't sound like you are a contractor / running your own business, but rather a disguised employee. You even refer to them as your employer and your contract of employment.

If you were truly running your own business, things like stationery, hotels, travel, etc would be entirely under your control and of no concern to your client.

[anonymous-user]

As the above said, that doesnt sound like a client contra tor relationship, however to answer your actual question I would never have expected my clients to reimburse me for weekend travel and accomodation, and in fact wouldnt have done it unless expressly requested and expenses explicitly approved

[n3il123]

I think key is how are you getting paid through a limited or paye. I only ask as you say its between jobs.