I have been told I have to attend some 'Staff Diversity Training' at the client site I'm working on. I did say that I would not be attending as I am not a permanent member of staff. The HR dept replied saying that they expected all contractors to attend this training! Should I just give in and go or should I refuse?
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Two options:
Tell then to feck orf.
Go an be the annoying git who asks stupid questions, takes the piss and doesn't take it seriously and at the end announce you just got paid £xx for sitting through that rubbish.
They won't make you go to one again
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Hang Fire!
Refuse. You are a contractor not a member of staff. Provided you are working as a B2B contractor and not a IR35 inclusive/borderline de facto employee with terms to match then you have good reason to work from home that day. Just make sure you do. If you are the latter, then attending won't really make a jot of difference.Originally posted by decode
Attending this type of thing could weaken your IR35 position should your attendance ever be recorded anywhere. This is because your attendance on site implies that you must adopt the values and culture of the end client not just produce deliverables. Plus you are setting yourself up for participating in all other kinds of staff team building activities your client demands of you that implies you are part of another organisation and have nothing at all to do with what is on your Schedule of Works - to produce deliverables as a supplier.
The only reasonable demand that an end-client can make on a B2B contractor on site is to attend security briefings or sign confidentiality forms or observe health and safety regulations that owe as much your physical presence on site than they do to conforming to staff norms. For instance, it's not wise to stay put and refuse to respond to the fire bell in an inferno just because you're a contractor.
Yes, that last bit was a joke!
Last edited by Denny; 14 November 2006, 15:29.Comment
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Definitely refuse as Denny says. That is something for the locals to worry about. Keep your distance on that one.Originally posted by DennyRefuse. You are a contractor not a member of staff. Provided you are working as a B2B contractor and not a IR35 inclusive/borderline de facto employee with terms to match then you have good reason to work from home that day. Just make sure you do. If you are the latter, then attending won't really make a jot of difference.
Attending this type of thing could weaken your IR35 position should your attendance ever be recorded anywhere. Plus you are setting yourself up for participating in all other kinds of staff team building activities your client demands of you that implies you are part of another organisation and have nothing at all to do with what is on your Schedule of Works to produce deliverables.
The only reasonable demand that an end-client can make on a B2B contractor on site is to attend security briefings or sign confidentiality forms or attend health and safety events that owe as much your physical presence on site than they do to conforming to staff norms. For instance, it's not wise to stay put and refuse to respond to the fire bell in an inferno just because you're a contractor.
Yes, that last bit was a joke!
However, if you work for a financial institution, you should attend the briefing on money laundering. The same rules apply if you are a permie, under IR35 or not; you can still go to jail if you don’t alert someone if you suspect something dodgy. You might always discover something that you can put to use later.
Drivel is my specialityComment
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I do work for a financial institution and did do the anti money laundering training without a problem. It amazes me how many contractors here are willing to go on any training the HR department throw at them. I had a similar situation at another client site and refused point blank to go to team building meetings they held.
Just getting a bit fed up that..
a) HR departments don't seem to understand the difference between a contractor and a permie. Irrespective of the what your contract says once you are on site they try to treat you the same.
b)I work with spineless contractors who will just roll over and do as they are told.Comment
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Just to throw my two penneth in. At the start of my current contract, I was told I would be given 11 days paid holiday, sent on any training courses deemed relevant and asked to complete anti-money laundering and data protection CBTs/test. Og, and complete their timesheets in order to allocate my time to the correct project cost centre.
I think you can guess which items I told them to politely stick up their collective @rses. My contract was well and truly outside IR35.Illegitimus non carborundum est!Comment
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I can see the point of going to team meetings. If the code you are doing is going to integrate with code made by other members of the team you need to know what is going on.
All depends what they mean by team meetings though...Comment
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Just go but wear a nijab on your head.Originally posted by decodeComment
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I was at one client where they had a team-building meeting which was compulsory for all workers, including contractors. It was specified that contractors would not be able to bill for this time.Originally posted by ArdescoTwo options:
Tell then to feck orf.
Go an be the annoying git who asks stupid questions, takes the piss and doesn't take it seriously and at the end announce you just got paid £xx for sitting through that rubbish.
They won't make you go to one againComment
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If I can't bill for it I won't do it. If they think they are getting a couple of hours out of me for free they can feck orf.... I don't do this for the warm glow it gives me insdie you know.....Originally posted by expatComment
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