Payrise (equalisation) for contractor ruled out due to 'payfreeze'

[DieScum]

As the others have said the only approach you can take is to get a better paid contract/permie job.

I've been in your position during the downturn of the tech bubble. New graduate with 1 year experience had moved cities and was looking for a job. The only thing I could get was a 13 pounds an hour helpdesk job. Was pretty depressing and there was just nothing else available for a while.

I guess you'll find the same now with the recession. So stick in there making your money, it's better than unemployment, and keep searching and positioning yourself for the next role.

[Support Monkey]

[QUOTE=Nixeh;1185701]I initially took the job and settled on my current fee (£13.50p/h) as i was told that this was what my colleague was on (also in the same job role) and that pay rises would usually happen every 6months and up to 3% of current earnings.

2 people supplying services to the same agency doing the same job, the agency will almost certainly be charging the same rate for both if their doing the same job its just the other person negotiated a better rate than you so the agency get a better margin on you than they do the other person

My agency (shall refer to as Agency) hired me for the role and the company i actually provide services for (shall refer to as employer).

If you are limited then you are supplying your services to the agency they then supply you to their end client

Any time i try to talk to my agency about this, they refer me to my employer say that this is in their remit, yet when i speak to my employer they inform me that i am not allowed to speak to them regarding pay or contracts etc and i would have to speak to my agency

if you are limited you are supplying your services to the Agency and as such your negotiations are with the agency the contract between the agency and the end client has nothing to do with you, start negotiations with the agency and if they don't want to up the rate then walk away

[Wanderer]

Find another contract with another firm through another agency at a better rate. Then at renewal time hold out for your required rate, if they pay it then great, if not then its "hi ho, hi ho, off to the new job we go", innit ?

Yeah, what Boo said. If you don't like your rate (contract or permie) then go and look for another job. If you find one with a better rate then go to your agency or client (don't say "employer" or you will set everyone's IR35 radars off ) and then either negotiate a pay rise or move on.

It's possible to do this half way through a contract if you want to but it's not good form. Best to wait for renewal time.

No offence intended, but the rate you are on isn't a contractor rate - it's a permie rate without the permie benefits.

[darmstadt]

They aren't a contractor they are a temp who has been conned into thinking they are a contractor. Contractors don't use the term employer.

I would have thought that if you're a 'Ltd.' then you are an employee of your company therefore your employer is your company. This means that his employer should be discussing this with his customer...

[SueEllen]

Your rate is £108 a day???? And you arent entitled to holiday pay, sickness pay etc. Seriously, find a permie job.


So what made you become a contractor? It cant have been the vast wages and extravagant lifestyle we all enjoy.

They aren't a contractor they are a temp who has been conned into thinking they are a contractor. Contractors don't use the term employer.

[escapeUK]

Your rate is £108 a day???? And you arent entitled to holiday pay, sickness pay etc. Seriously, find a permie job.


So what made you become a contractor? It cant have been the vast wages and extravagant lifestyle we all enjoy.

[rsingh]

FTFY

Spot on!

[northernladuk]

Find another role that is better paid. That is your only option.

For your mindset, you'd be be better off as a permie. What exactly is your role?

FTFY

[rsingh]

Find another role that is better paid. That is your only option.

For the rate that you are on, you'd be be better off as a permie. What exactly is your role?

[northernladuk]

Another 9-5 contractor

I know as a contractor i dont have as many rights as a permie, but something doesnt seem right about this. The whole system seems to be setup in such a way that i seem to be yelling into a dark hole, and nothing happens.

Forget 'as many'. You have NO rights compared to a permie. You are totally different on so many levels. To be honest I think you need to jack this gig in and go get another to try and learn the difference between what you do and a permie. Keep this current thought process in and you are going to land yourself in a whole world of pain. Other people have mentioned IR35 dangers. The fact that you think you are a diguised employee is bad enough but I would also guess you have made no effort to try and distance yourself and get yoursef out of IR35. If you are plainly in (which it looks like) then it affects your taxation etc, something I guess you are not aware of either.

