Leaving mid-contract - thoughts

[psychocandy]

You signed knowing the expectations of the client. They didn't hide anything from you. You never set the expectation you would bail at the next gig that came along.

Dunno why you posted this. You are only looking for one answer and some mercenary disguised permie has given you it.

Think he means me......

Tell you what I've just upset Sky a bit by moving my broadband from them to BT. I think Sky thought I'd stay with them forever and never give notice. Bloke who phoned me sounded a bit upset - not sure if I should leave now!

Still think if the boot were on the other foot there'd be a difference to what people say they'd do on this forum and what they'd do themselves. Its easy to take the moral high ground when its someone elses contract/income.

[moneymoney]

You signed knowing the expectations of the client. They didn't hide anything from you. You never set the expectation you would bail at the next gig that came along.

Dunno why you posted this. You are only looking for one answer and some mercenary disguised permie has given you it.

I posted as it's a forum and I wondered if others had been in similar situations. As it's a "forum" I was hoping to get opinions of a number of people, if I only wanted your advice then I would have only messaged you. I appreciate the input but there are other opinions out there who I may also want to consider.

The client was playing hardball trying to get me to go perm, firstly said my role didn't exist, then it did exist but only until they could replace me, then it became a 6 month contract. They have been very unprofessional in sorting out contracts, delayed approval of timesheets etc. The company openly admit that senior management dislike contractors

[northernladuk]

Think he means me......

Tell you what I've just upset Sky a bit by moving my broadband from them to BT. I think Sky thought I'd stay with them forever and never give notice. Bloke who phoned me sounded a bit upset - not sure if I should leave now!

Still think if the boot were on the other foot there'd be a difference to what people say they'd do on this forum and what they'd do themselves. Its easy to take the moral high ground when its someone elses contract/income.

Which kinda makes my argument. You moved in a B2C contract. You work in a B2B contract. I guess that fact is probably a little lost in you though.

[psychocandy]

The client was playing hardball trying to get me to go perm, firstly said my role didn't exist, then it did exist but only until they could replace me, then it became a 6 month contract. They have been very unprofessional in sorting out contracts, delayed approval of timesheets etc. The company openly admit that senior management dislike contractors

Well end of the day its up to them if they want to play silly buggers. If they don't like contractors then find a perm but not me would be my answer. If you do decide to offer a contract then stop pissing about now its a done deal. Its like going into a petrol station and having a strop because you think petrol is too expensive.

From what you say, they sound like they may be a bit off if and when you give notice. They sound like the type who want it all their own way.

Which, as you say, somewhat negates the effect of burning your bridges because I'm guessing you'd never want to work there again in the future?

[northernladuk]

Well end of the day its up to them if they want to play silly buggers. If they don't like contractors then find a perm.

They aren't playing silly buggers. They are a business and doing what they need to as dictated by that business. How on earth can you think that is 'playing silly buggers'. They have been upfront and honest about it.
They need a perm so in the meantime they will use a flexible resource to fill the gap. It's kinda core of what we do. Not all contracts are for projects that have fixed end dates.

[LondonManc]

OP, you've pretty much called the ClientCo dumb for tipping you the wink, but I'd have thanked them for managing my expectations, while advising that they must understand that if I cannot be certain of being asked to complete the work, then I cannot guarantee not invoking notice either due to the uncertain future of the current deal on the table.

While I agree with NLUK's general principle of not breaking contracts simply for more cash, I also see these circumstances as exceptional with the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over you. Rather than bail instantly, warn them that you've been thinking about what they said, are concerned about the future so may similarly have to invoke notice. The problem is that you've furnished us with extra details further on in the conversation, then it makes more sense to advise them that you'll unfortunately have to look at moving on if they cannot manage your expectations better. Don't fall foul of MoO, but make it clear that you need to plan better than wondering if you'll be served notice each time you enter the building.

[unixman]

Act in your own interests. If leaving for a better role is in your interests, do it. But be as helpful and nice as possible about it. It is just good business to keep people happy. How painful will leaving be for your current client ? Probably not that much, contractors are a resource, they can always hire another. Unless your skills are very rare, eg Cobol, AS400 or something.

[moneymoney]

Act in your own interests. If leaving for a better role is in your interests, do it. But be as helpful and nice as possible about it. It is just good business to keep people happy. How painful will leaving be for your current client ? Probably not that much, contractors are a resource, they can always hire another. Unless your skills are very rare, eg Cobol, AS400 or something.

nothing rare about the skills, just competent (which is rare at client co) , so I don't think it will be a massive issue for them

they will be surprised/annoyed, but my real regret is that I didn't have this offer available when they took a week to renew my contract....if I had walked then they would have been left in the lurch and legally I would have been well within my rights to do so as they had dropped the ball by allowing my contract to expire without a new one in place. This has happened for nearly every contractor at the client co, which IMO is really poor business practice

[Cirrus]

I left the last two contracts before the end. In one case the current project had been completed and I couldn't take doing a third given the place was a bureaucratic nightmare. The other one I just decided I wasn't adding enough value - the project had slipped about 9 months from the point I was first talking to them, and my input was focussed around go-live.

In your case - absolutely support your shafting them.

I agree with others that you have a bit of a moral obligation to fulfill the original intentions of the engagement but they broke that context so that leaves you with the words in your contract. If there is a notice clause, then they've agreed you can leave.

Business is business

[moneymoney]

OP, you've pretty much called the ClientCo dumb for tipping you the wink, but I'd have thanked them for managing my expectations, while advising that they must understand that if I cannot be certain of being asked to complete the work, then I cannot guarantee not invoking notice either due to the uncertain future of the current deal on the table.

While I agree with NLUK's general principle of not breaking contracts simply for more cash, I also see these circumstances as exceptional with the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over you. Rather than bail instantly, warn them that you've been thinking about what they said, are concerned about the future so may similarly have to invoke notice. The problem is that you've furnished us with extra details further on in the conversation, then it makes more sense to advise them that you'll unfortunately have to look at moving on if they cannot manage your expectations better. Don't fall foul of MoO, but make it clear that you need to plan better than wondering if you'll be served notice each time you enter the building.

I agree, jumping ship just because more cash comes along is not the way to work, but that isn't the reason here and that's why I posted. If client co had said to me before my renewal "you are doing a good job, we'd like to keep you for another 6 months", then I would have accepted and got on with things, but they did it in such a way that I don't know when they are looking to replace me (and I know they are interviewing 3-4 people this week) so I've had a look around, something better for my career has come up and I'm very tempted to jump ship