Reply to: Leaving gig without notice

[perplexed]

Whilst honouring the notice period, or taking the risk of not getting the last timesheet/invoice paid.

Situations I'd envisage leading to me walking out, those would be the least of my worries.

Client not paying invoices? Only directly relevant if contracting drect - theoretically, it's not relevant to getting paid by an agency, though real world, there would be little chance of getting paid.

[cojak]

I personally haven't walked from a gig.

I should have once, when agency started misbehaving. I didn't, stupidly didn't want to lat a client down. Cost me a fair whack.

Would I quit purely for more money? No.

Would I quit if the client were being dicks, taking the piss? Hell yes.

Would I quit if the agent started taking the piss? Definitely.

There's no black / white here. There's an ideal - that you honour contract, definitely. There are very valid situations where a contractor should get out of dodge pronto.

Whilst honouring the notice period, or taking the risk of not getting the last timesheet/invoice paid.

[cojak]

Contractors walking off site seems to happen fairly frequently but they will invariably lose money and reputation; this industry is very small and I am afraid word does get round if you breach the terms of your contract.

WLCUS

The 2 contractors I know who did walk off site recognised that they weren't going to get their last timesheet signed-off and paid but were prepared to take the hit.

Only contractors finishing as per the contract had any recourse to getting their money because they didn't break their side of the (legal) bargain.

[JamJarST]

Have you had an independent IR35 review?

Yep I have. I get a new identical contract every month.

[northernladuk]

My tuppence: as a hirer of contractors (and ex contractor myself) I usually specify a 2 week notice period. I can't see any circumstances bar physical assault, sudden serious illness or something equally dramatic and unlikely) that I would condone as being suffiicient for a contractor to leave without notice. 2 weeks is not a large period of time and there can be no excuse for breaching contract.
Were a contractor to behave in such an unprofessional way I would certainy try to withold payment (and get the in-house lawyer involved) and in a niche industry such behaviour would certainly have repercussions.

Totally this and what Pondlife says. Unfortuantely, as we can see from some of the posts recently, contracting is getting flooded with ex-permies out for a quick buck who make no attempt to understand their situation, the way contractors delivery work and are expected to behave. People asking if they should 'resign' from work or just expect they can leave whenever they want regardless of notice. The professionalism expected from contractors is just going to get worse and worse to the extent the clients will start to screw us over and HMRC will have justification to put more effort in to chasing these 'hidden permies' filling the market.

[minsky1]

Yeah I agree. I am on a rolling monthly contract and I have been looking around but only because my contract could end at any time. Suits me and the client both so I don't foresee a problem. Having said that I would defianetly work my 2 weeks notice.

Have you had an independent IR35 review?

[TraceRacing]

Not sure the best way of articulating this but as rd mentioned, I don't understand why people keep looking for new gigs whilst still in contract. Maybe I'm fortunate that due to my industry (SAP Supply Chain) a quick look at the project plan on day one will tell me how long I will be required for. Just my opinion but if I was happy enough with the rate when I accepted and the role is as advertised I see no point in continuing to look until nearing the end.

Just my £0.02

WHS +1

[JamJarST]

Not sure the best way of articulating this but as rd mentioned, I don't understand why people keep looking for new gigs whilst still in contract. Maybe I'm fortunate that due to my industry (SAP Supply Chain) a quick look at the project plan on day one will tell me how long I will be required for. Just my opinion but if I was happy enough with the rate when I accepted and the role is as advertised I see no point in continuing to look until nearing the end.

Just my £0.02

Yeah I agree. I am on a rolling monthly contract and I have been looking around but only because my contract could end at any time. Suits me and the client both so I don't foresee a problem. Having said that I would defianetly work my 2 weeks notice.

[Pondlife]

Not sure the best way of articulating this but as rd mentioned, I don't understand why people keep looking for new gigs whilst still in contract. Maybe I'm fortunate that due to my industry (SAP Supply Chain) a quick look at the project plan on day one will tell me how long I will be required for. Just my opinion but if I was happy enough with the rate when I accepted and the role is as advertised I see no point in continuing to look until nearing the end.

Just my £0.02

[sasguru]

My tuppence: as a hirer of contractors (and ex contractor myself) I usually specify a 2 week notice period. I can't see any circumstances bar physical assault, sudden serious illness or something equally dramatic and unlikely) that I would condone as being suffiicient for a contractor to leave without notice. 2 weeks is not a large period of time and there can be no excuse for breaching contract.
Were a contractor to behave in such an unprofessional way I would certainy try to withold payment (and get the in-house lawyer involved) and in a niche industry such behaviour would certainly have repercussions.

