Have I been stung...?

[mcskiver]

Hi,

I've been on a short-term contract for just over a week, and everything seemed to be fine.

Then at 5pm this afternoon the client decided that my work wasn't any good, and "no progress" had been made over the last five days. This despite daily meetings with the client and progress all agreed each time.

Then at 6pm today the client asks me to send all my work so far to her - which sets alarm bells ringing. Then at 11.30pm (!!!) I get a call asking me to come in tomorrow afternoon - "don't work tomorrow morning, or...erm...work from home". Am I about to be ripped off? I have a signed timesheet for last week, but not for the two days this week.

The client has run this piece of work like an imbecile from the start, and I know that I can defend everything I have done so far, but I have a feeling this client intends to have the agency call me to cancel my contract, and then refuse to pay.

I was warned by a different recruitment agency that the client I was going to work for was a bad payer, but I had no reason to go along with this so I took the contract. (How stupid am I???) Also, I was going to leave the contract at the earliest opportunity, next Wednesday, because I knew it was all very strange.

To make matters more bizarre, the client is a "company" run by two other companies in conjunction, so i'm not sure if this is in itself some weird ruse. I'd dearly love to name them, but I won't.

Anyway, my question is has anybody seen anything like this before? Can I get payment for this week without a signed timesheet? I didn't opt out.

[Turion]

You should most definitely be paid for the work/time you have done with or without timesheets. But make sure they sign the timesheet tomorrow for the 3 day this week. Do not leave the site without this (unless under duress!)

Check notice periods etc and if it looks applicable try to get them to sign timesheets for the notice period. This may not be possible and you may nee legal advice. PCG is your best bet.

[mcskiver]

Cheers for the reply.

I didn't get a timesheet signed today as it's Tuesday, and I suspect they're planning to tell the agency to prevent me going in tomorrow. Although I completely agree with what you're saying (this happened to me once before and I did have to get my timesheets signed by hassling the manager) i'm not going to travel an hour into London just to try to get my timesheet signed. Plus, if they really are going to be as underhand as I suspect, I doubt they'll let me in the building never mind sign a timesheet...

I did join PCG a while back, but didn't think of asking them! Cheers.

This kind of situation is pretty embarrassing as much as anything else, when you know you've behaved professionally and done your job.

[BrilloPad]

i'm not going to travel an hour into London just to try to get my timesheet signed.

bad move

[NotAllThere]

Not if the daily rate is considerably less than the train fare.

[BrilloPad]

Not if the daily rate is considerably less than the train fare.

but the timesheet signing is for 2/3 days?

[mcskiver]

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like I can't be bothered to go into London to get it signed. I meant that if the client is arsing me about with the intention of avoiding payment, then I seriously doubt they'd a.) let me into the building and then b.) actually sign the timesheet.

Seems a bit unlikely to me? The easiest way for them to deal with it would be to just not let me in and leave it to the agency to speak to me. I'm still waiting for the agent to come back to me anyway, and see what he says.

[xoggoth]

Sounds bizarre. Unless you are a total idiot, and if you passed the interview you can't be, a week seems much too soon to judge someone's work. I suspect some internal politics.

Not had anything like that but on a couple of occasions I have had people I needed to work with uncooperative from the start just because the brief I was given was not how they wanted it done.

[BrilloPad]

Sounds bizarre. Unless you are a total idiot, and if you passed the interview you can't be, a week seems much too soon to judge someone's work. I suspect some internal politics.

Not had anything like that but on a couple of occasions I have had people I needed to work with uncooperative from the start just because the brief I was given was not how they wanted it done.

Indeed. I once had a one week interview at Goldmine Sucks.

[mcskiver]

Turns out that the client just really doesn't know what they're doing, and they're actually taking my advice and starting the project again....

I was obviously being over-sensitive - once bitten twice shy an' all that. I've refused an extension anyway. New start elsewhere for me I think might be the best....