Reply to: 10% rate cut for renewal

[BrilloPad]

Take the pay cut dude. there are not a lot of jobs out there no matter how out of this world ur skills are.

A few of the banks are cutting rates at the moment as well. Some are even going on a month by month basis for some contractors!

I'm back in insurance industry with about 30% rate cut!. No damn bank jobs about. It might be crap money but I am still getting paid. l reduce that margin by billing overtime/working on weekends.

This difficult times, I wonder what its going to be like next year.

css_jay99

It all goes quiet from now until about Feb. Who knows what march and new budgets will bring?

[css_jay99]

Take the pay cut dude. there are not a lot of jobs out there no matter how out of this world ur skills are.

A few of the banks are cutting rates at the moment as well. Some are even going on a month by month basis for some contractors!

I'm back in insurance industry with about 30% rate cut!. No damn bank jobs about. It might be crap money but I am still getting paid. l reduce that margin by billing overtime/working on weekends.

This difficult times, I wonder what its going to be like next year.

css_jay99

[achilles]

This is a good example why I don't rate CP too highly.

Be careful because they might just try to squeeze your rate to their benefit. Make sure that the reduction was initiated by the client.

Personally, I would just call their bluff and tell them that I won't accept the reduction. Chances are that either they will keep you on until the end of your contract or CP will absorb part of the reduction (say.,5% each way).

[BolshieBastard]

I'm missing something here. Your company is contracted to Computer People, and Computer People say you have to have your contract with them moved to another 'preferred' supplier, i.e. another agency? They want to give up their precious commission and arrange for your contract so it pays for some other pimps' shiny suits and hair gel?

Sounds like BS to me.


Oh and:



WHS

I very much doubt CP want to give up the contract. If they have it may be because they consider the margin to be too small (but as I've said previously 90% of something....) since a number of agencies are dumping small margin PSL deals.

It could be the client co has demanded anagent on their PSL be used and CP are not on it.

[TykeMerc]

Are Computer People a group agency? Maybe the new agents on the Preferred Supplier List are another group company.

[swamp]

However got an email today from my Agency "Conputer People" saying that from 1st Dec I would be transferring to the clients preferred supplier, and by the way, they were reducing rates across the board by 10%. So I get one month at the current rate, then new contracts negotiated from then with the new agency.

I'm missing something here. Your company is contracted to Computer People, and Computer People say you have to have your contract with them moved to another 'preferred' supplier, i.e. another agency? They want to give up their precious commission and arrange for your contract so it pays for some other pimps' shiny suits and hair gel?

Sounds like BS to me.


Oh and:

FFS... have you not seen the state of the market. This is meltdown.

WHS

[max]

Ok, been contracting in this large insurance company for over 3 years, got offered a 3 month renewal on old terms, starting 3rd November.

However got an email today from my Agency "Conputer People" saying that from 1st Dec I would be transferring to the clients preferred supplier, and by the way, they were reducing rates across the board by 10%. So I get one month at the current rate, then new contracts negotiated from then with the new agency.

After the initial deep resentment and anger (client have refused all attempts for a rate increase in 3.5 years, apart from once), is this strictly legal?

This will have happened many times I know, what is the best way to deal with it? - I will certainly be looking around for other opportunities

FFS... have you not seen the state of the market. This is meltdown. You could ask them to stop paying you pounds and instead pay you with canned food, petrol and shot gun shells.

Please...get real. 10% is nothing.

[BolshieBastard]

Yep, especially if you can get away with only doing 80% as much work. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. Pay less peanuts, get lazy monkeys.

What's your point and how does that address the real issue of clients wanting to implement rate cuts?

[Mich the Tester]

You've got to be pragmatic especially in these crunch times. 90% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

Yep, especially if you can get away with only doing 80% as much work. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. Pay less peanuts, get lazy monkeys.

[Zeon]

I'd walk.

You've been there 3 years so you should have plenty in the rainy day fund. Couple of months on the bench get Christmas out the way and then worry about it in 2009.

100% of nothing...is a valid point. 3 years is a long time I've not had permanent jobs that long! If you've been there that length of time you should be deeply involved in different projects which means you should be valued at the very least at the same rate.

Tell them politely that you're going to decline their generous offer.

[norrahe]

take the cut, as someone who's been in the insurance market for the last 10 years, there are sod all insurance contracts out there atm.
(I'm currently keeeping the bench warm)

A lot of contracts are either becoming fixed term or permie.

[NotAllThere]

Has anyone ever tried OK 10% cut, with 10% cut in hours?

I mean, I know you can punish them with 10% skiving, but actually spend more time at home, e.g. 1/2 day per week?

Not directly. But when my day rate was "too high", I said, ok, I'll take your rate, but only work 7 hours, instead of eight. And that was ok.

One time I quoted £75 an hour, and the agent asked me how much that was daily - £600. "Too high", he says. And eventually we agreed on £540. When the contract arrived it was for 7 hours a day = £77.14 an hour. And extra hours up to 40 hours a week was fine... So the agent had successfully negotiated my rate up to £617 a day.

[BA to the Stars]

Bolshie makes the important point in that 90% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

If you are confident that you can leave on Friday and walk into a new gig on Monday at a better rate then do that. If not, take the hit but keep looking for the next role

[d000hg]

10% doesn't seem too bad, if it's a reasonable rate to start with.

[BrilloPad]

I would take the cut. Unless clientco are reading this thread and using it to decide about a rate cut - in which case I walk.