Reply to: Consultantcy via client changes start date less than 24 hrs notice

[Dactylion]

............... Told them 1 week before the end of my 6 month contract to get a response "but we where going to renew you!"

I circulated a "Good Bye - It's been nice working with you everyone but this is my last week" email on the Monday of the last week of my contract with a Bob Consultancy.

I watched the face of my Liaison Bob go slightly pale as he read it. Then kept a straight face while he made frantic calls to his chief.

Exactly 30 minutes later he strolled over to my desk and said "We have renewed your contract".

He was not happy with my response of:- "Oh dear, that's a shame because nobody had spoken to me I have already got a new contract lined up and I will be finishing here on Friday"

Background:
Bob Consultancy had during the course of this 6 monther:
a) Tried very hard to persuade me to go permie within a few weeks of joining (Did anybody ever fall for this during the early stages of a contract - I always thought it was a blindingly obvious trap of getting a contractor on the cheap - only to fire/drop them when the contract would've ended anyway)
b) Tried to cut my rate, by about 30%, mid contract
Conversation was:
Bob: We have changed your daily rate :-)
Dacty: You mean you've broken our contract? If that's the case I'll leave now as I won't be renegotiating rates at this stage. If you want me to stay I will continue to Invoice at the agreed rate.
Bob:

Follow up: My Oppo (a UK based Bob who they had also tried a&b on - but who had followed my lead on his response)
Was very worried, as his contract ended a week or so later, but I told him he should renegotiate a better rate for any extension.

He did, I think he got an extra £50 a day or something for a new 6monther, but it only lasted about 4months - Mainly due to the end client cottoning on that Bob Consultancies far from being a cheap, good option were Tulip, and that the only 1/2 decent resources were subbed in from local/UK freelancers.

Ahhhh the Good Old Days when all we had to worry about was Tulip like that :-)

[PerfectStorm]

don't stop looking or interviewing until you start.

^this, always this...

I'd go one further than this

"Don't stop looking until you start, but tell each agent that they're the only thing on the table and you've stopped looking"

Makes you feel like a right scumbag at first, but then you realise they'd happily do it to you, and that everything's subject to contract anyway. Until you've signed, you're anyones. Sometimes even after...

I feel no sense of guilt, for example, with any client that initially wants someone to "start yesterday" then spends 2,3,4 weeks or more sorting out a contract and a logon. If they want to lock me in - then lock me in, with a contract and kit. If you choose not to, then you've chosen not to, and you don't get exclusivity.

[Hairlocks]

Pre COVID I had a gig that meant a 3 hour travel to London every day. Was assured by the agent they where ready for me to start, so got season ticket, struggled getting pass reception on the first day to find out they where not ready for me. I went back 2 weeks later when they were.

Same place moved the deckchairs 4 months in and I no longer had a one. After mentioning a few times I found a new contract. Told them 1 week before the end of my 6 month contract to get a response "but we where going to renew you!"

[l35kee]

It's better this way, at least then you have an extra week on the end of your contract assuming they push teh end date back as week too.

[eek]

don't stop looking or interviewing until you start.

^this, always this...

[davetza]

Better still is they shouldn't have stopped looking until they were logged in and working.

I learned this the hard way. I had a contract that was ending soon as we were in the post go live support period so I started looking and found a new contract and had a counter-signed contract in my possession which stage I gave notice to my current client. A couple of days later the new contract was pulled as they never had the budget signed off (this was a large NHS org). Had to crawl back to my current client and was able to negotiate a few more weeks before I left.

I was also in the final stage of an interview process when I was made an offer by another client so pulled out of the interview process. I was then strung along for a month or so at which stage the contract was pulled as the project was cancelled.

My view is you don't stop looking or interviewing until you start.

[jamesbrown]

Welcome to contracting.

Agree, this is literally contracting

[PerfectStorm]

Very normal - you're being paid (in part) for flexibility, which includes things like this.

Once you're weeks or months deep into the thing stuff like this ceases to matter.

[northernladuk]

Welcome to contracting.

/thread

[Gibbon]

Better still is they shouldn't have stopped looking until they were logged in and working and first invoice paid correctly!!!!.

This ^^ & FTFY. Swings and roundabouts. I once had similar with delayed start and no firm date so went for another interview, bagged it and 5 mins after accepting the other one came in with a start date. They weren't too happy when I said no thanks.

[TheDude]

Welcome to contracting.

[SueEllen]

Happened to me.

In my case it wasn't the consultancy's fault, it was their clients fault as their client didn't send me the equipment on time.

[northernladuk]

Probably one of those things although no harm in looking for something else in the meantime.

Better still is they shouldn't have stopped looking until they were logged in and working.

[SussexSeagull]

Has happened to me although before the contract was issued and signed. As has been pointed out they don’t actually need to issue a new contract as they could just not pay you for this week, although they might be planning to add the week on at the end.

Probably one of those things although no harm in looking for something else in the meantime.

[malvolio]

You're selling and the client is buying a service from you. Worrying about the precise start and end dates is out of your control, so either let them do their thing with the paperwork, turn up when required under the blanket of a mutually agreed contract and keep the client(s) happy, or walk away and find something else. One will earn you money, the other won't.

NLUK is right - you must understand you get paid for days worked, nothing else. Keep that in mind and a lot of these stupidities, generated by people who fail to understand the difference between a contractor and an employee (to whom such issues are more important) will fade away.


BTW I got bounced from a gig once at 15:00 of the Friday before the starting the following Monday, losing quite a bit of cash on booked accommodation and interview expenses. Crap happens, learn to live with it!