Recruiter Messed up My Contract Because of Confusion in Daily Rate + Super or Daily Rate Inclusive of Super

whatthehell on 20/09/2023 - 22:22
Last edited 21/09/2023 - 07:41 by 1 other user

So, I am working as a contractor for an Australian company (lets call them ABC) through a recruitment agency as a PAYG employee, they handle all my insurance and tax obligations.

I signed the contract with the recrutiment agency for a daily rate + super.

The recruiter messed up on his end and called me to let me know that the contract between ABC and recruitment agency is for daily rate inclusive of super.

The recruiter says hes tried to negotiate with ABC to get it to daily rate + super, but ABC are saying they never agreed to do that and are not willing to increase this.

The recruiter is now asking me to accept this and understands that the mistake and stuff up was on his end.

What I found really uncomfortable about the whole thing was that the recruiter said if I dont agree to this, the recruitment agency would me making a loss and would just terminate the contract by paying me for the time I worked and the notice period.

I've read the contract and it says that either party can terminate the contract between me and the recruitment agency without cause by giving the notice period.

Can this be grounds for unfair dismissal if they terminate the contract or does the 'without cause' cover them?

Education & Work

Comments

  • st1ng on 20/09/2023 - 22:51

    IANAL, but given you would be within your probation period you can be terminated for any reason without it being considered unfair (unless you could prove it was on grounds like gender, sexual preference, race, etc)

  • hasher22 on 20/09/2023 - 22:55
    +1

    Unfortunately, no grounds for unfair dismissal in this instance, you won't get past the initial requirements. Unless you have hard proof it's based on discrimination (and that's a hard card to play even if it were true).

    Can they dismiss you or not take you on after they sent the contract and you signed? Yes.

    It's perfectly legal and it's even easier for employers to terminate or not go ahead with said contract with contractual potential employees, aka, you.

    Thing is, a lot of people get caught with including super vs plus super and this really pisses me off cause I've had multiple recruiters, colleagues and friends that doesn't even know the difference and the law needs to just put every wage and salary PLUS super to make it easier for everyone.

  • mbck on 20/09/2023 - 23:00

    Who's to say the recruiter lied about it…playing both sides. Got you to sign and now you have to eat it.

    Or turn your back. It's up to you.

    • cookie2 on 20/09/2023 - 23:02

      They seemed to figure it out with gst years ago and very quickly. Ensuring you had to show the total with gst. Diff gov priorities and care level I guess.

  • Mechz on 20/09/2023 - 23:17
    +3

    Yeah, Sure they'd be making a loss (compared to the original scam they're trying to deal you) but I bet they still make profit overall.

    These agencies make a lot more than they let on.

    • jv on 21/09/2023 - 01:43
      -1

      These agencies make a lot more than they let on.

      Not always.

    • freefall101 on 21/09/2023 - 06:00

      Depends, I worked at a large staffing agency and sometimes the margins were less than 10% on large clients. It varied quite a lot from client to client.

      Mixing up inc super vs plus super happens all the time too. I wish companies would stop rubbishing with the whole including super in rates thing.

  • dtxau on 21/09/2023 - 00:03
    +3

    Why delete for OP?

    Title: Recruiter Messed up My Contract Because of Confusion in Daily Rate + Super or Daily Rate Inclusive of Super
    Body:
    So, I am working as a contractor for an Australian company (lets call them ABC) through a recruitment agency as a PAYG employee, they handle all my insurance and tax obligations.

    I signed the contract with the recrutiment agency for a daily rate + super.

    The recruiter messed up on his end and called me to let me know that the contract between ABC and recruitment agency is for daily rate inclusive of super.

    The recruiter says hes tried to negotiate with ABC to get it to daily rate + super, but ABC are saying they never agreed to do that and are not willing to increase this.

    The recruiter is now asking me to accept this and understands that the mistake and stuff up was on his end.

    What I found really uncomfortable about the whole thing was that the recruiter said if I dont agree to this, the recruitment agency would me making a loss and would just terminate the contract by paying me for the time I worked and the notice period.

    I've read the contract and it says that either party can terminate the contract between me and the recruitment agency without cause by giving the notice period.

    Can this be grounds for unfair dismissal if they terminate the contract or does the 'without cause' cover them?

    • jv on 21/09/2023 - 01:44

      Why delete for OP?

      The recruiter saw the post and brought in their lawyers

    • avoidfullprice on 21/09/2023 - 06:25
      +1

      Op doesn’t know about revision history

  • Porker on 21/09/2023 - 08:40

    Does OP know what ABC is paying to the recruitment agency? I have used many recruitment agencies in the past and when pay came up, what the contractor gets paid and what the company pays to the recruitment agency are vastly different - in some cases close to 50% difference.

    One way to play OPs situation and that which I have done, is for OP to leave current recruitment agency and join another on understanding the company ABC will have OP back. There may be a clause which says that ABC is unable to hire OP directly for a period of time after leaving company ABC, but generally not so if through another recruitment agency.

