Sticking around when it’s quiet

[ladymuck]

I would totally take a holiday - why the heck not!

Then I would dust off the CV and see what interest it gets but not look to be in a rush to move. You have the luxury of being picky right now. If something enticing comes along, go for it. Otherwise, just smile and invoice.

See if you can do a couple of days a week from home and work on a pet project or for another client. If you're going to invoice for doing nothing, you may as well do something with your time

[AnthonyQuinn]

Hunker down and keep invoicing

There's one thing you should always be keen on doing. Your business needs that you keep invoicing. What your client's projects and priorities are should always come second to your Co.

[GreenMirror]

Spend more time posting on CUK.

[psychocandy]

Warm up those wrists - plenty of time in the bogs at clientco

[jmo21]

A bird in the hand etc....

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...bench-now.html

Obviously you and the OP on that thread may do totally different things, in different parts of the country, so only you can tell what your market looks like right now. Are you seeing lots of contracts advertised that would suit you? Agents phoning a lot?

[northernladuk]

C) Book two weeks holiday now before the busy time comes in. Keeps you away from IR35 by not being on site when there's nothing to do. Assess the situation again when you get back - if there's work to be done in line with contracted deliverables after that, it's all good, even if it's just groundwork to get other teams aware of what you'll be working on.

So totally this ^^

[LondonManc]

C) Book two weeks holiday now before the busy time comes in. Keeps you away from IR35 by not being on site when there's nothing to do. Assess the situation again when you get back - if there's work to be done in line with contracted deliverables after that, it's all good, even if it's just groundwork to get other teams aware of what you'll be working on.

[ChangePM]

I’m after a bit of advice, guidance and general anecdotes from experience.

I have another four months left on my contract following an extension at the end of 2018. Since the turn of this year, the work seems to have slowed down big time. There have been a number of organisational changes at the client and a few changes in the Boardroom.
As a result the project I’m on has stalled, but is due to pick up pace again in a few weeks (albeit there’s no certainty yet).

I see I have two options:

A) Sit tight, see out the next four quiet months whilst going through the motions and invoicing.

B) Look elsewhere and get out on my own terms for something challenging and rewarding. This could mean a reduction in my rate.

To add some context to this, I’m not the kind of person to take liberties and just sit around doing nothing whilst taking the money. That said, I turned down a couple of opportunities that presented themselves around my renewal date because the client really needed me to stay - so there’s an element of them “owing me” for sticking with them when they needed me most.