Reply to: Increasing rate for working/staying away from home

[Glencky]

Really interesting thread, because coming to it this late and reading the responses so far, it strikes me that all of these are different ways of saying the same thing. Surely when one goes into a contract negotiation one is considering all relevant factors. These include most obviously, what the going rate is in the location, how well experienced you are for the role and therefore how much you can reasonably expect to be paid more than/ less than the going rate; how desirable a client it is (some clients look good on CVs and can afford to pay less as a result...) etc etc. In this case, it's an unusual client that would consciously pay you more because you happen to live further away, just as they wouldn't for permies. But some do, mainly because some just don't see it in quite the commercial way.

In my own case, there's plenty of work in the M4 corridor within an hour's commute for me, so if I was to go outside of that it'd have to be worth it. Whether it's worth it depends on the rate they're prepared to pay for me, yes - but also on how interesting the role is, who it's for, etc etc. Whether any role is attractive or not depends on the sometimes complicated interplay of factors and of course how desperate you are for the income!

But positioning-wise, I wouldn't try and explicitly negotiate a higher rate due to travel costs, but I would go in with a higher start point to cover them. Any sensible client will know what you're doing anyway, and it just comes down to - how much do they want / need you?

[ceebeepps]

I would never judge a rate based on whether i can commute daily or stay away from home, I base it on a) the role b) the location (not in relation to me) and c) the market.

[MicrosoftBob]

What you can do is negotiate some home working so say WFH friday would mean just 3 nights in a B&B or hotel and would at least have more chance of getting client approval as it costs them nothing

[LondonManc]

For me, it hasn't been a case of "having the day rate increased". I have looked for and obtained lower paying local contracts, and higher paying remote ones. And I have given up a higher paying remote contract to take a lower paying local one.

Once I got a very high paying local contract, that was the exception. In the heady days of 2007, just before the...

I think the OP means asking for more.

I think of it as, what would be the minimum I'd work there for, add £100/day and see if they negotiate down.

[unixman]

For me, it hasn't been a case of "having the day rate increased". I have looked for and obtained lower paying local contracts, and higher paying remote ones. And I have given up a higher paying remote contract to take a lower paying local one.

Once I got a very high paying local contract, that was the exception. In the heady days of 2007, just before the...

[Intel]

While it seems a lot, he seems well acquainted with the M6 through Cheshire and the M62 over the Pennines. Personally I'd rather contract in London than do a 100 mile a day round trip on the roads in the North West.

I got rather sick of being on first name terms with the staff at Warwick services.....

All about location, lucky to be 40 minutes train ride from either Manchester or Leeds and 50 minutes drive from Sheffield. Tons of work at the moment in my field and the southern work is where the gig has been fun or new tech.

I'd go to Liverpool but I'd have to add another £200 a day onto the rate for replacement car bits.....

[LondonManc]

100 quid a day which is going to be around 20-25% extra on the day rate when you can get hotels or Airbnb places for less than 50 and get tax relief on it as well? How often does that work out for you? That seems a lot.

While it seems a lot, he seems well acquainted with the M6 through Cheshire and the M62 over the Pennines. Personally I'd rather contract in London than do a 100 mile a day round trip on the roads in the North West.

[northernladuk]

My rules.

1) Check location...
2) work out cost of being in that location.
3) Check market rate and confirm rate client is likely to pay..

4) Decide if it makes sense to look at the contract based on costs and rate (this will depend on need for income, current level of boredom and the level of interest I have in that skillset / client / project) and then quote an acceptable rate for that agent and that client....

Rates are determined by market forces. All you can do is decide if your costs allow you to work in that location....

This is what I did have said. I'd also I'd amount of time on bench and how long I'd spend if I didn't take it but I guess that's covered in item 4. Turning down 50 quid less to spend another month on the bench doesn't really make sense so gotta be pragmatic.

[pr1]

My question is this, how much do you guys usually increase your normal rate to take into account accommodation etc?

Are you implying that you don't charge as much as you think the client will pay for your local contract(s)? How noble of you

[Intel]

That's the standard rate I've charged since I started about 2.5 years ago. Day rate is £500 up north, £600 down south. If the gig isn't at the rate I don't take it. If I'm going to the trouble of staying away I'm staying at the Hilton or somewhere else with decent room service..

Admittedly I work more on a consultancy basis than on long term gigs so mainly a month or two at a time with a core client who gets me doing projects for them on a regular basis.

Not had any unintended bench time.

[eek]

My rules.

1) Check location...
2) work out cost of being in that location.
3) Check market rate and confirm rate client is likely to pay..

4) Decide if it makes sense to look at the contract based on costs and rate (this will depend on need for income, current level of boredom and the level of interest I have in that skillset / client / project) and then quote an acceptable rate for that agent and that client....

Rates are determined by market forces. All you can do is decide if your costs allow you to work in that location....

[northernladuk]

My general rule:

Commutable in under an hour - standard day rate.
Anything else - +£100pd
London - Wouldn't do it for any rate.

100 quid a day which is going to be around 20-25% extra on the day rate when you can get hotels or Airbnb places for less than 50 and get tax relief on it as well? How often does that work out for you? That seems a lot.

[Intel]

My general rule:

Commutable in under an hour - standard day rate.
Anything else - +£100pd
London - Wouldn't do it for any rate.

[Dark Black]

Hi, thanks for the input.

For the record, my normal local rate expectations are normal/typical for my area of expertise, so no I'm not pricing myself out of the market locally. Not wanting to price myself out for roles further afield that require a stay away is the reason for asking the question.

As far as not finding work locally, it's a simply a case of there not being anything for my skillset (unusual, it's funny year), regardless of rate. Where is there an average rate of only 300pd outside London, is that for web stuff or something? - I've not seen anything that low since the last decade (aside from HP ).

It's usually the client that determines the rate based on their budget and then the agent is taking a cut. There is usually a margin for negotiation based on how saturated the market is and how urgent is the client requirement, but not based on you having to commute or stay over.

You mentioned that you are struggling to find work for quite a while, neither agents nor clients like this, yet you are thinking about pricing yourself out of the market even further by asking for £5-10/h more, that's like £40-80pd with average rate outside London being what, £300pd so 13-25% on top, suuuure?

Sorry to be blunt but beggars can't be choosers. Seems like your unreasonable expectations in regards to day rate might be part of the problem why you are struggling to find work in the first place

[DaveB]

If I get calls from pimps asking about my rate I always tell them it is open to negotiation based on role and location. I typically give them a range spanning £200 per day between what I would take for a home based or local commute gig and one that inviolved staying away. The closer they get to the top rate, the more likely I am to consider it.

Work out what it's worth to you and negotiate from there.