Client requests weekend work

[TheFaQQer]

Trouble is there are lots of contractors here so I cant steam in and demand 1.5 rate. Everyones contract is different it seems with diifferent agencies too. Most people seem to get hours worked at flat rate for the weekend (which is fine by me).

Just would rather not work 12 hours for PWD which would be 2/3 rate in effect.

Why does the presence of others impact how your business operates?

Client: "John works weekends for free"
You: "Good for John, get him in this weekend then. See you Monday"

I asked for more money to work a weekend once, and was told "I have to stick to the contract and there's nothing in there", so I said "yeah, so do I. I'll be in on Monday as usual then " End of story, someone else did the work that weekend.

[Batcher]

I once worked a 16 hour shift over a Saturday/Sunday on the promise from the project manager and an HR person at a meeting that he would supply a different cost code to allow me to claim time and a half as I was on a PWD contract.

As of the Monday he went into hiding and wouldn't respond to emails/calls to supply the code and I eventually had to put down just normal time as 2 PWDs to get my timesheet signed. The HR person wrote and said a PWD was 12 hours and gave the example that if I started work at 09:00 and took an hour (unpaid) for lunch, then I shouldn't be leaving the office until 22:00...

I made sure I got my time back in other ways but the bottom line is get it in writing before you do the work and deal with the agency so you know the payment will go through ok.

[jmo21]

I worked on a team which included permie guys in the US, who were always bending over backwards to do ludicrous amounts of unpaid overtime, including weekends to look good to their bosses.

They US bosses had the same expectations of the UK team, some permies did it, and all but 1 of the UK contractors did not.

After what was a good run, I was happy enough by the end when there were no more extensions forthcoming. The contractor that did bend over was the only one that got a further extension.

So it CAN affect you. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Do you want to stay somewhere that tries to get time for free?

[mankyspanky]

I worked on a team which included permie guys in the US, who were always bending over backwards to do ludicrous amounts of unpaid overtime, including weekends to look good to their bosses.

They US bosses had the same expectations of the UK team, some permies did it, and all but 1 of the UK contractors did not.

After what was a good run, I was happy enough by the end when there were no more extensions forthcoming. The contractor that did bend over was the only one that got a further extension.

So it CAN affect you. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Do you want to stay somewhere that tries to get time for free?

In my experience it doesnt always happen like this though.

BUT this person ended up working for free for however many weekends.... Sorry but I'd rather not be the mug that gets kept on like this.

[jmo21]

In my experience it doesnt always happen like this though.

BUT this person ended up working for free for however many weekends.... Sorry but I'd rather not be the mug that gets kept on like this.

NO!!! IT ALWAYS HAPPENS LIKE THIS!!!

clearly I wasn't suggesting that it will ALWAYS happen like this.

No need to apologize, I wouldn't either.

[mankyspanky]

First off this client is pretty good but they seem very haphazard. Big culture of JFDI here I must admit and sometimes the details get missed out a bit.

Latest is client wants me to be available on monday to drive to another site if needs be. Usually I get the train (and my season ticket is paid for until middle next week) which client knows.
Client is 40 miles from home, other site is another 30 miles. So either way its either an 80 mile trip or 140 mile trip for me on monday - something I wouldnt have to do because ive already paid for train.

Now, no mention of expenses at all. Should I bring it up or just suck this one up? After all - in terms of cost to myself even 150 miles is probably £20 most.
I dont want to come across as pennypincher.

In the past I've worked late to fix things and they've been great about eventually but it is annoying to be put in the situation all the time. Get the feeling though they're the type to get annoyed if they get a contractor who kicks off about every last penny.

What would rest of you do?

[redgiant]

First off this client is pretty good but they seem very haphazard. Big culture of JFDI here I must admit and sometimes the details get missed out a bit.

Latest is client wants me to be available on monday to drive to another site if needs be. Usually I get the train (and my season ticket is paid for until middle next week) which client knows.
Client is 40 miles from home, other site is another 30 miles. So either way its either an 80 mile trip or 140 mile trip for me on monday - something I wouldnt have to do because ive already paid for train.

Now, no mention of expenses at all. Should I bring it up or just suck this one up? After all - in terms of cost to myself even 150 miles is probably £20 most.
I dont want to come across as pennypincher.

In the past I've worked late to fix things and they've been great about eventually but it is annoying to be put in the situation all the time. Get the feeling though they're the type to get annoyed if they get a contractor who kicks off about every last penny.

What would rest of you do?

What is in your contract? IME you claim for expenses when you are going to a site that isn't named in the contract as the clients main office (where you supply your services). Remember you're running a business not a charity

[PerfectStorm]

What is in your contract? IME you claim for expenses when you are going to a site that isn't named in the contract as the clients main office (where you supply your services). Remember you're running a business not a charity

Would you still do this if the main office isn't specified? I.e. The place where you go every day?

[Antman]

First off this client is pretty good but they seem very haphazard. Big culture of JFDI here I must admit and sometimes the details get missed out a bit.

Latest is client wants me to be available on monday to drive to another site if needs be. Usually I get the train (and my season ticket is paid for until middle next week) which client knows.
Client is 40 miles from home, other site is another 30 miles. So either way its either an 80 mile trip or 140 mile trip for me on monday - something I wouldnt have to do because ive already paid for train.

Now, no mention of expenses at all. Should I bring it up or just suck this one up? After all - in terms of cost to myself even 150 miles is probably £20 most.
I dont want to come across as pennypincher.

In the past I've worked late to fix things and they've been great about eventually but it is annoying to be put in the situation all the time. Get the feeling though they're the type to get annoyed if they get a contractor who kicks off about every last penny.

What would rest of you do?

I'd suck it up. What's the point of damaging a client relationship over £20?

[Willapp]

I'd say it's chargeable unless there happens to be anything in your contract/schedule that specifically includes travel to different client sites as part of the agreement.

Some people say why damage relations for the sake of £20 but that's not the point. You're a business and IMO there's a difference between flexibility - staying a bit late, maybe giving casual advice on projects outside your schedule etc - and being taken advantage of. You need to deal with these things head on though, because if you agree to it once then it becomes difficult to charge for it subsequently.

I'd approach your PM and say "look, I understand you need me to travel to X on Monday. As travel to other client sites isn't part of our agreement I will be expensing mileage to/from your main office." Get confirmation in writing that they agree, or if they don't then you don't go.

I think sometimes people feel that their position as contractors are too fragile, but ask yourself is the client really going to bin you for the sake of £20 expenses if you're mid-way through a project?