NSW Can I Refuse to Pay Contractor for Unsatisfactory Work?

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Bobbyzamora

Member
1 December 2016
1
0
1
I operate a small recruitment agency. I recently hired an IT expert for a short contract to work on our behalf on the client site. After a few weeks, the client let him go as they said his work was shoddy and slow and his time keeping was poor. They refused to sign his last 2 weeks' timesheets unless he fixed up the shoddy work. He refused.

As such, I refused to pay his invoice. I would be interested to know any points of employment law or previous cases that relate to having to pay someone for clearly unsatisfactory work.

Also I believe this isn't an employment issue as he was a contractor, it's a contractual issue.

Again any comments welcome.
 

Lance

Well-Known Member
31 October 2015
852
123
2,394
Hi,

Do you normally honour payment if the client hasn't signed a timesheet? I have had contractors have to come back to me in the past to sign timesheets they forgot to have signed so that the recruitment agency would pay them.

They will probably try to take you to the ombudsman but if you have it documented that they were given the opportunity to rectify their work and refused and you have unsigned time sheets they would have to justify their right to payment. You generally don't get paid just for attendance.