Client wants me to sign on the old rate, and discuss after Christmas

[dogquoteplus]

How important is the £500 to you and what will you accept? Would you sign if they offered £400? if they DID retrospectively change the contract to £400 would you still be rocking the boat or would you just get on with it? It's key to know if you will refuse and continuing pushing for £500 even if they do move it to £400. IMO if you do you'll be gone but I could be wrong.

I would take the £400 and anchor a meeting date to see what's the best they can offer, since they have good feedback about my work. Otherwise I would be free to submit my one month's. I would settle for £400 though in the end if "there is no budget".

It's a tough area to be in, with long onboarding times (4 months), a lack of available talent from the end client's side, and they are looking for experts as they need help. These are my levers.

[dogquoteplus]

I think I'd get an email with absolute confirmation the £400 would be honoured as you have a contract of sorts. Get the new one, strike out the rate and put the new one in and then send it back. You've a documented trail and the chance to actually work in Jan.

So what you're suggesting is change the contract on my end and then sign it and send it back? If that was so simple, what did they not do it?

[ladymuck]

So what you're suggesting is change the contract on my end and then sign it and send it back? If that was so simple, what did they not do it?

Because they're either trying it on or the person who types in the values in the contract is not the person you're dealing with, and there's a chain of paperwork needed.

I'd be uncomfortable with signing at a lower rate than the value you have in writing. I'd be half inclined to say I'll wait for a corrected contract in January if they have no-one authorised to make that change to the paperwork. This does risk you having no contract at all in January but if, as you say, there's a long onboarding period and lack of experienced people available then it could work out.

[Ketto]

Guess a lot depends on your personal position - if being out of work in Jan is no big deal you can push for more, delay signing etc. If no work in Jan means the mortgage doesn't get paid and the kids are eating spam sandwiches for tea then sign and try and improve later (but ultimately accept whatever they offer you), all while updating the CV and looking around. Also how much do you trust the people you are dealing with, I have a great relationship with my current client and we both trust each other to follow through on what we say so not everything has to be locked down in writing, other clients I wouldn't trust to do anything I didn't have written down and signed.

I'm personally a bit cynical of any client promising jam tomorrow. In my one experience of being asked to accept a lower rate with the promise of a better one later, of course the better rate later never happened. I might try telling a client i'll work for my rate + 20% now on the promise i'll work for my rate - 20% later and see if they accept.

[b0redom]

I think the OP is crediting the client/agency with joined up thinking they are not capable of. Just because it's hard to hire/onboard poeple, doesn't mean you have leverage. I have worked on plenty of large vendor projects where they bring in folks with no experience of whatever they're supposed to be delivering, or rolled off the skilled folks a couple of weeks in to work on a more lucrative bid.

I would be amazed if you sign at £360 and, during the contract it is uplifted to £400.

As others have said it completely depends on your situation. If you can afford to be out of work, refuse to sign unless the contract is amended. If you risk a Christmas of spam sandwiches if you're out of work, sign the extension, start applying elsewhere and have something lined up for when the agency inevitably come back with, "Well you signed at £360, so there's nothing we can do now until next renewal."

[Snooky]

If you risk a Christmas of spam sandwiches

Where did all this hate for spam sandwiches come from all of a sudden? It'd be a Hawaiians dream Christmas!

[sadkingbilly]

hmmm.... Spam fritters!
yum.

[northernladuk]

So what you're suggesting is change the contract on my end and then sign it and send it back? If that was so simple, what did they not do it?

If you get a contract, you striking out something, changing it and signing is part of the negotiation. They've sent it to you to sign, you don't agree, you change it and send it back for them to then agree. If they are daft enough to sign it then you are done but they will spot your amendment and the fact you've not sign it and either agree and republish it with your change made or send the original back and say we don't agree.

At least if you've sent it back with the strike through you've possibly got something documented even through it's not signed. They can ignore an email/phone call but they can't ignore the contract that they are desperate to get signed.

Just changing the date and sending it back doesn't mean it's binding. It's still unsigned. It's just one for of communicating an amendment.

[dogquoteplus]

In the interest of time, and having the umbrella co chasing me and asking for an email approval, I replied that I accept the contract, with the rate being £400 as agreed with CapG.

I think that'll do for now, as there is a trail.

[TheDude]

Sign it and if you think your value is £500pd start looking for a £500pd contract.

£360pd is better than £0pd as many of us here will attest.