    Can never really trust the middle man… In my mind, it's not different to say a realtor playing both landlord and tenant, and then telling each party that it's the others fault.

    • freefall101 on 21/09/2023 - 09:56

      Depends how it's structured and the size of the contract.

      The employee gets a wage. The invoice pays for salary + super + payroll tax + work cover + LSL + margin. Work cover varies by industry. Margin covers the cost of recruiting the person and payrolling them (including capturing timesheets, calculating the wage and payment). If the employee is fixed term and not casual then they get annual leave, sick leave, etc. RDOs make a mess of the whole thing.

      Contract length matters too. It's a big margin on a single specialist worker on a 3 month contract because it's paying for the work of the recruiter to find them. If it's turning over workers in a warehouse on an ongoing basis, it's less. If it's turning over workers in an Amazon warehouse it's a tiny margin.

      It sounds like there's no real wiggle room there. The agency would actually just eat the margin rather than try source another person if there was margin still to be made, particularly considering how hard hiring is at the moment. Another agency would probably offer exactly the same pay rate and OP would be in the same position.

  • JimmyF on 21/09/2023 - 08:53
    -1

    What I found really uncomfortable about the whole thing was that the recruiter said if I dont agree to this, the recruitment agency would me making a loss and would just terminate the contract by paying me for the time I worked and the notice period.

    They are getting paid your 'day rate', to pay you 'day rate + super' means they have to wear the super, so yeah they are making a loss of around 11%.

    They generally only get a few % to cover their costs, so no wiggle room.

  • garetz on 21/09/2023 - 08:53
    +5

    I would terminate, the guy is either so incompetent that they allowed this situation to happen in the first place, or they are lying to you and that was the only way it would be profitable for them, so they screwed you over. Either way there is no trust there at all.

  • mskeggs on 21/09/2023 - 09:02
    +1

    I'd have a chat to my supervisor at ABC and say "hey, the labour firm is trying to screw me out of my agreed super entitlements, and will terminate if I don't agree to it. If that happens, would you be prepared to contract with me directly at the same rate you are paying them?"

    If they agree, you will at least capture the incompetent recruiter's margin, plus get paid for your notice period, according to what they said.
    If you get a better offer elsewhere in the future, you can then ask ABC to increase your pay, if it is under what was agreed with the recruiter.
    Handling your insurance and paperwork isn't a big deal, and there are companies that just do that, if you want to avoid the hassle.

    • jv on 21/09/2023 - 09:51

      I'd have a chat to my supervisor at ABC

      How do you know the employer is the ABC? Although that wouldn't surprise me.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 21/09/2023 - 19:47

      Probably a contractual thing with the recruitment company and the company to prevent exactly this

      • mskeggs on 21/09/2023 - 21:16

        Usually there is a provision saying the company has to pay the recruitment fee if they take on the staff member. If the recruiter is the one terminating the contract, the provision would be unlikely to stand, but it would depend on the details.
        If the recruiter decides they don’t want to do business anymore by terminating the contract, they don’t get to also enforce its benefits.

  • Jake D on 21/09/2023 - 10:11

    The short answer is that you're not going to achieve anything complaining about unfair dismissal. You are within probation period and only employed as a contractor.

    Assuming you don't have other work options lined up, possibly the best outcome is to continue working, and let the recruiter know you want them to find you a new employer who will meet your pay requirements.

    Alternatively, look around for new work yourself. Unemplyment is remarkably low in Australia right now. It's a great time to need or want a new job.

  • brandt on 21/09/2023 - 13:02

    Is any of this in writing? Or this is all phone calls? If its in writing ask the Recruitment agent to send you the contract with ABC to review, and if its truly a genuine mistake you will consider dropping to the new rate.

    Step 2 - Take the contract rate from Recruitment Agency and drop it by 5% then go make an offer to ABC to work directly for them either on an ABN or PAYG since it will work out cheaper than the Recruitment Agency. The non-compete clause will not trigger since you never signed to work at the lower rate (bait and switch by recruiter). At the maximum you will get a contract at a higher rate directly with ABC. At worst, the recruiter will be in the job market looking for a job along side you.

  • ThithLord on 21/09/2023 - 16:35
    -2

    What does your union say about the matter?

  • AndyC1 on 21/09/2023 - 19:16

    You signed the contact, so how is there any unfair dismissal if you signed it and therefore agreed to the contract?

    • st1ng on 21/09/2023 - 19:54

      OP signed the contract for $× + super. Recruiter or ABC is screwing the OP and only offering $× including super.

  • Sinnerator on 22/09/2023 - 08:50

    get another job elsewhere and dump this current HR with minimal notice, try to stay on good terms with ABC tho,
    OR
    if possible… get yourself fired by HR by not accepting their stuff up, and work direct for ABC (pending clauses in contract)

  • deme on 22/09/2023 - 18:28

    Where is jv to say: what does your contract say?

    Where are you jv? This time it says something in OPs favour.

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