3 to 6 month contract, then permanent role afterwards.

[krytonsheep]

I've seen a role which looks very good, however the client wants to take on a contractor with a view to going permanent after 3-6 months.

Spoke to the agency dealing with it and they said the client would not take on any contractor who wasn't 100% willing to go permie (sounded like one of their main requirements).
Apparently they've already spoken to a few contractors who would be happy to make the conversion. Which may or may not be true.

The question is, would you apply for a role like this knowing that you're not going to go permie at the end (and therefore piss of the client)?

[SueEllen]

Yes.

Done a role like that before but it was a year then suppose to be made permanent. The company was taken over and they made redundancies near the end of the year so there was no chance. So I didn't have to do anything.

[pmeswani]

I've seen a role which looks very good, however the client wants to take on a contractor with a view to going permanent after 3-6 months.

Spoke to the agency dealing with it and they said the client would not take on any contractor who wasn't 100% willing to go permie (sounded like one of their main requirements).
Apparently they've already spoken to a few contractors who would be happy to make the conversion. Which may or may not be true.

The question is, would you apply for a role like this knowing that you're not going to go permie at the end (and therefore piss of the client)?

Yes I would. Just remember, the client can terminate your contract as per your notice period in your contract, especially if they don't like you. So you can do what I did after 6 months and tell them that you are not interested in the role.

I left my last contract (which was a 3-6 month contract with a view of converting me to perm) for a number of reasons.

1. The Salary was crap.

2. The (Ex)-Team Lead was so frigging negative it was unbearable.

3. There was no opportunity for proper training (Ex-Team Lead refuses to go on training and one of the ex-employees was put on a Masters Degree and then decided to bugger off after the studies finished), so I saw no opportunities to better myself with the support of the company.

4. There was no progression opportunities.

2 of the reasons were aired to the client, the other two have just been aired on this forum and the client isn't aware. If you don't want to go perm, you better make notes (mental or written) of issues you have with the environment you are in and use them as reasons for not going perm.

If it upsets the client, then so what? You may lose their respect, but at least you have 3 to 6 months work out of them.

I would not suggest manufacturing reasons to get out of going perm, but you should seriously take the (contract to perm) role on face value and give it a shot.

[lukemg]

Trouble is - they mostly pay perm rates in the lead-up so I would not be interested and if they pay contract rates, I would not be interested in going perm after - so for that reason I'm OUT.

[northernladuk]

Problem with this type of contract is you are going fall well within IR35, after all you are doing a disguised permie job that is going to be an undisguised permie job so they are going to count you as full time permie from day one. This is going to have an impact on your income (unless you wing it and just don't tell anyone). This might just be the straw that breaks the camels back if the rate is already bad to start of with.

You sign your contract for the 6 months, that is all you can be tied to, you have to go in to a different set of contract negotiations to go permie. You can just walk after the 6 months. Might annoy the client but that is life. Can tell him you had change in personal circumstance etc, god knows what is going to happen in 6 months.

I would put a good wedge down to be that none of the people that have applied are willing to go full time. Work is short, they want to take anything going.

[kandr]

Yeah, unless there is anything in the contract about going permie. then just treat it as a normal 6 month contract. In my previous role they were forever asking us if we wanted to go permie, but no one was interested, due to the lower salary and mind numbing corporate bs you would have to buy in to.

[nomadd]

Yes. Done a role like that before but it was a year then suppose to be made permanent.

Been through it twice. Wanted the role to get the experience they were offering, but never had any intention of going permie. Strange thing was, when I turned them down, they just kept renewing the contract. It's all BS at the end of the day from clients; once you get in and prove yourself, they will do anything to keep you there - even as a contractor.

[Wanderer]

client wants to take on a contractor with a view to going permanent after 3-6 months. would you apply for a role like this knowing that you're not going to go permie at the end (and therefore piss of the client)?

Is there a guaranteed permie job at the end of the contract? If so, then why don't they just recruit a permie in the first place?

Ahh, it's because they want to see if the contractor fits in, has the right skills etc before they take them on as a permie. Or perhaps they don't have the budget for a permie yet. So then it's not a guaranteed job at the end of it, so why should the contractor be strictly bound to keep their end of the bargain too? Are the permie details given up front or will they be negotiated when the offer is made? If they are up for negotiation then there is no way that you can commit to a contract-to-permie without knowing what the eventual offer is going to be.

Generally though, I wouldn't enter into a contract in bad faith. If you are adamant that you want to stick to contracting then I guess that it depends on how desperate for work you are. Who knows, maybe your situation could have changed in 6 months and they may offer a really plum job at the end of the contract with a nice fat salary and some fantastic benefits.

And as my esteemed Northern friend points out, taking a contract-to-permie role is some pretty bad IR35 karma...

[jmo21]

Easy peasy......

Boss: right, your 3/6 months is up next week so we need to talk about making you permie, it'll be great etc

You: Sounds good, lets talk terms - I want £75k, 6 weeks hols, 10% pension, car, etc etc

Boss: Oh no, the standard salary for your position is £28k.

You: Damn.... I really wanted this job too!!

[swamp]

Steer well clear.

You'll get treated as a perm from day one. Late nights and weekend work (without billing) will be the norm. You'll also have 360 appraisals and all the other corporate BS to contend with.