Do contractors have to take a lunch break?

[psychocandy]

And if you sit there munching your sarnie whild doing something else at your desk you will piss everyone off royally. That isn't working through your lunch, that is having your lunch at your desk. This is obviously part of your plan to go home early which won't endear you to your colleagues and boss. You are still being percieved to be working less and however much you try shake it it is that perception that is the problem.

It's like those people that say they come in early and then spend half an hour eating eating their cornflakes and milk at their desk. All it achieves is to wind people up and get a bad rep for them.

WHS. Its still going to piss client off if they're being funny.

I can see where you're coming from though. I've got the same hassles sometimes but luckily my client is pretty good.

Mrs works part-time as a nurse and they are the most awkward buggers known to man sometimes. Been trying for months for her just to work 2 hours less a week for less hassle. Pissed me off a bit because people dont work part-time generally unless its because they have a reason they cant work full-time.

At the moment, I'm working locally so its not an issue, but I dread to think what'll happen if I ever work further afield and get stuck in same situation as OP. Chances are her employer will say tough titty about any hours change.

[jmo21]

I find that:-

1. No-one notices if you come in early or even if your a bit late.
2. No-one notices if you work through your lunch or take 2 hours.

But :-

1. If you leave 5 minutes early some knobhead will notice.

Therefore, I tend to not stress about getting in too early, take as long as I want for lunch, then don't mind working a little over. But, client has done well out of me so if anyone ever moans about me leaving early one day, that'll be it for extras.

very true!

[Scoobos]

I am trying to talk in your and the OP's terms so you can actually understand what is being said. In this isntance it is pretty clear it is a boss, not a client manager.

I call bollards on that one..

Give yourself a damn good seeing to tonight.

[BolshieBastard]

This is yet another thing that I cant fathom with clients. They dont want an employee but then they expect you to take a lunch break like one! TBH, I've lost count how many times I've experienced this.

Bit like today, got an email about conforming to something the client wants with a signature. Box says 'Employee name' and 'Staff no.' **** that!

[hyperD]

In my early contracting days, with one client I got pulled up into the Team Lead's office about poor timekeeping after being grassed up by some spiteful anti-contractor perm after working for less than two weeks.

It turned out there was a mandatory 1hr lunch break for all contractors that they had failed to tell me about. I said I'd never heard of mandatory lunch breaks for contractors but they insisted and I was broke and needed the cash. And I was fuming...

Eventually she was kicked out due to someone showing the Team Lead a catalogue of years of abysmal coding errors and poor practises. Funny how that happens...

Happened again 12 years later with a client and I just said: "30 mins is all I need thanks" and just ignored it.

No problems this time.

That and the reluctance in accepting "working from home" as the new working paradigm is still a mystery to me...

[psychocandy]

The 'working from home' thing fair enough. Some clients just dont go for it for permies or contractors.

No point getting upset about. I dont see it as a right ever more like a bonus if they do go for it.

[d000hg]

Technically D&C should mean you can choose to work wherever you can get the work done of course. So technically you'd want to be happy you genuinely needed to be in the office rather than simply kowtowing to the client's permie policies.

Technically.

[MyUserName]

Here only the permies can work from home - not ideal but it could be worse I guess.

[Rabotnik]

I find that:-

1. No-one notices if you come in early or even if your a bit late.
2. No-one notices if you work through your lunch or take 2 hours.

But :-

1. If you leave 5 minutes early some knobhead will notice.

Therefore, I tend to not stress about getting in too early, take as long as I want for lunch, then don't mind working a little over. But, client has done well out of me so if anyone ever moans about me leaving early one day, that'll be it for extras.

QFT

The saying goes - no-one sees you arriving early, but everyone sees you leaving early.

[psychocandy]

Technically D&C should mean you can choose to work wherever you can get the work done of course. So technically you'd want to be happy you genuinely needed to be in the office rather than simply kowtowing to the client's permie policies.

Technically.

But if client declines to allow you remote access then you cant get the work done, surely?

Imagine what would happen though. New client - you dont show up monday morning and inform them that you will, in fact, never be attending the office but will work from home forever.

Reckon you'd last till lunchtime? :-)