Alternatives to breaching a travel contract?

Breaching a contract, or not upholding your end of the deal is not good practice. Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable. Perhaps you have a death in the family or a terrible illness occurs when you are just about to begin an assignment that you have already contracted to take. What should you do?

Consider the alternatives Rather than automatically breaching the contract, consider possible alternatives or solutions. Take your commitment to the agency seriously. Both your income and theirs depends on it. Also their reputation is marked each time they have a traveler that doesn’t uphold their promises.

Be sure before you commit Try to be sure before commit to an assignment. You need to show your reliability to the company. It’s professional and the right thing to do. All too often I hear of travelers who accept one assignment and then while they are waiting, they hear about another assignment that sounds better. Don’t worry, you will have plenty of chances go to that place later or make even more pay. Consider these a learning experience.

Try to renegotiate the contract Attempting to renegotiate the contract is much better than flaking out at the last minute. For example, if you have an incident occur right before the beginning of a contract, call your agency, explain the situation and tell them you would like to start your contract 2 weeks that than you planned and see if they will work with you. Most people are understanding if you are willing to provide alternative availability or suggestions.

Expect Consequences Regardless of the reason, if you breach a contract…. expect consequences. I have heard many travelers complain that they were expected to pay something to the agency since they breached the contract. After all they couldn’t help it that their aunt passed away and they had to go to the funeral. On the other hand, your contract is a business contract. You agree to work for a certain amount of time for a company for a certain amount of money. The agency makes promises to other people such as the hospitals and apartment complexes based on your word. If you cancel or breach the contract, they suffer financially and are still expected to uphold their promises to others.

Therefore, if you breach a contract, don’t be surprised if you are asked to pay for the cost of your apartment for the days you were unable to work. Don’t be surprised if suddenly the company doesn’t have any more travel assignment available for you. The tendency is to want to blame the agency for being unfair, but it’s actually the fact that life is sometimes unfair and sometimes very giving as well. If you are lucky, you may be able to negotiate your consequences to some extent. Anything is negotiable and worth trying. Remember that trying to negotiate changes in the beginning is much easier than trying to negotiate after the fact. If you know that you will have to breach the contract, call as soon as possible to see if something else can be arranged before the company has made their commitment to the hospital and before your start date.