Contract ending, best way to handle?

[chickenlegs]

Hi,

I'm new on here, I'd consider myself a bit inexperienced at contracting, being on only my 3rd contract in 3 years. I've hunted through the forum trying to find similar questions and haven't found any that really apply to my particular situation, but if I've missed one, please do point it out to me.

Here's the situation:

I'm over halfway through a 3 month contract. I have absolutely NO intention of renewing. It's not as described and I'm dying of boredom. They haven't offered me an extension yet. I'm 90% sure they will offer an extension. I'm 90% they will do this the week before I'm due to finish as both the client and the consultancy are unbelievably disorganised. The recruitment process was horrendous, and for some unknown reason, they sprung that I needed to have a Basic Disclosure Certificate, so I know it takes the consultancy quite a while to replace people. In my last month, I'll be working a week, on holiday for 2 weeks, then back for a final week.

So I'm looking for advice on how best to handle the end of the contract, idea being to annoy as few people as possible as I may bump into some of the PM contractors in the future.

I was thinking of sending a polite email exactly 1 month before the end, as I will only be working 2 weeks of that, to the consultancy reminding them my contract is expiring and inquiring as to whether they want any handover notes and how to return my ClientCo laptop.

Good idea? Bad idea? Other suggestions? Obviously if they don't want to renew, it works for me, I'm just trying to be professional and not leave anyone in the brown stuff.

The consultancy have immediate termination rights, but I'd be genuinely happy if they invoked this, so this isn't a concern.

Thanks in advance!
chickenlegs

[WTFH]

Bad idea. They might march you there and then.
Leave it until/if they offer you an extension. If they don't, then in your last week make sure everything is documented and ready to hand over.

[northernladuk]

Bad idea. They might march you there and then.
Leave it until/if they offer you an extension. If they don't, then in your last week make sure everything is documented and ready to hand over.

^ This. That's all there is to it..

[perplexed]

Bad idea. They might march you there and then.
Leave it until/if they offer you an extension. If they don't, then in your last week make sure everything is documented and ready to hand over.

Is the only possible answer.

If they offer no extension, then it's a non-issue. If they offer one, you can politely decline.

Make sure there's something else to go to though - in this climate having another 3 month stint at a poor environment is infinitely better than having a lengthy period on the bench. It obviously gives you more experience to put on the CV along with helping the warchest.

PM contractors? Why worry about bumping into them again - if the place is as bad as you say, they will be fully aware themselves, so hardly going to penalise you in the future. Handle it professionally, they'll look more favourably on you anyway.

[chickenlegs]

Thanks for the replies.

So you don't think it would be unprofessional, knowing doing it that way would cause them problems? I know it's not my problem their hiring process is ridiculous.

I'm not bothered about them marching me there and then. I'd probably jump for joy!

[Whorty]

Thanks for the replies.

So you don't think it would be unprofessional, knowing doing it that way would cause them problems? I know it's not my problem their hiring process is ridiculous.

I'm not bothered about them marching me there and then. I'd probably jump for joy!

There is nothing unprofessional about finishing a contract on its end date. They haven't offered you the extension yet so for all you really know they also plan for the contract to finish. Wait until they talk about an extension and then politely decline. The professional thing to do is make sure all your work is documented and handover complete.

[perplexed]

Thanks for the replies.

So you don't think it would be unprofessional, knowing doing it that way would cause them problems? I know it's not my problem their hiring process is ridiculous.

I'm not bothered about them marching me there and then. I'd probably jump for joy!

You may, your career may not thank you though. Think long term.

You're a contractor.
You have a contract.
You work to your contract. Anything work wise that adds value, fantastic.
Their hiring process being ridiculous is their problem, not yours.

[ladymuck]

You may, your career may not thank you though. Think long term.

You're a contractor.
You have a contract.
You work to your contract. Anything work wise that adds value, fantastic.
Their hiring process being ridiculous is their problem, not yours.

ditto this

[chickenlegs]

Career-wise, it's not an issue, this contract does nothing for my career. What little work they give me to do is throwaway (it's used for 2 weeks then binned). General experience I dont need, was a permie for 14 years before contracting . I'm not learning new skills here.

The consultancy has also let slip that they refuse to provide references for contractors. So no good for that either.

Healthy war chest, so don't need the money.

I'm going to take your advice and leave it entirely to them to mention until the last week. At which point I shall probably be back here asking for more advice as I can almost guarantee they will forget to renew me.

In the meantime, I shall write the most awesome handover notes ever. At least that will be a relevant use of my time, fills in the 36 hours of each week where they don't give me anything to do.

[SueEllen]

Career-wise, it's not an issue, this contract does nothing for my career. What little work they give me to do is throwaway (it's used for 2 weeks then binned). General experience I dont need, was a permie for 14 years before contracting . I'm not learning new skills here.

The consultancy has also let slip that they refuse to provide references for contractors. So no good for that either.

Healthy war chest, so don't need the money.

I'm going to take your advice and leave it entirely to them to mention until the last week.

You shouldn't expect each contract to give you new skills and it's common for clients to refuse to provide you with references. Get references of your own circle, your accountant and other contractors.

If you don't want the extension tell them you are thinking about it, then wait a day then then tell the agent you don't want it and don't give a reason. You don't owe anyone a reason. If you do give a reason be polite about it.