Terms of Engagement

Temporary Worker Terms of Engagement

Portman will only engage with individuals seeking temporary work that supply their services through a Compliant and Authorised Umbrella Company.

The information below sets out what individuals working as Temporary Staff can expect from Portman Recruitment Limited (Portman) and what Portman will expect from individuals working as Temporary Staff. Please read this carefully. Unless otherwise informed by an individual seeking temporary work, these terms are considered to have been reviewed on applying to Portman for work and thereafter deemed to be agreed by the work seeker on acceptance of a work assignment via Portman.

1. Definitions

In this document the following definitions apply:

• “Assignment” means a job for which the Temporary Worker is supplied by Portman Recruitment to the Client, or which is offered to the Temporary Worker by Portman Recruitment.
• “Client” means the person, firm or corporate body requiring the services of the Temporary Worker.
• “Umbrella Company” means the person, firm or corporate body that provides, under a Contract for Service, the services of the Temporary Worker to Portman Recruitment.

In this document, where stated as the masculine it shall include the feminine.

2. This Contract & These Terms

1. Represent the contract for services between Portman Recruitment and the Temporary Worker and govern all Assignments undertaken by the Temporary Worker. No contract shall exist between Portman Recruitment and the Temporary Worker between Assignments.
2. For the avoidance of doubt, this contract shall not give rise to a contract of employment between Portman Recruitment and the Temporary Worker. The Temporary Worker is engaged under a contract for services via an Umbrella Company who are their employer (of record), although Portman Recruitment may, from time to time, be required to make statutory deductions from the Temporary Worker’s remuneration.
3. Portman Recruitment will source appropriate assignments for the Temporary Worker and will act as billing and paying agent for the Temporary Worker.
4. The type of work which Portman Recruitment will seek to find for the Temporary Worker and the hourly rate will be specified in the Supplementary Conditions (Assignment Schedule) assigned to this contract.
5. The Temporary Worker’s consent to any such type of work and the hourly rate notified by Portman Recruitment shall be confirmed by his commencing to work on that Assignment.

3. Assignments

1. Portman Recruitment will endeavour to obtain suitable Assignments for the Temporary Worker, as noted in the Temporary Worker’s application form, but does not undertake to obtain or offer such Assignments.
2. The Temporary Worker acknowledges that the nature of the temporary work means that there may be periods when no suitable work is available and agrees that suitability shall be determined solely by Portman Recruitment.
3. The Temporary Worker agrees that Portman Recruitment shall incur no liability to the Temporary Worker should it not offer opportunities to work.
4. The Temporary Worker is not obliged to accept any Assignment offered by Portman Recruitment.
5. If the Temporary Worker, without good reason, fails to attend the client’s place of work when required to do so during the course of an Assignment, the Assignment will automatically terminate forthwith.
6. The Temporary Worker warrants that he has disclosed all previous employers including any temporary assignments for the period of 12 weeks prior to the date hereof.
7. For the purpose of calculating the average number of weekly hours worked by the Temporary Worker on an Assignment, the start date for the relevant averaging period under the Working Time Regulations shall be the date on which the Temporary Worker commences the first relevant Assignment.

4. Remuneration

1. Unless otherwise agreed, all hours worked must be entered into the Portman  ‘hours portal’ on a weekly basis. Once confirmed as correct by the Client, they will be calculated at the relevant hourly rate and Portman Recruitment will pay the Temporary Worker’s gross remuneration to the Temporary Worker’s authorised Umbrella Company. The actual rate will be notified on a per Assignment basis, for each hour worked during an Assignment (to the nearest quarter hour) to be paid weekly in arrears, and will be subject to deductions by their authorised umbrella company in respect of PAYE pursuant to Sections 44-47 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and Class 1 National Insurance Contributions and any other deductions which the Employment Business may be required by law to make.
2. Subject to any statutory entitlement under the relevant legislation, the Temporary Worker is not entitled to receive payment from Portman Recruitment or Clients for time not spent on Assignment, whether in respect of holidays, illness or absence or for any other reason, unless otherwise agreed.