[rd409]

I think I am being misunderstood here. Let me split my opinion on this one into different statements.

1) Contractor leaving early without notice - Unprofessional. Gives rest of the clan a bad name. I would not comment on his/her commitment without knowing the exact reasons why s/he ditched the contract like that. I have had mates, who served notice to client, and in return they were walked out of the premises without getting paid for notice period, and I am not talking about financial sectors or high risk clients where this is done as a security. They were just walked out because the manager didnt like someone serving them a notice. These guys now, have never stayed for notice period at any of their gigs. They prepare the handover document - submit it with their notice and walk off if they want to leave before the end of the contract.

2) Contractor leaving early with notice - Best way to end a relation that is not going anywhere. But again it depends on the specific situation whether premature ending of a contract is good or not.

3) Contractor waits till the end of contract, and refuses to extend - Well within his/her rights.

So as I have earlier said, I do not say that OP's friend did a good thing, and I do not suggest that OP follows the suit. I just gave him an option if his contract permits him to follow that route. OP has a duty to make decisions that are good for his company, so if there is a new gig coming up with better prospects he has every right to terminate the existing contract if he feels that is the right thing to do.

Finally, this is precisely the reason, I personally do not entertain any agents or look at the job boards between the gigs. The first time I look at the market is 1 month before the end of contract.

[perplexed]

I personally haven't walked from a gig.

I should have once, when agency started misbehaving. I didn't, stupidly didn't want to lat a client down. Cost me a fair whack.

Would I quit purely for more money? No.

Would I quit if the client were being dicks, taking the piss? Hell yes.

Would I quit if the agent started taking the piss? Definitely.

There's no black / white here. There's an ideal - that you honour contract, definitely. There are very valid situations where a contractor should get out of dodge pronto.

[minsky1]

But this is not about leaving early, this is about breaching a specific term of the contract by leaving immediately and not honuring a notice period. I have a notice period of 2 weeks on a 3 month contract (it is actually a monthly contract but clientco is talking about making it 3 months). If i left after two months it might be considered unprofessional, but as long as I geve the two weeks notice it would not be a breach of the contract.

As PondLife says, its a buyers market.

As a hirer, I would be looking to minimise my risk. Contracts I get drawn up seek to reflect this. If the contractor signs, he gets the gig. He doesn't have to accept my terms, he can walk. The most disheartening thing however is when people do sign clearly not having read or understood the terms, then default. Hazard of the game I know, but it happens all the time.

[BlasterBates]

Unprofessional - I agree completely.
Illegal - I beg to differ.

As I have earlier said, I do not condone this behaviour, but I do support that the contractor needs to get paid. Not paying for half finished task is okay. But refusing to sign off final invoice to me is over rated. My suggestions were only for the OP and not his friend. If the OP wants to terminate the contract, then he can serve a notice and expect to get paid. His friend has just committed professional suicide so no sympathy for him.

I hope I have cleared myself.

Well the fact as to whether one may or not condone not paying the invoice is not what is being discussed. The point is, do you have a legal entitlement to be paid. The answer is not necessarily, for example in bankruptcy or after a breach of contract. The client has a perfectly legal right to withold payment. Why should he pay the invoice in full and go through the hassle of sueing the contractor, when he has a perfectly good argument for not paying and let the contractor have the hassle? If the contractor sues, which is an option, he can counteract by suing the contractor.

If you send an invoice and it isn't paid you go to court, the court then orders the company to pay or sends it into bankrupty. However if the client contests it then it ceases to be automatic. This is precisely what would occur and why client is withholding, because he can easily contest the claim.

This is not a question as to what contractors collectively feel about something, but a question of whether the client has the legal right to withold payment. In this particular case he does.

The contractor has the right to contest that.

[JamJarST]

Leaving contract early is not a sign of unreliability or non-commitment. A business makes money for taking risks. Your commitments to your end clients is your risk. You cannot blame contractors leaving early as the reason of failure to deliver. All the projects has a safegaurd against such events. If you fail to deliver a project in time, it is not because a contractor left midway, but because you could not find suitable replacement in time.

But this is not about leaving early, this is about breaching a specific term of the contract by leaving immediately and not honuring a notice period. I have a notice period of 2 weeks on a 3 month contract (it is actually a monthly contract but clientco is talking about making it 3 months). If i left after two months it might be considered unprofessional, but as long as I geve the two weeks notice it would not be a breach of the contract.