Who is BU - employer or employee?

[Mississippilessly]

This is deliberately vague to protect identities...

Employer issues contract on a piece work basis. There is an expected number of pieces stipulated. There is a bonus offered if those pieces are done by a deadline. If they are not done by the deadline the remaining pieces cannot be done and you do not get the bonus. This contract is usually issued to people with a usual full time job.

Employee accepts contract. They know they have a week less to finish as they have another commiment but they have taken on similar contracts in the past and completed their work easily.

Contract begins and employer is very slow in issuing employee what they need to do the piece work. Employee has done everything they can do but are stopped from gong further due to employer’s slowness.

If the contract is not completed by deadline day should..
A) the employee not get the bonus. The employer should have the whole time the contract stipulated and it is the employee’s fault if they cannot complete due to other commitments.
B) the employee should still get the bonus. The work was incomplete through no fault of their own.

Sounds like a concrete schedule of work should have been in place to protect both parties. From what you describe the bonus is dependant on completing the work by the deadline and that wasn’t done, so no bonus. Chalk it up as a lesson in making a better contract.

I'm no expert, but I'd say that the employee shouldn't get the bonus if they don't complete the contracted work. Their other commitments are not the employer's concern.
Having said that, it depends if the delay in employer giving the employee everything they need to complete the pieces is reasonable.
#onthefence.

I'm guessing you're the employee, I don't think you'll get the bonus, however unfair it might seem

It's vague enough for the employer to do this kind of thing and get out of paying a bonus. Would tell employee to ask those questions next time and get it in writing on the contract.

Not quite the same but I run a specialist secretarial support business. I would recommend that you move your contract to being "we will do XYZ in this time frame from safe receipt of all necessary information". That way provided you meet the deadline in regards to saying that something will take 5 days (as an example) then you the employer will still be liable for the full fees etc.

If I was still waiting information from a client I would be very clear in my chasing up of that information that we require it to get started and as such the contract has not yet commenced (effectively).

Can you speak with the employer and see what they say? Go back through the correspondence too. If the employer kept breaking promises then I believe you've a good case to argue, however the fact it was a bonus payment may go against you. It also depends whether you want to upset the employer company.

Employee needs a prerequisites clause in the contract.

Remiss on both parties notspotting a glaring omission.

Imho for the aim of good relations (i.e. repurational risk, burning bridges with key staff) I would expect payment. But accept no further work without a perquisites clause!

A)

A. The employee was at fault for taking the contract knowing that they had other commitments. They should have stipulated a clause in the contract requiring that the employer provided whatever it is that they needed upon commencement or a clause stipulating that the contract period ended the day before the other commitment stated. Seeing as they did neither they are at fault if they fail to complete the work on time as the employer is fulfilling their contractual obligations.

Clock should have started ticking from the point the employer had provided everything necessary - but contract should have said that. If it didn't, sadly the result here will be no bonus.

This sounds like exam marking. I think it will depend on detail in contract. Did the employee chase the required things necessary?

If the employee didn't to have another contract would they finish within the deadline?

Would the employee be able to complete the work to deadline if they hadn't doublebooked themselves?

Does the contract require the employer to provide the inputs by a certain deadline?

A, especially if the other markers workers employed get it done. You may have completed it earlier in the past but if the contract says x date, then they've got until then to send the work - unfortunately the employee is being unreasonable if they are expecting a bonus on the info you've given here.

If the employee just assumed, without a clear indication from the employer about when the relevant resources would be released, that they would get everything in time to meet their own schedule then I think the employee IBU. This is especially true if it was obvious that not everything would be available immediately the contract was signed. But it does sound like the sort of contract that ought to have the employer's responsibility for releasing resources written into it to protect employees from exploitation and if resources were withheld to the extent that no reasonable person would be able to complete, then the employer is also BU.

Contract begins and employer is very slow in issuing employee what they need to do the piece work. Employee has done everything they can do but are stopped from gong further due to employer’s slowness

Based on this, I'd say the employer is at fault and the employee should still get the bonus.