5. Statutory Leave

1. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, the Temporary Worker is entitled to 28 days leave per year, to be paid by their Umbrella Company (who are their actual Employer), which may be varied as required to comply with the Agency Worker Regulations 2010.
2. For the purposes of calculating entitlement to paid leave, the leave year commences on the date that the Temporary Worker is supplied for work by their Umbrella Company and starts an Assignment or a series of Assignments.
3. Entitlement to paid leave accrues in proportion to the amount of time worked continuously by the Temporary Worker on Assignment during the leave year. The amount of the payment to which the Temporary Worker is entitled in respect of such paid leave is calculated in accordance with and in proportion to the number of standard hours which s/he works on Assignments. For the avoidance of doubt, overtime work will not be included in the holiday pay calculations. Temporary workers engaged on shift work will be paid for annual leave by their Umbrella Company at normal day shift rates. In the course of any Assignment during the first leave year the Temporary Worker is only entitled to request leave at the rate of 1/12 of their total annual leave entitlement in each month of the leave year.
4. Where the Temporary Worker wishes to take any paid leave to which he is entitled, he should notify their umbrella company and  Portman in writing of the dates of their intended absence. The amount of notice, which the Temporary Worker is required to give, should be at least twice the length of the period of paid leave that he wishes to take, but in any event not less than five working days. Unless Portman informs the Temporary Worker in writing that it is not possible for them to take paid leave on the specified dates, the Temporary Worker shall be entitled to take up their notified paid leave entitlement.
5. Portman may at its discretion require the Temporary Worker to take a Bank Holiday or other public holiday as part of their paid annual leave entitlement if such days fall during an Assignment.
6. None of the provisions of this clause regarding the statutory entitlement to paid leave shall affect the Temporary Worker’s status as a self-employed worker.

6. Sickness Absence

The Temporary Worker is engaged by Portman under a contract for services and shall not be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay other than via his umbrella company.

7. Time Sheets (for assignments of 1 week or less)

1. At the end of the Assignment where it is for a period of one week or less or is completed before the end of a week, the Temporary Worker shall deliver to Portman Recruitment a timesheet duly completed to indicate the number of hours worked by him during the preceding week (or such lesser period) and signed by an authorised representative of the Client. Failure to submit a timesheet for hours worked may delay payment for those hours but will not result in the Temporary Worker being unpaid for those hours.
2. For the avoidance of doubt and for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations, the Temporary Worker’s working time shall only consist of those periods during which he is carrying out activities or duties for the Client as part of the Assignment. Time spent travelling to the Client’s premises; lunch breaks and other rest breaks shall not count as part of the Temporary Worker’s working time for these purposes.

8. Conduct of Assignments

The Temporary Worker is not obliged to accept any Assignment offered by Portman Recruitment but if he does so, during every Assignment and afterwards where appropriate, he will:

• Co-operate with the Client’s staff and accept the direction, supervision and control of any responsible person in the Client’s organisation;
• Observe any relevant rules and regulations of the Client’s establishment to which attention has been drawn or which the Temporary Worker might reasonably be expected to ascertain.
• Unless arrangements have been made to the contrary, conform to the normal hours of work in force at the Client’s establishment.
• Take all reasonable steps to safeguard his or her own health and safety and the safety of any other person who may be present or be affected by his or her actions on the Assignment and comply with the Health and Safety policies and procedures of the Client;
• Not engage in any conduct detrimental to the interests of the Client;
• Not at any time divulge to any person, nor use for his or her own or any other person’s benefit, any confidential information relating to the Client’s or Portman Recruitment’s employees, business affairs, transactions or finances.
• Will not carry out work in competition with a Client during an Assignment with that Client.
• If the Temporary Worker is unable for any reason to attend work during an Assignment, he should inform the Client or Portman Recruitment by no later than 9.00 am on the first day of absence to enable alternative arrangements to be made.

9. Termination

1. Portman Recruitment or the Client may, without prior notice or liability unless so required by law, instruct the Temporary Worker to end an Assignment at any time.
2. The Temporary Worker may terminate an Assignment at any time immediately by informing Portman Recruitment.

10. Note

The Temporary Worker should be aware that while he is free to take up employment with any person at any time, if he takes up employment with a Client for which he has worked on an Assignment arranged by Portman Recruitment during the period which ends with the later of the day which is 14 weeks after the first day on which the Temporary Worker worked for that Client pursuant to being supplied by Portman Recruitment (not counting any work which occurred before a period of more than 42 days when the Temporary Worker did not work for the Client pursuant to being supplied by Portman Recruitment) or 8 weeks after the day after the last day on which the Temporary Worker worked for that Client pursuant to being supplied by Portman Recruitment, that Client will thereupon be obliged to pay a fee to Portman Recruitment.