Client doesn't have to offer you work, say what?

[Ignis Fatuus]

Can I just ask a dumb question for clarification?

I see it more and more frequently expressed on here that "if the client doesn't want you to work, you don't get paid", or that "you may have a contract, but the client doesn't have to offer you work".

Where does this idea come from? Is it a shorthand for "if you have the kind of B2B contract that you would want to have, from the point of view of being outside IR35, then the client is not obliged to offer you work"? Because ISTM that if you have a contract that says you provide XXX sevices for 3 months from <start date> to <finish date> then the client can't just say no work, and no pay.

[northernladuk]

Well you are on a daily rate to deliver work. If you don't work for the day you expect to get paid for it? Would you pay someone that works for you when they don't come in?

There is also MoO but I think we agreed that means work past the contract you are on, not day to day work.

[malvolio]

No, it's the definiton of the irreducible mutuality of obligation (aka MOO) that differentiates you from an employee.

The whole basis on which contractors work is that they are a temporary resource, who are there to deliver specific things that his employees can't. If the client hasn't got anything he wants delivering, why should you be paid for not doing it?

It's also what differentiates genuine freelance contractors from those who just like the label.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Well you are on a daily rate to deliver work. If you don't work for the day you expect to get paid for it? Would you pay someone that works for you when they don't come in?

No, of course not. But that's the answer to the question "If I choose not to work, does the client need to pay me?"
My question is, if I do turn up, in accordance with my contract, what gives the client the right to say No Work Today?

[Ignis Fatuus]

No, it's the definiton of the irreducible mutuality of obligation (aka MOO) that differentiates you from an employee.

The whole basis on which contractors work is that they are a temporary resource, who are there to deliver specific things that his employees can't. If the client hasn't got anything he wants delivering, why should you be paid for not doing it?

It's also what differentiates genuine freelance contractors from those who just like the label.

Thanks. So in short: yes, it is so, provided that you have the kind of contract that you ought to want to have.


Edit: sorry, it's hard to say that without sounding sarcastic. But what I mean is, the statement that "the client doesn't have to offer you work" is not absolute, it depends on an implied contractual feature.

[SarahL2012]

My question is, if I do turn up, in accordance with my contract, what gives the client the right to say No Work Today?

I've seen the Client / Agency terms for my current contract and there is actually a clause in there giving the Client the right to say 'There is no work on offer therefore you don't get paid'. And understandably the agency have backed that off with a similar clause in MyCo's contract with them.

[Ignis Fatuus]

I've seen the Client / Agency terms for my current contract and there is actually a clause in there giving the Client the right to say 'There is no work on offer therefore you don't get paid'. And understandably the agency have backed that off with a similar clause in MyCo's contract with them.

That makes perfect sense. But ISTM that if you don't have that in your contract, then you do have a right to expect to be "offered work" on the days covered by your contract.

[northernladuk]

That makes perfect sense. But ISTM that if you don't have that in your contract, then you do have a right to expect to be "offered work" on the days covered by your contract.

Possibly but I would be quite happy to make sure that clause is in my contract so I can attempt to defend myself in an IR35 investigation. I am quite comfortable shouldering this risk as it seems to happen so infrequently.

What would you expect if the project got canned halfway through? Them to give you some other work to do i.e. D&C? What would you do over xmas shut down periods? Bill them anyway? It can cause as many problems as it may fix IMO

[SueEllen]

Possibly but I would be quite happy to make sure that clause is in my contract so I can attempt to defend myself in an IR35 investigation. I am quite comfortable shouldering this risk as it seems to happen so infrequently.

The only contractors who don't want these clauses in their contracts are users of umbrella companies who work through the likes of the umbrella companies who post frequently on here.

This is because they are "employees".

[electronicfur]

No, it's the definiton of the irreducible mutuality of obligation (aka MOO) that differentiates you from an employee.

The whole basis on which contractors work is that they are a temporary resource, who are there to deliver specific things that his employees can't. If the client hasn't got anything he wants delivering, why should you be paid for not doing it?

It's also what differentiates genuine freelance contractors from those who just like the label.

This is not true in practice. I know contractors who provide professional services to multiple clients. Their contracts are for supplying a set number of mandays of work over the contract term (eg a commitment to provide 60 mandays of professional services over a 6 month period). If the client does not utilise all mandays, they still pay for the unused mandays at the end of the contract term, eg they pay for the full 60 mandays, even if they only used up 30.