Contracting working hours: the norm

[billybiro]

What my personal circumstances cant deal with is additional hours due to bad planning/piss poor management/underresourcing.

Problem is that, for clients likely to suffer from this, that's the primary reason they're bringing in a contractor in the first place. To perform the very work that they're largely incompetent to do themselves.

[PurpleGorilla]

I'm on an hourly rate and vary the hours as I need to. One day might be 6 hours, the next 8 hours. The work gets done, but the rest is down to me.

Had another contract just like it on hourly rate before this. This seems the norm for me (engineering).

[psychocandy]

Yeah. I had one case where I worked 14 hours on Thursday, 15 hours on Friday, and 6 hours on Saturday (until the job was finished). I put down 1 day for each, and all the manager said was "you're claiming a whole day for Saturday?"

Yes and the last one I'll do for Accenture.....

Really? I would be well peed off at that....

I did same at current client. 15 hours each sat and sun. Out of the blue they said look we cant pay you the extra but next time you want a few days off just book it as normal.

I made sure I took a few days off before they forgot but I was impressed with that.

[psychocandy]

Up until 2000, it was all hourly rate, 37-40 hours per week. If you worked it, you were expected to bill it. The expectation was you'd work at least 37 hours per week, but could do it pretty much as you liked - I did 40 hours in 3.5 days on one contract.

Post 2000, I had a mix of daily rate and hourly.

Now I have three contracts. One with multiple projects, charging by the half day, with around 8 hours day + half-hour lunch.

One is a flat amount per month, with an understanding that it should balance out at about 2 days per week.

One is solely on commission, every time they make a sale on the product.

Yep. I contracted late 90s and then went perm for a few years. Was shocked when it was all day rate then....

[darmstadt]

My last few contracts have been hourly but there is no set hours. The contract states a start date, end date and how many hours are billable during that period. Its basically up to me and anyone I work with on how those hours are filled. The last contract renewal there was a clause put in about doing 37 hours a week and core times but that was only put in by the client's HR department and was primarily part of their boilerplate agreement for temporary staff so after a call and talk or two it was taken out. I've had agencies ring up and discuss day rate contracts but none have ever been able to give me a proper answer as to what a day is and until they do, then I'll stick with my nice hourly billable contracts

[psychocandy]

Never ask the agency what a PWD is. EVER.

Think about it. Contractor asks so agency says well they all work about 10 hrs.
So what happens, contractor goes in works 10 hours a day, client is well happy about that, agent gets his cut either way but now hes got a happy client whos hopefully gonna renew.Only mug is the contractor whos working for free.

Agency is not going to say 7.5 hours EVER even if it is. For the above reason. If they say that contractor will work that. No bonus hours.

Remember, agent is not your friend. They wont care if you spend hours on site as long as they get their cut.

[northernladuk]

Some pap

You have a very jaded view of everything don't you. The best reason not to is he doesn't know. He deals with the contract. Times are up to your client. You be pretty stupid to let your agent dictate them. No need to hate the agent, just deal with the right people at the right time.

[NibblyPig]

How do you deal with a new contract, all totally IR35 compliant up the wazoo, choosing your own hours etc. and you get there on the first day and the manager has no idea what a contractor is (never used one before) no idea what IR 35 is, or how contractors work (please use our subsided canteen!) and assumes you'll be working 9-5:30pm?

I couldn't figure out a way to explain that I dictate my own hours, and the fact I'm asking if it will be a problem if I come in early to avoid rush hour traffic is not a request for permission but more to see if we can come to some arrangement.

It also makes me wonder if the contract they signed with the recruiter is anything at all like mine...

Any ideas? I don't want to completely destroy the relationship with the client because they'll probably kick me out for being high and mighty, so I am treading softly. The client agreed when I said I'd come in early, but in a way that it was only because he permitted it for some employees that had a long commute. Really I'd rather completely choose my own hours as above, a few here, a few there etc. but I need some tact to explain this...!

[PerfectStorm]

9-5.

If "nobody does those hours" then the sheep can do more if they choose to, but at the end of the day a contract is a contract which is in turn derived from an editable MS Word file, it would be very easy to stipulate longer hours if someone wanted to. If they haven't, then that's that and you can choose whether you want to turn what should be a favour into a regular expectation.

[PurpleGorilla]

How do you deal with a new contract, all totally IR35 compliant up the wazoo, choosing your own hours etc. and you get there on the first day and the manager has no idea what a contractor is (never used one before) no idea what IR 35 is, or how contractors work (please use our subsided canteen!) and assumes you'll be working 9-5:30pm?

I couldn't figure out a way to explain that I dictate my own hours, and the fact I'm asking if it will be a problem if I come in early to avoid rush hour traffic is not a request for permission but more to see if we can come to some arrangement.

It also makes me wonder if the contract they signed with the recruiter is anything at all like mine...

Any ideas? I don't want to completely destroy the relationship with the client because they'll probably kick me out for being high and mighty, so I am treading softly. The client agreed when I said I'd come in early, but in a way that it was only because he permitted it for some employees that had a long commute. Really I'd rather completely choose my own hours as above, a few here, a few there etc. but I need some tact to explain this...!

Deliver well, but manage your own affairs dude, I doubt it will cause issues. But if it does either sing the permie timetable song, or take control!