First days of a contract

[northernladuk]

Good luck sorting it out. If I was the hiring manager in this circumstance, assuming this is just the kind of coordination delay I mention above, I'd be paying you and trying to get you invited to certain Teams type meetings/ meet and greets so you could at least use some of the time.

If your budget is tied to your bonus I bet you wouldn't.

[Glencky]

Never worked anywhere where it would've been. A week's effort for a contractor is a trivial rounding error in the places I work, in the context where if you use a lot of contractors you don't want a reputation for shafting people. There's 'professional contractor, it comes with the territory' and then there's shafting people. I have made bigger concessions than this on that basis when I was a hiring manager; as a contractor I've had hiring managers make similar (but smaller) concessions for me. Unoffered.

[SmCh21]

thanks folks, for putting in a timesheet for the days, and will see if they sign it off, but not holding my breath

Thank you for posting this thread which is exactly the same as my situation - inside IR35.

I was willing to compromise and just charged them from the day I actually received the equipment, but couldn't start because my permissions STILL hadn't been requested. The timesheet was ignored...

The agency says I should be paid right from the first day, but Client says no. Monday will be interesting.

[zonkkk]

My situation exactly with one of my current contracts. (Outside IR35 though). Something to be expected, with fully remote contracts.
Laptop didn't arrive on time. I just told them I won't be billing them until I get it.

I am lucky to have another contract going though.

[malvolio]

Thank you for posting this thread which is exactly the same as my situation - inside IR35.

I was willing to compromise and just put in a timesheet from the day I actually received the equipment and couldn't start because my permissions STILL hadn't been requested. The timesheet was purposefully ignored...

The agency says I should be paid right from the first day, but Client co says no. Monday will be interesting. The client wants me to work all the missed days at the end of the contract.

Not without a new contract and possibly a rate rise.

Why should you pay for their errors?

Why do they think they bought a chunk of working hours when you have a time-bounded contract? (Although that assumes that is what you do have - perhaps a careful reading of the Ts&Cs is in order.)

What are you there to deliver - a piece of work or n hours of some sort of BaU?

Personally I would leave at your current contract end anyway. They are not a good place to be working imho.

[SmCh21]

Not without a new contract and possibly a rate rise.

Why should you pay for their errors?

Why do they think they bought a chunk of working hours when you have a time-bounded contract? (Although that assumes that is what you do have - perhaps a careful reading of the Ts&Cs is in order.)

What are you there to deliver - a piece of work or n hours of some sort of BaU?

Personally I would leave at your current contract end anyway. They are not a good place to be working imho.

The contract looks like any regular temp contract. The job description is BAU and the contract just says I need to be working there between set date - set date, around 40 hrs a week. No statement of work. The agency has looked over it and said the same as you - it's not my issue the client wasn't ready and I shouldn't be out of pocket for it.

As someone else pointed out though, the payment terms state I need an approved timesheet. I will have to accept if they still refuse to pay, but I won't stay on at the end.

Thanks for your advice.

[PerfectStorm]

You can certainly be proactive and work with your agency to draw up a new contract that either replaces the existing one with a new end date, or an extension for the end.

If they end up offering an extension that runs into the months rather than the days, then the notion of "the missing days from way back when" will start to become less and less relevant and you may as well forget about them at that point - all part of the game.

[psychocandy]

I'd be billing for it - not my circus not my monkeys.

In good faith they've asked you to start on x date and they promised to deliver laptop etc. They haven't. For that week, you've possibly forgone the chance of another gig, had to stay at home etc waiting to start.

If they refused to pay then I dont think I'd be staying...

[herman_g]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same smaller bank that pulled something similar on me a few months back (as I have seen articles in the last week chronicling the layoff they have just decided on). I flew into the Uk in May (live in Greece), spent 8 of 10 days in quarantine in a hotel, received their laptop and then got an email on Friday (was supposed to be a Monday start) telling me my offer had been withdrawn due to a cut budget and they would generously pay me 2 weeks notice. The umbrella manager stated that was all bollocks as I had an inside-IR35 contract was covered under employment law. They promptly paid the invoice.

Tail between my legs, I headed home to a quiet phone until it started to ring off the hook a week later. I now have a great fully remote role with a Dutch bank (one of three sudden offers).


I hope these b**tards have either paid up or set you free. Life's too short to put up with such disrespect.

[cannon999]

I'd be billing for it - not my circus not my monkeys.

In good faith they've asked you to start on x date and they promised to deliver laptop etc. They haven't. For that week, you've possibly forgone the chance of another gig, had to stay at home etc waiting to start.

If they refused to pay then I dont think I'd be staying...

Completely agree. I would bill for this as well.