Several subprojects under the same programme / contract - D&C, MOO etc.

[dsc]

I'm 20 months into a contract where the scope is (yup, already aware this is too vague):

"Working on an existing programme..."

They use the term "programme" to cover the support and software / hardware upgrades for a plant (I do control engineering), with several subprojects running under the same name. The entire contract is for a programme called XYZ and there's XYZ 1 - subproject for upgrading all software / hardware, XYZ 2 - subproject for upgrading a training system, XYZ 3 - subproject for adding extra features when XYZ 1 is done etc.

So far I've done work on XYZ 1, but that passed into test recently and I'm being slowly asked to do one-off tasks on XYZ 2 (mostly because I'm the only one who knows a lot about certain subsystems). So far it's been mostly "advisory tasks" like "how do you do this on this platform", but today I got asked to switch over to XYZ 2 to do some work on my own on it, then switch to XYZ 3 next week for a few week as well. I said no, saying that I can't be switching projects as I'm not a resource. They took it with "ah, ok, had no idea" and I have a further meeting about this tomorrow. I do have specific technical knowledge to carry out all three subprojects and there's plenty of work left on all of them (imho it's miles away from MOO).

Just wanted to check what the best course of action is here and whether I'm overreacting a bit. On one hand it's all contained under one programme and it is in my workscope, but all subprojects have different PMs, so moving about to me stinks of D&C. Then again everything is related and runs on the same software platform, so one could argue this is all a big projects with different parts.

[northernladuk]

Forget the overarching programme bit. It's already too vague so not much of a defense. If it was done properly you'd have a list of deliverables which would only define what you are doing.

You are right, being asked to move on to the next piece of work is indeed D&C and has to be treated properly.

You just need a new statement of work describing the next task and it's deliverables. The contract is still ongoing but the next piece of work is defined for you and off you go. You could try be clever and define something that might span XYZ 2, 3 and 4 but don't get so generic it becomes a job spec again.

Only gotcha here is if you do it too often over a long period then it becomes blatantly obvious it's just a paper game and HMRC will attempt to pull it apart to look at the reality of the situation. If you are in a gig such as this you should be asking yourself if you are really outside.

Get your contract properly checked, get your insurances, get a clear SoW for the next piece of work or two and keep going. By the 4th or 5th time you are asked to do something then step back and re-review the situation and ask if you have become part and parcel and put yourself inside.

Oh, and if this looks like it's rolling and could go on for awhile, make sure you've read up on the April 2020 changes. Could be very painful if the client determines it's inside and timing will be critical.

[dsc]

Cheers NLUK! I did drop the ball heavily on the statement of work front as it is indeed too vague. I've had the contract checked by Qdos and they came up with a few changes which I've had implemented, but nothing related to the statement of work (also got IR35 insurance from them).

My contract runs out mid November, which was originally the date when the XYZ 1 project was supposed to end, but it's dragging on a bit and they already asked if I'd be interested in an extension till the end of the year. At this stage I'm not so sure as the work on XYZ 2 and XYZ 3 is a bit boring and not something I'd really want to do and I do have a feeling that if I stay, they will eventually try to move me over to those (something to be discussed). Plan for now is to stick to XYZ 1 till that's 100% depleted and most likely mid Nov switch over to their other big "programme" on a new contract with a new, this time properly done, SoW.

As for April 2020 I'm already aware, client did state that they are planning to determine everyone outside, but that's not 100% confirmed. If it goes the other way, I'll be dropping everything and moving elsewhere asap.

SoW-wise - I gather statements that say "deliver software / hardware upgrades for XYZ" is too vague, but I reckon it would be enough to break that down more and provide something more detailed like "virtualise all servers for XYZ and configure new VMs", "create new control mimics for XYZ upgrade" etc.? I guess anything with a clearly defined scope and delivery period counts, right?

[dsc]

Just out of curiosity, from an IR35 perspective does it make any difference if the next project is done on a new contract + statement of work vs old contract and just a new statement of work? Currently discussing this with my client and they are happy to do whatever works best, new chunk of work would only be ~3months.