Time for a very quick education I think. Start browsing the links to the side and learn quickly.

Pay rise for contractors... at least I started the day with a smile

[Boo]

what can i do?

Find another contract with another firm through another agency at a better rate. Then at renewal time hold out for your required rate, if they pay it then great, if not then its "hi ho, hi ho, off to the new job we go", innit ?

As a contractor you have no right to the same rate as another contractor. I once worked for a firm where someone had a poster up which said "in business you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate". That applies to contracting in spades.

Also, you seem naive to the point of total gullibility, please tell me that you actually read the contracts you sign and that you argue each and every term you disagree with ? If this is too much trouble then you need to reconsider whether contracting is for youy, sorry to put it so bluntly but...

Boo

[b0redom]

Also you're on dangerous IR35 ground referring to your client as your 'employer'.

Also 2 years at one ClientCo? You realise you can't claim out of pocket travelling expenses now right?

[SueEllen]

You are contractor not a permie.

If you don't like the rate than find another contract with the rate you want, and tell them if they don't increase the rate you are going.


BTW Equal pay claims for women who are permies are a really hard area of employment law technically so don't bother thinking about it.

[Nixeh]

Hi all,

Just looking for a bit of advice on an issue that i have the pleasure of being caught up in.

I have currently been working for a company for nearly 2 years (6month rolling contracts) as a Ltd contractor. Now its nearly time to come up for my contact extension and i have already been told that i have the contract if i want it, but the issue is i want to renegotiate.

I initially took the job and settled on my current fee (£13.50p/h) as i was told that this was what my colleague was on (also in the same job role) and that pay rises would usually happen every 6months and up to 3% of current earnings. I asked if i could see any information that would prove that i was on the same as a colleague, but they couldnt due to it being confidential. Low and behold due to the current climate, the pay rises didnt happen. In the mean time i have found out, that my colleague who is doing the same job is actually on a higher rate than myself (£19p/h). I queried this about 4months ago and i was told that there was much i could do as i was mid way through my contract and that it would have to be discussed closer to my contract extension. So ive started chasing this up recently saying that i would like to be put on the same rate, as i am the more qualified out of us 2 and i literally got pushed out of the office with the excuse 'payfreeze, sorry bye'. Now i have gone to my manager about this, and he agrees that i should be on more. I have also gone to the companies ethics officer and he has told me that he believes that this isnt right. So i decided to take this further....

My agency (shall refer to as Agency) hired me for the role and the company i actually provide services for (shall refer to as employer). I submit timesheets to my employer and then invoice my agency. Now this is where it gets a bit hazey. I spoke to my agency and asked if there was any way around this payfreeze and i was told no, due to it being a company directive. So i landed up speaking to my manager and he said he would get the job role benchmarked by the agency to help the case. The benchmarking has come back and i have been told that i am not allowed to know the outcome of this benchmark, and that my pay will still be the same (my employer didnt even look at it).

Now my query is, what can i do?

My initial contract was negotiated on the basis that i was told i wouldnt get any more due to the fact that this is what my colleague gets paid on the same role, so i agreed and signed the contract (landed up being false). Is there any way i can quote some pay equality law that would allow me to get this pushed through so i can bring myself up to the level that my colleague is on? Also, if this was a woman who was getting paid less than a colleague, after being told that they were on equal pay, would they have a case? I know a few of you would say its not worth it due to it being a couple £ extra an hour, but its a large difference if you look at it as a percentage.

Any time i try to talk to my agency about this, they refer me to my employer say that this is in their remit, yet when i speak to my employer they inform me that i am not allowed to speak to them regarding pay or contracts etc and i would have to speak to my agency.

I know as a contractor i dont have as many rights as a permie, but something doesnt seem right about this. The whole system seems to be setup in such a way that i seem to be yelling into a dark hole, and nothing happens.

Let us know if you require any more info to be able to guide be more effectively. And thanks for any advice given (wasnt sure if this should go in contracts, or legal)