Two Weeks Probation

[SueEllen]

All done and dusted... I sort of knew where I was heading but the feedback helped to make up my mind.
In the end I decided that if the client pulls a fast one then I am 100% sure the agent will blame me too.
Meanwhile both would have profited at my expense and I wouldn't have got a reference or another gig instead.
Cheers.

For future reference if the client wants to see how you work they should set a deliverable, an agreed standard and an agreed delivery date for the first few weeks/first month of your contract. If then you don't deliver it on time or it's a poor standard they can get rid off you immediately and only then refuse to pay you if you really didn't produce anything.

[BS1397]

For future reference if the client wants to see how you work they should set a deliverable, an agreed standard and an agreed delivery date for the first few weeks/first month of your contract. If then you don't deliver it on time or it's a poor standard they can get rid off you immediately and only then refuse to pay you if you really didn't produce anything.

I agree, but it wasn't simple to set deliverable targets because the role was to resolve a conveyer belt of post migration issues, unknown in volume and quantity, these had to be fixed on the fly and the only criteria was MAX SPEED, especially since the initial resourcing was overloaded and the project is 2 months behind.

The high rate reflected the skill demanded but it doesn't excuse the 2 weeks probation penalty. Good luck to them.

[SueEllen]

I agree, but it wasn't simple to set deliverable targets because the role was to resolve a conveyer belt of post migration issues, unknown in volume and quantity, these had to be fixed on the fly and the only criteria was MAX SPEED, especially since the initial resourcing was overloaded and the project is 2 months behind.

The high rate reflected the skill demanded but it doesn't excuse the 2 weeks probation penalty. Good luck to them.

The company sounds a mess.

Seriously how can you bring someone in to fix things if you don't know what they are and their impact?

You are well out of it.

[Gentile]

I agree, but it wasn't simple to set deliverable targets because the role was to resolve a conveyer belt of post migration issues, unknown in volume and quantity, these had to be fixed on the fly and the only criteria was MAX SPEED, especially since the initial resourcing was overloaded and the project is 2 months behind.

The high rate reflected the skill demanded but it doesn't excuse the 2 weeks probation penalty. Good luck to them.

Sounds like you made a good decision, BS1397. I've no doubt that you'd have "won" this role, had you agreed to their unreasonable terms. I'm equally certain it'd have been a nightmare, whether or not you made it through their "two weeks probation".

FWIW, I have offered to do a day's work for free before, on one rare occasion where there wasn't enough time to do a proper interview because a key person was leaving. However, it was at my suggestion, and it was only a day. That role turned out to be pretty good fun, working for nice people, and was well-paid. There's a world of difference between making that sort of gesture as a supplier, though, and risking ploughing 75 hours into a project unpaid for a customer that doesn't appear to know what it is that they want and apparently has a track record of failing to recruit the type of resource they later feel they need.

I hope you find a better alternative soon. You'll be more likely to do so without this monkey of a role on your back.

[NotMyRealName]

Two weeks probation and other fine print

What is the name of this cowboy outfit ? Walk away from it.

I agree that we should start naming agencies that try this. Asymmetric contracts like this will become more commonplace if we don't push back..

I'm just discussing a very similar clause with an agency and their legal department claim it is "standard across the industry" which is clearly BS.

I've no problem with not being paid if I fail to deliver as promised and it is my fault, but the contract conflates non-delivery with vaguer terms like "consultant is unsuitable". This could be used to argue that the consultant may be fine (and indeed what the job spec says and what was discussed in the interview) but is not what the customer now needs and is therefore "not suitable". The clause goes on to say if this happens in the first two weeks the agency can retain any payments made by the end client to cover their costs!

The role was also sold to me as a one week notice (in writing) by the Agency. Not ideal but I thought I could live with that. After interviewing twice I was offered the role. When I saw the contract it included a clause allowing zero notice if the client has a "budget change"/"re-org"/without limit.

I've had a long period on the bench so don't really feel in position to be tough. If I had an alternative I would walk away.

[v6g]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this aspect yet...

Strictly speaking, for a legal contract to exist, an exchange of money (the legal phrase is "consideration") needs to take place. If they don't pay you then the contract cannot exist in law and this puts them in a very dangerous position.

You could take it, but on day 1 make a copy of all their source code, if they don't pay after 2 weeks you can sell it to the competition. Legally no contract exists so there's nothing they can do about you breaking any terms of their so-called "contract".

C'est la vie.

[kingcook]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this aspect yet...

Strictly speaking, for a legal contract to exist, an exchange of money (the legal phrase is "consideration") needs to take place. If they don't pay you then the contract cannot exist in law and this puts them in a very dangerous position.

You could take it, but on day 1 make a copy of all their source code, if they don't pay after 2 weeks you can sell it to the competition. Legally no contract exists so there's nothing they can do about you breaking any terms of their so-called "contract".

C'est la vie.

So I can sign up to an 18-month BT Infinity contract, and not pay my monthly fee, ever. Then when they fight for their monies through court, I can just say that no contract ever existed because I never paid anything?

Nice!