Reply to: Being Ripped off!

[Random]

noone really knows your skill set or aptitude so its up to you. If you know you are worth more then negotiate your position. Also dont just look at job boards!!! Apply for jobs and go to a couple of interviews, if you are offered roles in the 150-200 bracket then argue from a position of strength - or just leave and accept the new position

[Wanderer]

was advertised at 13/ph "PAYE", I went in for the advert, they noticed i was already self-employed and said "75/day, thats what all our contractors get, we dont pay travel or expenses etc" and what you will be doing is entering content into an existing CMS system.

Go and renegotiate straight away. "I'm doing much more than I was originally engaged to do, I want a payrise".

Whatever happens, start looking for another contract. You are on slave rates where you are. Seriously, I pay my cleaner more than you are getting paid.

[Scrag Meister]

was advertised at 13/ph "PAYE", I went in for the advert, they noticed i was already self-employed and said "75/day, thats what all our contractors get, we dont pay travel or expenses etc" and what you will be doing is entering content into an existing CMS system.

I accepted it a) not knowing any better about market rates etc and b) given it was monkey work I wouldnt need to use any skills for.

My son earns just shy of that working in Holland and Barrett, with commission.

[wifigeek2]

was advertised at 13/ph "PAYE", I went in for the advert, they noticed i was already self-employed and said "75/day, thats what all our contractors get, we dont pay travel or expenses etc" and what you will be doing is entering content into an existing CMS system.

I accepted it a) not knowing any better about market rates etc and b) given it was monkey work I wouldnt need to use any skills for.

[jmo21]

150/pd including ordering new kit for them, providing consultancy on what they have (phone systems etc) and inc expenses?

I had a look at IT job watch which is why I was under the impression that 250-300/pd was about 'normal'.

Normal is irrelevant when someone will bend over and accept £75/day.

How was the rate decided, did they advertise it, did you offer that as your rate?

[wifigeek2]

150/pd including ordering new kit for them, providing consultancy on what they have (phone systems etc) and inc expenses?

I had a look at IT job watch which is why I was under the impression that 250-300/pd was about 'normal'.

[cojak]

"That means you get £75 every day you turn up, regardless of how long you spend working"

So I can, in theory, turn up for an hour, and go home? sounds good to me... might start taking advantage of that given how much im being ripped off.. surely they *know* im being ripped off. ive already told them that even graduates on IT contracting jobs get approx 150-200/day minimum.

at the mo im doing 12hours per day inc travel.. works out far less than NMW.

the company itself is a HR and Health & safety consultancy.. so they are well aware of 'consultant' rates, bit worried about being screwed over and forced to accept work I dont want..

im now in the position where I dont really need the money, but having the experience as a grad would be fairly good..

Think it would be possible to go back to them and say, 250-300/day or I will go work for some other clients that are willing to pay me what my skillset is worth?

Wrong.

The going rate for what your doing was about right the 1st time: £150 - £200 pd, (I'm not sure how much developiment you're doing though). Many support bods dream of £250 - £300pd.

Don't go from being naive to greedy in one fell swoop, else you'll price yourself out of that experience you're wanting...

[BolshieBastard]

Yes. You're paying them for the priviledge of working for them.

Look for another contract and dump this one.

WSS.

Oh and have any contract reviewed by the likes of Bauer & Cotterill next time. 200 quid well spent imo.

[wifigeek2]

"That means you get £75 every day you turn up, regardless of how long you spend working"

So I can, in theory, turn up for an hour, and go home? sounds good to me... might start taking advantage of that given how much im being ripped off.. surely they *know* im being ripped off. ive already told them that even graduates on IT contracting jobs get approx 150-200/day minimum.

at the mo im doing 12hours per day inc travel.. works out far less than NMW.

the company itself is a HR and Health & safety consultancy.. so they are well aware of 'consultant' rates, bit worried about being screwed over and forced to accept work I dont want..

im now in the position where I dont really need the money, but having the experience as a grad would be fairly good..

Think it would be possible to go back to them and say, 250-300/day or I will go work for some other clients that are willing to pay me what my skillset is worth?

[Support Monkey]

£75 a day and 4 hours travel, don't make me laugh, its not your fault but they saw you coming and are taking you for a ride

This was fine if you were just doing what they initially asked for but anything after that is a joke. they are taking advantage and once they got you through the door thought they could get away with it, if you need the money and want the experience keep going and get out the minute you find somehting better, if not; straight on the phone to the agent Monday morning tell him what there asking you to do and what you origionally agreed tell him your happy to carry on doing the role you were taken on to do and anything extra will need to be negotiated if they say no then walk away

[SofaKingdom]

Are you serious? I pay my housekeeper more than than...

Yep, me too.

[Wanderer]

I got my first contract as a CMS developer, initially for 6weeks at a (very poor) rate of 75/day - all that was required of me was to copy and paste content from word documents into a CMS system, so the rate was agreed.

Are you serious? I pay my housekeeper more than than...

[Fred Bloggs]

Land a new gig then dump this one. HTH.

[thunderlizard]

Cojak is right. It's pretty common to have a couple of awful contracts at the start, so don't worry. They're a chance to make some mistakes (like signing a contract you didn't understand) before they get too expensive. Just tell them you're moving on because you can easily 4 times the rate elsewhere.

the problem is that the contract is wooly and vague, it states my daily rate is 75/day or "part thereof" - I dont know if this means 75quid for working part of a day or if it means part of 75quid depending on how long I work.

That means you get £75 every day you turn up, regardless of how long you spend working. Think of it as a call-out fee. Actually, £75 is reasonable as a call-out fee, but ordinarily it would be accompanied by some kind of time-and-materials remuneration as well.

[Moscow Mule]

any suggestions on what I should do here?

Walk.