This is an issue that has always been there in the background, but no one has really wanted to stick their head above the parapet and speak out about it.

My frustration for homeworkers is that it feels like they’re being financially handcuffed. Consortia say they’re fighting for independent businesses, but are they really?

A lot of these homeworkers who want to leave their host agency lose the energy to do so because of the various hurdles put in their way – there’s no doubt it has put people off joining the business I work for.

Withholding commission and cutting off cash flow in this way could ruin a homeworker’s business and seems very unfair when they have worked hard – probably over many years – to build their business up.

And let me be frank, this isn’t only an issue in the homeworking environment. We see this problem affecting retail travel agents too, some of whom have similarly punitive clauses in their contracts. 

Quite often, it's the same consortia who are stopping agents moving. It’s a big story in the homeworking world, but it's also a story throughout the industry, broadly speaking. Whatever kind of business you are, there are people who are still being penalised. This is a big issue that has largely been swept under the carpet.

So how can we iron out this problem? Here are some things I would like to see happen to help businesses transition from/to a consortium or host agency.

• Pay for work done – commission earned should not be used as leverage to deter exit and stop competition
   
• Clarity and consistency – exiting rules should be clear, fast and well-documented, use defined triggers, timetables and statements, and should avoid vague phrases in contracts like “we may withhold” or “subject to approval”
   
• Client communications – permit an orderly customer notification process, with agreed wording and clear service responsibility
   
• Proportionate protection – any commission retained by the host agency or consortium should reflect real servicing risk costs and not be open-ended
   
• Clear ways out – agencies/consortia should offer two pathways for exiting: one where the agent services forward bookings and keep their commission, and another where the agency or consortium manages their forward bookings with an applicable fee or portion of commission known upfront
   
• Pay agents promptly – we should end the blanket practice of commission only being payable when the last customer travels

Agreements should give equal prominence to what the consortium provides, the obligation of the agent, how much it costs and what the exit mechanism looks like.

As for who should regulate these contracts, I'm not sure, to be honest. It requires a certain amount of self-regulation based on being fair and reasonable.

We’re shining a light on an issue that has, until now, been largely hidden, and which people are only starting to talk about now.

TTG’s article (published on 18 February) should make homeworkers more aware that there are punitive clauses in contracts. People need to be much more aware of that.