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[SMD]

I worked for a company for four days last month trading under my Limited Company. I got the job by recommendation from a friend and the site supervisor hired me. I left after four days because I needed public liability insurance which I didn't have (but I wasn't told this was a requirement by the supervisor when he hired me). I left on good terms and the supervisor was pleased with the work I had done.

I invoiced them last week and payment was due last Monday 30th March. I emailed them a reminder on Tuesday and asked if they could pay before the bank holidays. No payment or communication was received. I will send them a final reminder end of next week and mention that I will take legal action if they don't pay. What is the minimum notice period I have to give them by law before I start legal proceedings?

[tigers_gonads]

The way I see it ...............

If you didn't accept / agree payment terms with the company, payment is required on completion of the work and presentation on your invoice.
Yes they will whine and moan but the judge (as long as you ain't taking the piss with the amount demanded "v" the work carried out) should side with you.
You are intitled to add to that any charges incurred by yourself while recovering the debt and interest @ whatever the going rate is (see county court guidelines for upto date rates)

As for pubic liability, iirc its YOUR responsibility to ensure your are covered while working.

Sorry to say this BUT any company WILL use that against you if they think they can avoid paying somebody 

At the end of the day, it is going to come down to who has the biggest lawyers on court day if it goes that far.

My guess will be they will play the waiting game until you get board and accept a token amount for your services and opps off  go away 

Don't bank on seeing the money anytime soon 

[steve6367]

Can you speak with them? If you can get agreement through a conversation that's going to be much easier. I'm not sure if the PL insurance might be a reasonable expectation on their part if you try legal action.

[tigers_gonads]

Always nice to ask first but when it comes to business (or more likely getting out of paying somebody) you tend to only find sympathy in the dictionary somewhere between Shite and Syphilis 

Good luck in you quest anyway 

[Andy H]

I worked for a company for four days last month trading under my Limited Company. I got the job by recommendation from a friend and the site supervisor hired me. I left after four days because I needed public liability insurance which I didn't have (but I wasn't told this was a requirement by the supervisor when he hired me). I left on good terms and the supervisor was pleased with the work I had done.

I invoiced them last week and payment was due last Monday 30th March. I emailed them a reminder on Tuesday and asked if they could pay before the bank holidays. No payment or communication was received. I will send them a final reminder end of next week and mention that I will take legal action if they don't pay. What is the minimum notice period I have to give them by law before I start legal proceedings?

How do you get anyone to pay in less than a week Longest I had to wait for an invoice to get paid was 18 months but it varied between 2 and 6 weeks.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Did you have a written contract or agreement of any sort? 

[SMD]

They told me to invoices them on this date and when to expect payment. I worked on a day rate so I invoiced for the number of days worked.

I might try the calling the supervisor on Tuesday to find out why they dont want to pay.

Any idea how much notice I need to give them before I start legal action?

No tigger, unfortunately

[Terbs]

Also bear in mind, many companies won't pay out for thirty days minimum....even longer if its Council. For instance, I did work in early July for Bucks CC and got paid on October 22nd.
One of our regular customers always paid their invoices from us after 90 days !!!!!!!!!
Also remember some companies do not pay till they receive a statement (as I do at the Community Centre)

[Sir Tigger KC]

Yes it might be that they have a policy of not paying within a certain time frame.   

I think your best course of action is to have a chat with the guy who hired you to see what the score is and send out regular reminders by recorded delivery post, so if you do end up taking legal action you have proof that you have tried to settle the matter without involving the courts.  Judges like to see that. 

[driver115]

Before I retired. my routine was to include payment terms on the invoice whether it was a new or existing client - payment required within 14 days from date of completed contract , and once beyond this due payment date I would contact their accounts office to establish that they had received the invoice and as to when it was likely to be paid out in line with their company policy/procedures

[minifreek]

I honestly think it unreasonable of you to demand payment after not even a week has gone by...

Im not 100% but think that non payment of an invoice is regular practice for most companies as they sometimes put your money into a holding account and let it acrue a little interest first before even thinking of paying any monies to you or anyone else.. Im also thinking that 6 months is a minimum to wait before taking legal action to recover any debts...

[SMD]

They pay every two weeks. As I explained earlier they gave me the invoice date and the pay date.

I'm pretty sure its something like 21 or 28 days. Not 6 months!