contractor acting like permie

[Ruprect]

On a similar viewpoint, imagine you are company A and he is company B, working together on a big project, but competitors.

He is offering a free service to the client (as a loss leader) to ensure a longer contract in the long run. That's how he sees it.

Either you are willing to work for free on the same basis or not. If not, professionally tell the client that your companies time is chargeable. They pay you work at the weekend, they don't pay, you don't.

That's it in a nutshell really. He just seems to be too willing to do it too often.

[snaw]

Personally I think its bulldish and am currently steadfastly refusing to work without billing for it (for the moment).

I'm not sure what specific area of IT you're in, but surely things can't be that desperate you'd consider working weekends for free?

I'd rather walk - you work weekends for nowt, you're effectively lowering your rate.

[Ruprect]

I'm not sure what specific area of IT you're in, but surely things can't be that desperate you'd consider working weekends for free?

I'd rather walk - you work weekends for nowt, you're effectively lowering your rate.

a permie!!!

forgot to mention - the other 3 contractors are new on the proj, so couldn't really do what's needed so are keeping quiet. pretty much its me, the other contractor and the permie who know enough to be effective on call support.

[ft101]

Don't do it for free (shiver) - as said, you're lowering your rate.

At the end of the day, permies get job security (snigger), promotions and bonuses and all the other perks in order that they do this stuff, so no guilt there (we've all done it at some stage as permies, right).

Second, as already said, if the other contractor is willing to do it for free - so be it, thats market competition for you. At the end of the day, maybe he's tulipe, or maybe he is desperate. Who cares - if you are not prepared to lower your rate by 20-30% effectively, then stand firm. At the end of the day, you have costs associated with delivering your service, so you cannot possibly do it for free.

[ratewhore]

I appreciate your point RH, but sometimes things aren't quite so cut and dried.

You're quite right of course. Maybe his rate is higher so he can afford to do these freebies, maybe he has other contractual clauses which you don't.

I guess my point is it's just not worth wasting your time stressing over it. Having said that, he sounds like a pseudo-permie so probably won't contract for long...

[schindler]

I'm one of 5 contactors in a 7 person team. Client is at a stage where they need weekend support for the next 10 or so weekends. I've said that Myco can provide this as a billable service if required. TBH, one of the reasons I went contracting was to get away from b0llox like this. Inevitably one of the permies gets lumped with a load of this type of work, but now one of the other contractors is volunteering himself to do this free of charge. Not only do I think that this is a terrible precedent to be setting, it makes me look like a selfish twunt when I refuse to "muck in for the team".

I'm inclined to just say stuff it, that's the deal, like it or lump it. The client wouldn't pay me for work not done, so why should I work for what I know I won't be billing for? Or should I lump it for the sake of "good client relations"? I've tried subtly hinting to the other contractor that he should stand firm, but he isn't/won't.

Is the other contractor from the 'Subcontinent'?

[Pickle2]

Something you havent covered here. Why is the client not prepared to pay for your time? Its seems a very odd thing for them to expect you to work at the weekend for free.

[BrianSnail]

Back in my day's of permiedom <shiver> I expected (and received) payment for weekend / out-of-hours on call support and wouldn't consider the situation any different as a contractor. Actually it would be different as I would dictate my out-of-hours rate to ClientCo, rather than taking the employers standard OoH rate.

Is it inappropriate to name and shame this contractor? Surely it would benefit him/her if we all had a quiet word about lowering standards etc etc.

[Pickle2]

Oh, and in reply to my own post. If its a budget / sign off issue, I have got round this in the past by working a saturday (say), then taking a monday (say) off. And then having client co manager sign a timesheet for the monday, but not the saturday.

for some reason, only beknown to client co, this was fine and everyone was happy. They got weekend cover, I got paid for my time.

[Bright Spark]

you need to add some spin to the client and say something like this:

"I've consulted the other directors in the company that I work for
and since they have a share in the business and provided capital they
are not willing to let me work for free, also I have other personal committments on these weekends, however I might be able to arrange a sub contractor who does work for us at xyz rate to provide this service if required".

The above also works well for IR35.