Termination

[MarillionFan]

Most of the contracts I see are only 3 months anyway. Getting rid of someone in the first week because they are useless is acceptable, if you came to me and said you were getting rid of someone I'd been paying for 12 weeks because they were useless you would be joining them.

I guess being in a production role I don't have well defined projects in the same way as developers do, I can always find something to work on which adds value.

To me, the client saying it's a 6 month contract with a 4 week notice period is saying that they expect to keep you for 6 months, but if circumstances change they will give you 4 weeks to start sorting something else out. I in turn would expect to give them 4 weeks to sort someone else out if I found something better. I've found 4 weeks to be too long for most of the agents calling me, they are all looking for someone to start in the next couple of weeks.

In the case I moved contractor onto different things as it was obvious that what they were hired to do they struggled with. So eventually moved them onto documentation especially around user guides. Having taken them through the new requirements a few weeks earlier & having them take on the new project with my parting words 'you have a contract as long as you can deliver' 10 days later when they had to deliver the User guide they presented page after page of screenshot with no text or context and then had the audacity on the review to say they were confused to 'what type of user manual did you mean'.

It's a bad enough I hire a technical business analyst who turns out not to be technical enough or be able to ramp up after three months, to then not know what a user guide is for the software they've been working on and testing for 3 months is unforgiveable.

[NickFitz]

Over the last year or so I've found an increase in clients wanting a 1 week termination option for the first month, after which it reverts to 4 weeks. I can only assume increasing numbers of clients are getting contractors in who are NBG and have to be terminated.

I've only had a few contracts end early, in each case because of projects being either cancelled outright or put on hold. In each case the client found tangentially-related stuff for me to do to cover the agreed "notice" period, which I thought was pretty good of them since they could have just told me to book no time during that period and saved themselves a few bob. (Cue somebody wittering about IR35, etc.)

[malvolio]

(Cue somebody wittering about IR35, etc.)

Cue someone else wittering about tax evasion for deiberately ignoring tax legislation...?

No contractor needs or should have a notice period. You do the job, it stops, you go on to the next one. If you want out early for some reason, send in a subbie or negotiate an exit. It's what we do.

[NickFitz]

Cue someone else wittering about tax evasion for deiberately ignoring tax legislation...?

No contractor needs or should have a notice period. You do the job, it stops, you go on to the next one. If you want out early for some reason, send in a subbie or negotiate an exit. It's what we do.

Right on time

In all of the cases I mentioned, I was working through an umbrella company so IR35 wasn't a consideration. I'm perfectly happy to leave immediately if a client no longer needs me, and in fact have done so, but if the client is willing to find a bit of work for me to do to cover the "notice period", and it doesn't have any tax implications due to my working practices on that contract, then I'll happily take their money. Like HMRC, I decide these things on a case-by-case basis.

[suityou01]

In the case I moved contractor onto different things as it was obvious that what they were hired to do they struggled with. So eventually moved them onto documentation especially around user guides. Having taken them through the new requirements a few weeks earlier & having them take on the new project with my parting words 'you have a contract as long as you can deliver' 10 days later when they had to deliver the User guide they presented page after page of screenshot with no text or context and then had the audacity on the review to say they were confused to 'what type of user manual did you mean'.

It's a bad enough I hire a technical business analyst who turns out not to be technical enough or be able to ramp up after three months, to then not know what a user guide is for the software they've been working on and testing for 3 months is unforgiveable.

My contract finishes on 30th August. I'm available from the 2nd week in September. You can PM me the contract.

Ta.

[VectraMan]

No contractor needs or should have a notice period. You do the job, it stops, you go on to the next one. If you want out early for some reason, send in a subbie or negotiate an exit. It's what we do.

I agree; I have no problem with a contract that has no mention of a notice period because that's what we are, and what we do. But if a contract says 4 weeks notice period and they terminate early, well then they owe me 4 weeks. That was what was agreed. I've always been a little surprised to find this in contracts, but all of mine have had some mention of notice from the client/agent to me.

[MarillionFan]

My contract finishes on 30th August. I'm available from the 2nd week in September. You can PM me the contract.

Ta.

Not sure I could afford you or cover the amount of sick time you take off.

[malvolio]

Right on time

In all of the cases I mentioned, I was working through an umbrella company so IR35 wasn't a consideration. I'm perfectly happy to leave immediately if a client no longer needs me, and in fact have done so, but if the client is willing to find a bit of work for me to do to cover the "notice period", and it doesn't have any tax implications due to my working practices on that contract, then I'll happily take their money. Like HMRC, I decide these things on a case-by-case basis.

If you're working through an umbrella you're not a freelance contractor.

HTH...

[malvolio]

I agree; I have no problem with a contract that has no mention of a notice period because that's what we are, and what we do. But if a contract says 4 weeks notice period and they terminate early, well then they owe me 4 weeks. That was what was agreed. I've always been a little surprised to find this in contracts, but all of mine have had some mention of notice from the client/agent to me.

Four weeks' notice does NOT mean four weeks' work...

[VectraMan]

Four weeks' notice does NOT mean four weeks' work...

No, it means we'll either give you 4 weeks work for you to earn the money in the normal way, or we'll compensate you for your loss. If that's not the intent, then why put it in the contract?