SUB-CONTRACTING 31.1. The Authority approves the appointment of the sub-contractors specified in Schedule 10 (Approved Sub-contractors) in respect of the obligations specified in that Schedule.
31.2. The Contractor may not sub-contract its obligations under the Framework Agreement to other sub-contractors without the prior written consent of the Authority. Sub-contracting of any part of the Framework Agreement shall not relieve the Contractor of any obligation or duty attributable to the Contractor under the Framework Agreement. The Contractor shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of its sub-contractors as though they are its own.
31.3. Where the Contractor enters into a sub-contract the Contractor must ensure that a provision is included which:
31.3.1. requires payment to be made of all sums due by the Contractor to the sub- contractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from the receipt of a valid invoice as defined by the sub-contract requirements and provides that, where the Authority has made payment to the Contractor in respect of Services and the sub-contractor’s invoice relates to such Services then, to that extent, the invoice must be treated as valid and, provided the Contractor is not exercising a right of retention or set-off in respect of a breach of contract by the sub-contractor or in respect of a sum otherwise due by the sub-contractor to the Contractor, payment must be made to the sub-contractor without deduction;
31.3.2. notifies the sub-contractor that the sub-contract forms part of a larger contract for the benefit of the Authority and that should the sub-contractor have any difficulty in securing the timely payment of an invoice, that matter may be referred by the sub- contractor to the Authority;
31.3.3. requires that all contracts with subcontractors and suppliers which the subcontractor intends to procure, and which the subcontractor has not before the date of this Framework Agreement, already planned to award to a particular supplier are advertised through the Public Contracts Scotland procurement portal (xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx) and awarded following a fair, open, transparent and competitive process proportionate to the nature and value of the contract; and
31.3.4. is in the same terms as that set out in this clause 31.3 (including for the avoidance of doubt this clause 31.3.4) subject only to modification to refer to the correct designation of the equivalent party as the Contractor and sub-contractor as the case may be.
31.4. The Contractor shall include in every sub-contract:
31.4.1 a right for the Contractor to terminate that sub-contract if the relevant sub- contractor fails to comply in the performance of its contract with legal obligations in the fields of environmental, social or employment law or if any of the termination events (involving substantial modification of the Contract, contract award despite the existence of exclusion grounds or a serious infringement of EU legal obligations) specified in clause 42.4 occur; and
31.4.2 a requirement that the sub-contractor includes a provision having the same effect as 31.4.1 in any sub-contract which it awards. In this Clause 31.4, ‘sub-contract’ means any contract between two or more contractors, at any stage of remoteness from the Authority in a sub-contracting chain, made wholly or substantially for the purpose of performing (or contributing to the performanace of) the whole or any part of this Framework Agreement.
31.5. Where requested by the Authority, copies of any sub-contract must be sent by the Contractor to the Authority as soon as reasonably practicable.
31.6. Where the Contractor proposes to enter into a sub-contract it must:
31.6.1 advertise its intention to do so in at least one trade journal, and the Public Contracts Scotland Portal; and
31.6.2 follow a procedure leading to the selection of the sub-contractor which ensures reasonable competition following principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency and which ensures that such procedure is accessible by small and medium enterprises.
SHAM CONTRACTING (a) The Parties to this Agreement acknowledge that sham contracting has the potential to undermine fair employment practices, erode Employee entitlements and affect the job security of Employees covered by this Agreement. A sham contracting arrangement includes where an employer attempts to disguise an employment relationship as an independent contracting arrangement. This is usually done for the purposes of avoiding responsibility for employee entitlements.
(b) In this clause, "sham contracting" is where:
(i) an employer employs, or proposes to employ, an individual, representing to the individual that the contract of employment under which the individual is, or would be, employed by the employer is a contract for services under which the individual performs, or would perform, work as an independent contractor;
(ii) an employer dismisses, or threatens to dismiss, an individual who is an employee of the employer and performs particular work for the employer in order to engage the individual as an independent contractor to perform the same, or substantially the same, work under a contract for services; or
(iii) an employer employs, or has at any time employed, an individual to perform particular work makes a statement that the employer knows is false in order to persuade or influence the individual to enter into a contract for services under which the individual will perform, as an independent contractor, the same, or substantially the same, work for the employer.
(c) Clause 16.6(b)(i) does not apply if the employer proves that, when the representation was made, the employer did not know and was not reckless as to whether the contract was a contract of employment rather than a contract for services.
(d) Any use of sham contracting is a breach of this Agreement.
(e) Where a sham contracting arrangement has been reasonably alleged and is unable to be resolved at the workplace level, any Party may refer the allegation directly to the Disputes Panel for conciliation and/or resolution under clause 11 of this Agreement. All Parties will cooperate with the requests of the Disputes Panel including requests to provide substantiating information or undertaking an independent audit of their arrangements. For the avoidance of doubt, an affected Employee may appoint a representative in relation to such matters.
(f) Where the sham contracting allegation exists on the Employer’s Project, the Employer will make itself available to assist the disputes resolution procedure.
(g) Where the Disputes Panel Chair deems it necessary due to seriousness of the allegations and/or their findings, the Chair may refer the matter to the appropriate government authority.
(h) Where it is agreed or determined by the Disputes Panel or FWC that a sham contract was in place and the person was in fact an Employee under this Agreement, the calculation for back pay will be calculated on the basis of the hourly rate contained in this Agreement plus the site allowance (if applicable), plus the multi-storey allowance and an additional 75% loading to cover entitlements other than CBUS and Incolink. Any difference between the hourly rate paid to the Employee, plus CBUS and Incolink will form the settlement for breach of this clause. The affected Employee will be re-inducted and fully informed of their entitlements under this Agreement and the Fair Work Act.
(i) The Employer must ensure that a person engaged to undertake building work as an Employee or as an independent contractor is lawfully entitled to be so engaged under Australian law.
(j) The Employer agrees that the Employees will be paid in accordance with the applicable wage rates and allowances as prescribed in this Agreement.
(k) The Employer in particular acknowledges the Sham Contracting Compliance Checklist, as attached at Appendix L, provides a useful tool to ensure ongoing compliance.
