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I am not sure if I even can sue them Considering you did all this voluntarily I don't think there's anything you can sue your employer for. They set the terms

I am not sure if I even can sue them Considering you did all this voluntarily I don't think there's anything you can sue your employer for. They set the terms of your employment, you agreed to them and have been carrying them out, and they pay you. As far as everyone is concerned everyone in the contract is fulfilling their end of the bargain. The only thing that's wrong is that you're not happy with what you're being asked to do and yet you're still doing it. The short term solution here is to talk to your manager. Tell them you're unhappy and that you're not doing the job you signed up for. The longer term solution is to find a new job. Also the jurisdiction of my contract is UK... If there's a jurisdiction clause in the contract that you signed that states any dispute will be settled in a UK court then this is correct, but if there isn't then either party can nominate where disputes are settled (usually this happens when the contract is signed..) However if you try to sue they'll immediately terminate your contract/employment which doesn't sound like it'd put you in a good position. Also... you're not being "treated like a contractor". If you are a contractor that doesn't mean you have to put up with this level of bullshit. No one, contractor or employee, should take crap like this in their job. Don't stand for it. Speak up.

Mikeb85 4y ago
> Considering you did all this voluntarily I don't think there's anything you can sue your employer for. They set the terms of your employment, you agreed to them and have been carrying them out, and they pay you. In Canada there's the legal concept of not being able to sign away your rights. Ie. if something is illegal in the first place, agreeing to it doesn't make it legal. The UK is probably similar.
- cogman10 4y ago
  Similar to the US. Just because someone calls you a contractor (but not really) doesn't mean you suddenly lose all rights. Misclassification is a huge no-no for the DoL.
- toss1 4y ago
  >>In Canada there's the legal concept of not being able to sign away your rights. Ie. if something is illegal in the first place, agreeing to it doesn't make it legal. There is also that concept in some US states. However, that does NOT mean that your rights are simply immediately enforceable. It is merely a ticket to file a lawsuit. Even in a state with very strong laws in this direction, and even if you can find an attny to do it affordably, it can be a VERY long process; e.g., from direct experience, 7 years and just getting to the appeals level to get that actually enforced on an employer who is determined to stiff the employee. You really are far better off recognizing the toxic management and cutting your losses as early as possible. They will only fail sooner then.
zaphar 4y ago
He doesn't need to sue. If his story is correct he has a large amount of leverage in a negotiation and just needs to use it. 1. He is a high performer and is solely responsible for at least one project of consequence. 2. His productivity numbers are at the top for his colleagues. 3. There are a number of things that will fall over if he is no longer there. Right now the company is picking and choosing how they treat him because they think they can. All he has to do is get another offer of employment and tell them about it. Either they will renegotiate the contract under more favorable terms to retain him. Or he will find employment at a better company where he is valued for what he is actually worth. The company he's at now think they don't need to take any action because they believe he isn't a flight risk. Change that perception and things will be very different.
- onion2k 4y ago
  If his story is correct he has a large amount of leverage in a negotiation.. You can't negotiate if the opposing party is unreasonable, and by the sounds of it they definitely are.
  - zaphar 4y ago
    Truly unreasonable people often only look unreasonable right up until the threat of actually losing one of their most valuable employees looks credible. Then they change their tune pretty quickly. Either way if you are negotiating with the leverage to just walk away then you have placed yourself in a win/win scenario.
anotheracctfo 4y ago
Sure you can sue them. The employee contractor line is a big part of labour law, and can affect UK mandated legal protections and benefits. The only problem is that a labour lawyer starts at $400/hr. One way to get around this is to band together with other contractors in your organization and pool your money to purchase a lawyer. We typically call this a union. I was high up in my union and signed some very big cheques to lawyers. Of course that's hard so you should just get a new job.
tobias3 4y ago
In my country one can report employers that treat contractors as employees to the customs agency (idk why that one) which may investigate the company and rectify the situation. Given that the company doesn't have an office in the country the most likely outcome will be that they will just give all the employees in the country the option to move or get fired, though... I also don't know how and if a local agency would have any way to enforce employment laws across borders.

Mikeb85 4y ago

> Considering you did all this voluntarily I don't think there's anything you can sue your employer for. They set the terms of your employment, you agreed to them and have been carrying them out, and they pay you. In Canada there's the legal concept of not being able to sign away your rights. Ie. if something is illegal in the first place, agreeing to it doesn't make it legal. The UK is probably similar.

cogman10 4y ago
Similar to the US. Just because someone calls you a contractor (but not really) doesn't mean you suddenly lose all rights. Misclassification is a huge no-no for the DoL.
toss1 4y ago
>>In Canada there's the legal concept of not being able to sign away your rights. Ie. if something is illegal in the first place, agreeing to it doesn't make it legal. There is also that concept in some US states. However, that does NOT mean that your rights are simply immediately enforceable. It is merely a ticket to file a lawsuit. Even in a state with very strong laws in this direction, and even if you can find an attny to do it affordably, it can be a VERY long process; e.g., from direct experience, 7 years and just getting to the appeals level to get that actually enforced on an employer who is determined to stiff the employee. You really are far better off recognizing the toxic management and cutting your losses as early as possible. They will only fail sooner then.

zaphar 4y ago

He doesn't need to sue. If his story is correct he has a large amount of leverage in a negotiation and just needs to use it. 1. He is a high performer and is solely responsible for at least one project of consequence. 2. His productivity numbers are at the top for his colleagues. 3. There are a number of things that will fall over if he is no longer there. Right now the company is picking and choosing how they treat him because they think they can. All he has to do is get another offer of employment and tell them about it. Either they will renegotiate the contract under more favorable terms to retain him. Or he will find employment at a better company where he is valued for what he is actually worth. The company he's at now think they don't need to take any action because they believe he isn't a flight risk. Change that perception and things will be very different.

onion2k 4y ago
If his story is correct he has a large amount of leverage in a negotiation.. You can't negotiate if the opposing party is unreasonable, and by the sounds of it they definitely are.
- zaphar 4y ago
  Truly unreasonable people often only look unreasonable right up until the threat of actually losing one of their most valuable employees looks credible. Then they change their tune pretty quickly. Either way if you are negotiating with the leverage to just walk away then you have placed yourself in a win/win scenario.

anotheracctfo 4y ago

Sure you can sue them. The employee contractor line is a big part of labour law, and can affect UK mandated legal protections and benefits. The only problem is that a labour lawyer starts at $400/hr. One way to get around this is to band together with other contractors in your organization and pool your money to purchase a lawyer. We typically call this a union. I was high up in my union and signed some very big cheques to lawyers. Of course that's hard so you should just get a new job.

tobias3 4y ago

In my country one can report employers that treat contractors as employees to the customs agency (idk why that one) which may investigate the company and rectify the situation. Given that the company doesn't have an office in the country the most likely outcome will be that they will just give all the employees in the country the option to move or get fired, though... I also don't know how and if a local agency would have any way to enforce employment laws across borders.