Reply to: How do you spend the last days of a contract?

[Danglekt]

I finished earlier this week, I got everyone a nice bottle of prosecco (sp? I don't like wine!) and chocs each

A big box of krispie cremes

Took them all out for lunch

Been there a year, and there is only 4 of them.

It's nice to be nice.

[LondonManc]

Be professional. If there's no work for you to do and there's a new gig already lined up, exit as amicably and as soon as possible.

Key points:
- Complete all handovers, no matter how anal it seems to you
- Make sure your timesheets are all signed.
- Get the donuts/cakes and/or beer in
- Leave your company contact details with any managers who you'd work for.
- Secure your referee(s). If you've used two tools (e.g. building reports over a data warehouse), you may need to secure a reporting tool referee and a data warehousing referee.
- Try not to look happy that you're going

[PerfectStorm]

Make sure there's a little bit of key information and only you know.

[Antman]

I think that there's a £50 limit per client per year, unless you can brand the gift or summat. That is if you try to claim it as an expense...

First link back from google

[northernladuk]

I have no idea. But a bottle of cheap sainsbury's bubbly and some £10 cigars isn't exactly breaking the bank or remotely dodgy.

Isn't impressing anyone either.....

[strawberrysmoothie]

I do the drinks in the pub but isn't there supposed to be some sort of monetary limit to gifts that can be accepted etc. etc.?

I have no idea. But a bottle of cheap sainsbury's bubbly and some £10 cigars isn't exactly breaking the bank or remotely dodgy.

[Antman]

Kind depends.

If I like the client:

-I've brought my client a leaving gift a bottle of bubbly (that also a way of saying thanks offering to pay me 'overtime' when I worked late for a month).

-I've brought another client a some good (though not expensive) quality cigars as well.

- Always buy a couple boxes of crispy cremes and cakes as a goodbye gift for the team.

- Farewell email and get my timesheet signed.

- Drinks at the pub


If I don't like the client.

- I will show up
- Do any outstanding work
- Get my timesheet signed
- Go home!

I do the drinks in the pub but isn't there supposed to be some sort of monetary limit to gifts that can be accepted etc. etc.?

[strawberrysmoothie]

Kind depends.

If I like the client:

-I've brought my client a leaving gift a bottle of bubbly (that also a way of saying thanks offering to pay me 'overtime' when I worked late for a month).

-I've brought another client a some good (though not expensive) quality cigars as well.

- Always buy a couple boxes of crispy cremes and cakes as a goodbye gift for the team.

- Farewell email and get my timesheet signed.

- Drinks at the pub


If I don't like the client.

- I will show up
- Do any outstanding work
- Get my timesheet signed
- Go home!

[unixman]

I bought my team mates breakfast in the company canteen. Well, you can't go overboard.

[CloudWalker]

Well handover done. Out of office reply set up. Last invoice raised .
Now for the invertible hand shakes and linkedin details exchange.

[7specialgems]

Depending on how the gig went, whether or not I think there will be repeat work in the future (or if I would take it if there was) I am professional, or I am "professional".

I've had a gig that was a real slog and there were some personalities, so I hung around throughout the entire notice period.

I can think of two others where I shook hands with the manager at the end of the "conversation neither of us wanted to have had" and offered that, if there is no material need for me to come in, I am more than happy once he had covered it off with HR/the agency, if he wanted to call a meeting with the team and announce that I'll be on my way at the end of the day/week/month.

Krispy Kremes on the last day for nice clients too.

[TheLordDave]

Same as usual, do as little as possible and invoice

[BolshieBastard]

My contract is ending at the end of the month and i've finished all my work.
Tempted to (work from home) for next 24 hours on the deck chair
But how do you spend the last days of a contract? Job hunting / Surfing ContractorUK / Raiding the stationary cupboard ?

By being professional. If there's any related jobs I can do ie create desk aids, help sheets etc, I'll do that. If there's no work, I tell the client I'll take the rest of the time off as holidays.

[sal]

Writing/updating documentation, going one last time through the handover bullet points, tidying my desk and workstation, getting rid of all the "temp" stuff be it files or VMs or w/e, making sure i have a copy of all the useful scripts I wrote or "borrowed" during my tenure, getting a copy of key e-mails that i might need in the future as a proof for accomplishing something or absolving me of responsibility for a screw-up.

[chineseJohn]

- it's about time I rejoined the forum