Reply to: Any advice on contract termination

[Spike]

Good advice

Well, there are a lot of points to discuss here.......

Nobody ever loses a contract for the big things, it's the small things that get you, like
getting in the lift wearing your khakis and unfortunately standing next to the MD, being 2 mins late for a meeting because you had to take a sick child to the doctor, and so forth, another no-no is discussion of rates in public or indeed in any casual conversation with the permies, they will resent you for it and they cannot help that.

The rules are simple and often cruel, it's a contract, that's it, if a permie feels the need to grumble about your dress - beware, if they grumble about your car, life style, etc beware. Infact don't discuss any activities that you do (unless they bring it up first).

The best way to make money is quietly, don't flaunt it, do the job, and within reason stick to the scope of the job accountabilities, but do not give favours or work late/out of hours easily, as it only devalues you in their eyes.

Its a contract for your services, make it that every day, it's not a friendship agreement (though you'll invariably meet people you like), it's a cold hard contract between your company and their company, neither of which have a concience, and here's the rub, if a contract starts to look like it has been comprimised (either by your own foolishness, naievty, sneaky permies or whatever), make alternative arragnements, i.e start looking and once you have found something, give notice and leave, you'll often be pleasantly delighted at the shock-horror look on the permies face as they suddenly realise they are in a bit of a bind..........

Nice post, having recently started my first contract after a three year permie position I can see how one could easily slip back into permie thinking. I#m determined not to

[Denny]

Pants.

You were terminated because you're face didn't fit not because your pants didn't.

If you had genuinely broken the dress code and that had been the real problem you would have been warned to dress more appropriately and that's it.

[Paddy]

Hi All

I hope someone can advise me as to how I should proceed after my contract was terminated without notice for wearing a pair of blue jeans to work (not a joke!!!) and I was generally being harassed by a manager.

The senario is this...

I was contracting with a Financial Client at their office in Dublin as a Help Desk Support and my contract was terminated without notice. The reason given was that I wore a pair of blue jeans into the office which was against the company dress code.

I wore the blue jeans that day as my 2 pairs of "formal" pants were in the cleaners (I have the dated receipt) and another pair was stained and un-wearable. It was just an unfortunate coincidence. (like many contractors working away from home I carry a limited selection of clothes).
I was approached by a manager (not my Dept manager) and told that I should not be wearing blue jeans in the office. I replied that I had quite literally nothing else to wear and the choice was to either wear jeans or not turn up for work and leave the help desk un-manned for the day.
When I asked the manager if anyone else in the office had ever been reprimanded about their dress code he said no. When I pointed out that I have often noticed other staff in the office wearing blue jeans, tee shirts, tracksuit bottoms and sneakers, he said that the company dress code policy was a "hazy area" and was not strictly enforced by the company.

I had another comment made to me by my Dept Manager a month previously because I wore a teeshirt into the office on a "Casual Friday" There were others wearing teeshirts that day, both male and female employees. The same Manager (female) once wore a pair of hiking pants and flip-flops to the office, not exactly what I would call 'formal' dress code. Since then I always made a point of wearing formal dress even on the "Casual dress" days.

The Client has had no complaints about my work and I fulfilled the contract as I had agreed, i.e. by not taking any holidays or time off, as I was the only Help Desk Support person in the office.
The department is also in the process closing down and all permanent staff will be gone by december.

I have the impression that the dress code issues were just used as an excuse by the Manager to terminate my Contract without notice as I saw
an invoice with my rate on her desk shortly before all the hastle started so jealousy may have been involved.

I would appreciate some advice or if some other Contractor has been in the same situation

On the broad look at your situation they are in breach of contract if they have terminated your contract. However I have often bought a pair of trousers and shirt on they way into work because the rest is “in the wash” I don’t think you have acted like a true contractor. A true contractor would have thought out the situation and bought some replacement clothing.

[Asterix]

Bad luck

Were you 'escorted off the premises', so to speak ? I would have asked to see someone from HR in that case before I handed back my security pass. It seems that a lot of Dept Mgrs haven't got a clue about procedures and they pretty much act on impulse. Having said that, companies in Scotland and Ireland seem to be more old-fashioned when it comes to dress-code.

[lukemg]

You are thinking like a permie, their rules do not apply to you (especially the women - they can wear anything they like), you have to be squeaky clean. They were looking for an excuse to get rid, presume it was the money to avoid any dent to confidence. This would never have happened to me for 2 reasons
1- I'm normally one of the the smartest dressed - I like wearing a tie
2- Any boss I had might have had a word, but I would have spoken to them first and explained why and asked if it was ok for the day

[Flubster]

But jeans at a rodeo is compulsary Bob.

I thought he was a line dancing tutor...

