Hi,

I am Ram and new to this group. I came to germany in Jan, 3rd week. I am working in Germany on a contract position as a software consultant. my current contract is upto june, 2006.

Well I am not paid good by this company and I am looking for shifting to another company. before i make some statements to the new company, i would like to know the effects of breaking a contract.

my contract says as below:-
"§ 3 Termtime of the
Framework Agreement
1. This Framework Agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period. It may be terminated at the end of
the month subject to three months’ notice. This shall not apply in the event of termination for cause. Notice
to terminate this Framework Agreement must be given in writing."

another point about the contract is: the amount to be paid to me , is half, than what is written in the contract.

Can somebody tell me, that if i leave this company without giving 3 months notice, are there any serious problems in my next job in germany.

thanks for your help in advance.

Regards,
Ram

Hi I have been contracting for about 15 years now in four different countries.

When I first started contracting, I was told that breaking an agreement can severely damage your reputation.

I have left alot of contracts, many over non-compliance to the contract by the client or agency ( which is quite clearly what I see here - you are getting half the money the contract states ).

If the contract is direct with the client, you may find some damage to your potential to be employed in the immidiate area / industry. For example a dispute with a bank in Frankfurt may limit your market to other banks in Frankfurt ( regardless of the fact the client is clearly wrong ).

If the contract is with an agency, I would try to eliminate the agency ASAP. Agencies always will make alot of threats - don't worry abou their threats, they mean nothing. Talking to the client ( assuming you have that kind of a relationship with him ) will normally correct the problem ( for example, the agency will quite quickly come up with the proper pay ). If the problem is not corrected, the client can be quite understanding as to why you break the contract and this should not in any way effect your reputation.

The bottom line, though, is the contract is really not worth the paper it is written on if you are not getting paid what the paper says you should be paid. I personally would not walk from this contract, but rather RUN.

Hi mlovecan,

thanks for your reply and suggestion.
i got some insight into the contract things.
I am paid by an intermediate(consultancy) company.
well, i was working for a big client and the contract amount is also big. even the half of the written contract is good money(expenses and savings) for me. Still, I did not have good contact with the top boss of client. and also i am just newly joined(2months). So, I cannot talk to him. Well anyhow, the new company i am looking for told me that, i have to join ASAP otherwise, they will look for somebody else. So, now i decided to stay in the same company, until my current agreement, ends, upto june, end. and also, i have seen my visa was written as, that i can only do freelance work for this consultancy company. so looks like changing companies in germany is not so easy, both from companies side and government side. i think, i have to bear all these things, at least next 3 years, if i want to freely move. i will see at the end of june, whether to continue here or go back to india, as india is also looks brighter.

once again thanks for your reply.

Regards.