How much time do you spend working before charging your day rate?

[JRCT]

Just wanted to gauge opinion on this and see what the done thing was.

I took a day off sick yesterday, but I still did about an hour's work at home. It's only an hour and I wasn't planning on charging for it, but it got me thinking. I'm sure some contractors would charge for that day, somehow.

I've generally tried to apply a common sense approach and if I've worked longer hours on some days, I've made sure that the client is happy for me to 'nip off early' on others but still charge a full day.

I've only had one contract where I've had the facility to charge half a day, which I did when I wanted to take an afternoon off.

[TheFaQQer]

If I do anything meaningful for the client, then I bill it.

If I am off sick, then I don't work.

[MicrosoftBob]

If I worked an hour, that's half a day billed, anything over 4 1/4 hours is a full day

[Brian Potter]

If I worked an hour, that's half a day billed, anything over 4 1/4 hours is a full day

But is it correct to go sick and then claim for work done on the day you were sick? Or did the OP agree with the client that he'd work whilst off sick?

Without prior agreement I think the client is well within rights to decline payment.

[JRCT]

But is it correct to go sick and then claim for work done on the day you were sick? Or did the OP agree with the client that he'd work whilst off sick?

Without prior agreement I think the client is well within rights to decline payment.

In this particular situation, I am not going to bill. I just did the hour's work because there was one thing that needed to be done. I wasn't so incapable that I couldn't do it, but I wasn't well enough to trudge into their office for the day. It just got me thinking, that's all.

[Old Greg]

Take the time back another day.

[Ticktock]

And in future work from home if you're too ill to go into the office, rather than taking a day off sick.

[Project Monkey]

Take the time back another day.

+1

Be fair and open with your client.

[BlasterBates]

If you can bill 4.25 hours for a day then why do 8 hours?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If it was closer to half a day if bill for half a day, but in your case, I'd just knock off an hour early on another day and charge a single day.