Contractor being furloughed by client

[northernladuk]

It's the term clients give us when they don't want to pay us. Not much can be done about that otherwise people would be asking 'Oh, is that what the client means by furlough?'.

I'm not convinced this is how it is in general and I think we don't help ourselves by not educating our clients. I've never worked anywhere where it's called a furlough. If the clients would use the correct terms and treat us like contractors, particularly with what should have hit yesterday then this would all be a lot simpler.

Contractors are as much to blame by not understanding the term either regardless of what the client calls it. Client could call it what we want, if we don't use that term going forward then less confusion.

I'm just musing, it's been banded about so much now it's too late and the horse has bolted. Just complaining that it's not the correct word and causes more confusion than it helps.

[northernladuk]

You may think so, you might even be technically correct, but clients have been using to when referring to contractors for years.

furlough

noun: furlough; plural noun: furloughs
leave of absence, especially that granted to a member of the services or a missionary.
"a civil servant home on furlough"

verb: furlough; 3rd person present: furloughs; past tense: furloughed; past participle: furloughed; gerund or present participle: furloughing

grant leave of absence to.
"furloughed workers"

But sadly this is true. Just saying contractors should know better. I would have hoped the whole IR35 thing that has just happened might have helped.

[Table]

Cheers for all the replies, useful info.

I don't like the fact it seems a work around not to pay notice.

From some of replies it seems the consensus is notice period is worth nothing as the client could always say you can't come in, you haven't completed a day's work and therefore can't bill. Why are they even written into the contract then?

There's worse problems right now so I understand my moaning is out of place in grand scheme of things.

Cheers again.

[Paralytic]

But sadly this is true. Just saying contractors should know better. I would have hoped the whole IR35 thing that has just happened might have helped.

We can all pick and choose from the myriad dictionaries out there. Doing a random search, there is by no means a consistency that it relates only to employees. eg

furlough somebody to give somebody permission to leave their duties for a period of time, especially soldiers working in a foreign country

furlough_1 verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Many just say "worker" and many refer to the military.

a period of time that a worker or a soldier is allowed to be absent, especially to return temporarily to their own town or country

FURLOUGH | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

The OED (which many consider a true source) does not allow searching online.

So, I'm not sure what you want contractors to do. I'd suggest simply asking their contact at the client to stop using the word is going to met with a funny look. Do you want people to ask their client to ask their HR to change their systems to remove the word furlough and replace it with something else?

Why not just accept that the English language is fluid.

[northernladuk]

Why not just accept that the English language is fluid.

Have you ever heard a company furloughing a proper consultancy?

Funny day today. I'm getting bashed in one thread about having a permie thinking and bashed in another for trying to think like a business. Weird times we live in.

[eek]

Have you ever heard a company furloughing a proper consultancy?

Funny day today. I'm getting bashed in one thread about having a permie thinking and bashed in another for trying to think like a business. Weird times we live in.

Yep, I've often seen a project delayed a few weeks due to lack of availability of internal staff - in fact I ended up taking a week off last April as Bulgaria closed for a week due to Easter and National holidays falling in the same week so the end client asked for a delay.

[Paralytic]

Have you ever heard a company furloughing a proper consultancy?

Funny day today. I'm getting bashed in one thread about having a permie thinking and bashed in another for trying to think like a business. Weird times we live in.

The client is furloughing the contractor who has been supplied by the consultancy. But it is an interesting point, as I have been at clients where those engaged via a Managed Service Provider were not included in the end-of-year furlough (#NotAFurlough)

[b0redom]

Cheers for all the replies, useful info.

I don't like the fact it seems a work around not to pay notice.

It's one of the main tenets of IR35 defence. Mutuality of obligation (to accept and offer work). You should really know this.

From some of replies it seems the consensus is notice period is worth nothing as the client could always say you can't come in, you haven't completed a day's work and therefore can't bill. Why are they even written into the contract then?

Who knows? Maybe because it gives the inexperienced a comfort blanket. I don't think I've ever seen MoO invoked permanently and immediately (with the exception of a security incident where a contractor was walked immediately). Furloughing is IME generally considered bad form to invoke from the supplier side, and as others have intoned only generally used as a cost saving exercise at Xmas/Easter/general shutdowns.

[northernladuk]

The client is furloughing the contractor who has been supplied by the consultancy. But it is an interesting point, as I have been at clients where those engaged via a Managed Service Provider were not included in the end-of-year furlough (#NotAFurlough)

A client can't furlough another company's resource. You are being silly now.

[northernladuk]

Yep, I've often seen a project delayed a few weeks due to lack of availability of internal staff - in fact I ended up taking a week off last April as Bulgaria closed for a week due to Easter and National holidays falling in the same week so the end client asked for a delay.

Correct but they didn't furlough them.