Leaving mid-contract - thoughts

[SlipTheJab]

The problem is the rates are massively different.

£350 PD in Manchester is good, less can be the norm.

Up to £650 PD, in London, is achievable.

Obviously, IB pay more generally.

+1 I'm on 100 notes a day less at my new local gig but if I factor in the travel costs for when i was in London it works out at 10-20 quid a day in reality, less hassle travelling and I get to leave later and be home earlier, it's a no brainer.

[MrMarkyMark]

+1 I'm on 100 notes a day less at my new local gig but if I factor in the travel costs for when i was in London it works out at 10-20 quid a day in reality, less hassle travelling and I get to leave later and be home earlier, it's a no brainer.

Good example.
Some things are worth a lot more than cold cash.

Some rates in London are just bleeding poor .

[LondonManc]

+1 I'm on 100 notes a day less at my new local gig but if I factor in the travel costs for when i was in London it works out at 10-20 quid a day in reality, less hassle travelling and I get to leave later and be home earlier, it's a no brainer.

Indeed.

If I'm comparing a £350/day in Manchester v staying away for £450/day then I'd go with the non-staying over gig, all other things being equal (work, working practice, etc.)

If I'm comparing a £350/day in West Yorkshire/Merseyside v staying away for £550/day then even with T&S, staying away wins.

The biggie for me is PAYE status, not T&S. Full PAYE + T&S would see me potentially going down the permie consultant route as a better way of maintaining a project-based working lifestyle, with the training, holiday, bonus and other benefits thrown in.

[SlipTheJab]

Good example.
Some things are worth a lot more than cold cash.

Some rates in London are just bleeding poor .

Indeed, especially the one punted out by Bob agencies, best one I had was £200 a day in Central London

[billybiro]

notice period is 2 weeks

the reason to bail is that the other role is much better for my career in the long run.........
the reason to stay is that i'm currently under contract and I don't feel it's right to leave mid-contract

Here we go again.

You have the contractual "right" to serve them with 2 weeks notice, then leave. Ergo, you should not "feel it's not right" because it is. You have the contractual right. Forget morality, ethics etc. You're not there to "save" the client, you're not a charity. You're a separate legal entity, a separate business with a contract between your Ltd. and the client, a contract that allows you to do exactly what you want to do. This is a non-question. JFDI.

[billybiro]

So you think it is acceptable leave a client in the lurch everytime a better contract comes along. What kind of tulip would contracting be in if we all did that?

Well, we'd all be in better contracts for a start!

[billybiro]

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.

WTF does expectations have to do with it? To roll out the time-honoured line again.. What does the contract say?

I might go into a contract with expectations that I'll be extended again and again for evermore. I'm sure I'd be sorely disappointed when a renewal eventually does not come through. And I'm sure the client will be incredibly sympathetic that they've not met my expectations of what I thought the contract would be. </sarcasm>

[billybiro]

notice period is 2 weeks

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

(above emphasis mine)

So long as you serve them with the 2 weeks notice that your contract says you must, you're still legally well within your rights.

[billybiro]

...have a bit of a moral obligation....

...Business is business...

Does not compute.

[psychocandy]

Gonna be interesting once T&S rules kick in. I have a horrible feeling a lot of 'contractors' are going to be taking any gig to get of the bench and dumping them when a gig comes up closer to home so it's going to get a whole lot worse.

I agree. But if it saves you, say £300 a week in hotel bills/petrol is it the wrong thing to do?

Might focus clients attention a bit to start nagging the government about this. At the moment, I think theres a bit of a feeling of - not my problem, poor you got to pay more tax from clients. Certainly is where I am!

Only when the whole situation starts to make contracting unviable will they realise it affects them as well.