[MarillionFan]

But jeans at a rodeo is compulsary Bob.

[Cowboy Bob]

The trousers thing has happened to me. I went and bought another pair.
Never ever turn up to the office looking like a tramp. Unless you are a tramp or Milan.

It'll never happen to me as I wear jeans. And that's the end of the discussion. If they don't like it, tough.

[MarillionFan]

The trousers thing has happened to me. I went and bought another pair.
Never ever turn up to the office looking like a tramp. Unless you are a tramp or Milan.

[barely_pointless]

Well, there are a lot of points to discuss here.......

Nobody ever loses a contract for the big things, it's the small things that get you, like
getting in the lift wearing your khakis and unfortunately standing next to the MD, being 2 mins late for a meeting because you had to take a sick child to the doctor, and so forth, another no-no is discussion of rates in public or indeed in any casual conversation with the permies, they will resent you for it and they cannot help that.

The rules are simple and often cruel, it's a contract, that's it, if a permie feels the need to grumble about your dress - beware, if they grumble about your car, life style, etc beware. Infact don't discuss any activities that you do (unless they bring it up first).

The best way to make money is quietly, don't flaunt it, do the job, and within reason stick to the scope of the job accountabilities, but do not give favours or work late/out of hours easily, as it only devalues you in their eyes.

Its a contract for your services, make it that every day, it's not a friendship agreement (though you'll invariably meet people you like), it's a cold hard contract between your company and their company, neither of which have a concience, and here's the rub, if a contract starts to look like it has been comprimised (either by your own foolishness, naievty, sneaky permies or whatever), make alternative arragnements, i.e start looking and once you have found something, give notice and leave, you'll often be pleasantly delighted at the shock-horror look on the permies face as they suddenly realise they are in a bit of a bind..........

[malvolio]

Forget any specific bits about dress code or any other behavioural details: somewhere in your contract will be a clause that allows termination without explanation or notice that will make any idea of "wrongful dismissal" totally irrelevant.

Ignore the whys and wherefores, get on with the next contract - this is what you get for being a contractor and why you aren't a permie. But, on the bright side, you can't easily get stung for IR35 on this one, can you?

[oraclesmith]

There is nothing in my contract that states that I must adhere 'rigidly' to the Clients dress code, there is a general comment about respecting the Clients dress code that is a 'cover all' to all contractors.

It's still in there though. It's not uncommon to have to 'respect' the clients dress codes, but as a freelance professional you should be setting a higher standard. If something is written in the contract, then it is legally binding regardless of how casual it sounds.

I was following the dress code of the permanant staff which was very relaxed all the time. In fact the Company held a 'blue jeans friday' every few weeks to collect money for charity when all staff wore them.

Yes, but you're NOT an employee - you have a different kind of contract. You've let yourself get lulled into a false sense of security by the permies. Don't let it happen again or I'll come round and give you a good hiding!

As thunderlizard mentioned, the best route would be to get a legal opinion. It needn't cost you anything to get a half hour initial session with a business law firm to explain your situation and see if there is any mileage in pursuing it. If you can get another contract reasonably easily, then you could just put it behind you and get on with earning some money.

[thunderlizard]

Well I can't imagine McKinsey miscalculating the trouser situation and proffering dated receipts in their defence...

But still, nobody gets a contract terminated for the sake of what trolleys they're wearing. Even if it's mentioned in the contract (which is unusual), I can't see how it could lead to an irremediable breach. It has got to be an excuse for something: probably "The department is also in the process closing down and all permanent staff will be gone by december". Incidentally, the first sign of a downsizing is that the "Internet Usage Policy" gets dusted off and enforced for the first time in living memory.

Work out whether it's worth your while to get a lawyer to back you up. That's what they'd do, in your (canvas) shoes.

[Pirate]

There is nothing in my contract that states that I must adhere 'rigidly' to the Clients dress code, there is a general comment about respecting the Clients dress code that is a 'cover all' to all contractors.

I was following the dress code of the permanant staff which was very relaxed all the time. In fact the Company held a 'blue jeans friday' every few weeks to collect money for charity when all staff wore them.

[oraclesmith]

What you've got to remember is that you run your own business if you are a contractor, even if you are a sole trader or umbrella'd. You set your own professional standards when doing business. If they've tied you down to a contract which details line manager, dress code, conduct, hours of work, following their company policy etc as absolute requirements - then you're really an employee not a contractor.

Can you give us a clue as to whether there is anything in your contract which relates to this dress code issue ? If not, then they've breached the terms of the contract. How long did you have to go ?

Having said that, I wouldn't have turned up in jeans. If I didn't have anything else to wear and my contract depended on it, I'd have gone out and bought a pair. It sounds a bit hard of them, though. Maybe they're looking for an excuse....