Reply to: BarCap? Any info / feedback.

[BoredBloke]

So BB - you didnt do anything to warrant this? Just a cost cutting exercise?

Bit much doing the old out the door stuff in box thing when you'd been there for a while. I wouldnt be happy with this.

But they're not the only ones. Lots of clients like this it seems. I had one in the summer, they just shaved a week off the end to save a few quid. Pointless.

Imagine if I had a deliverable that ran into the last week and I'd said tough Im leaving one week early so cant do....

Nope I didn't do anything to warrant this (I'm not aggressive etc) and it wasn't just me - I was told after the event that 3% of their IT headcount was binned that day. It was all down to budgets - they were happy with me and the overall project manager and the guy responsible for me were both apologetic for the way it was done and happy to provide references etc.

To be honest it was the whole way thy cleared my desk and made me leave as they did that got my back up. I thought that kind of treatment was only given to those who have been terminated for doing something bad, where notice would not have been paid. I consider myself pretty professional. I would have done my notice in order to provide a handover. My role was to take existing systems and processes and automate them. The logic was that whatever I was doing was making an existing thing faster and safer, but as it is actually already being done then I could be cut. So I had been working with various people to deliver things and then just disappeared and in a number of cases right at the time when their promised thing was just about to go into testing. And as you say, just to save a few quid!

[psychocandy]

So BB - you didnt do anything to warrant this? Just a cost cutting exercise?

Bit much doing the old out the door stuff in box thing when you'd been there for a while. I wouldnt be happy with this.

But they're not the only ones. Lots of clients like this it seems. I had one in the summer, they just shaved a week off the end to save a few quid. Pointless.

Imagine if I had a deliverable that ran into the last week and I'd said tough Im leaving one week early so cant do....

[BoredBloke]

My previous 2 contracts were at Bar Cap. They have this whole Respect/integrity agenda thing going on but it certainly doesn't stretch to contractors. On my last contract I rented a flat due to the extensive commute and because the contract was a long on (12 months). Literally as soon as I'd signed it they announced a 10% rate cut. By then I was already commited to the lease. Fast forward to the end of October. I only had something like 5 weks to run. My boss said it was unlikely that they would extend the contract because there is 'a lot of stuff going on in the background' and that I should assume it probably won't get extended. Fair enough! A couple of days later I got a call from the agency bod to see her in an office. I assumed it was just confirmation that the contract was not being extended. What I got was terminated with immediate effect and escorted offsite. I had to sit in a seperate office while they collected my stuff from my desk and then to rception where I left with all my stuff in a box. They paid my notice of 2 weeks. The joke of it all was that by the time the notice had been paid I only had 3 weeks left on the contract anyway. As a contractor of 20 odd years I realise that priorities change and I have, rarely, been served notice in the past - its part and parcel of contracting. You get served notice, grumble and bitch about it, but see your contract out and act professionally. You close things down in a way that makes it easier for the next person to continue. Not at BarCap! I had a whole batch of work that was about to enter testing - all of it wasted.

I found that the people I worked with were generally fine. The people who deal with the contractors not so!!

They cut a load of contracts that day....not just me!!

[jmo21]

Never been subject to these rate cuts from a client fortunately. I take it when this is 'offered' in effect they are re-negotiating the contract and, as such, you can say no and leave?

Well, more like they will cancel your contract. Don't just leave though, they might change their mind or come back with a different offer depending on a number of variables (how good you are, how critical your project is, how much influence your client co contact has etc)

[eek]

Yeh. Got to take that into consideration. It is VERY close to home and a VERY good rate though.

Never been subject to these rate cuts from a client fortunately. I take it when this is 'offered' in effect they are re-negotiating the contract and, as such, you can say no and leave?

To be honest, if they knocked 65% off it'd still be more than I'm on now (and I'm miles from home)

It meets criteria 3 then

worth your while to take the risk

[psychocandy]

but you are in a fixed 9 month period with no upside and the potential of a downside. For me to take that risk, it needs to be something I'm really interested in (Barclay's can't offer that), a nice place to work (Barclay's can't offer that) or worth my while to take the risk....

Cost cutting tactics work short-term but may cause longer term long term issues.

Yeh. Got to take that into consideration. It is VERY close to home and a VERY good rate though.

Never been subject to these rate cuts from a client fortunately. I take it when this is 'offered' in effect they are re-negotiating the contract and, as such, you can say no and leave?

To be honest, if they knocked 65% off it'd still be more than I'm on now (and I'm miles from home)

[eek]

LOL. But need to bear this in mind.

Hopefully, market is on the upturn!

Thats a bit off though if thats how they play it. i.e. wait for market downturn so theres less of an opportunity to leave and then kick the contractor. Sounds like someone at BC has thought of this as an ideal way to cut costs....

but you are in a fixed 9 month period with no upside and the potential of a downside. For me to take that risk, it needs to be something I'm really interested in (Barclay's can't offer that), a nice place to work (Barclay's can't offer that) or worth my while to take the risk....

Cost cutting tactics work short-term but may cause longer term long term issues.

[psychocandy]

You have to remember that they may not try and cut rates. But they have been known to do it, they have been seen to do it more than once, and they seem to do it as soon as the market takes the slightest turn for the worse.

LOL. But need to bear this in mind.

Hopefully, market is on the upturn!

Thats a bit off though if thats how they play it. i.e. wait for market downturn so theres less of an opportunity to leave and then kick the contractor. Sounds like someone at BC has thought of this as an ideal way to cut costs....

[eek]

Ah. So is this a nationwide policy for them at the mo?

Thing is the rate is far from poor. But then again, it wont be if they play the rate cut trick after one month and knock 25% off.

Yeh they have a bad rep it seems.

You have to remember that they may not try and cut rates. But they have been known to do it, they have been seen to do it more than once, and they seem to do it as soon as the market takes the slightest turn for the worse.

[psychocandy]

The no notice at the contractor end was due to their rates being poor and people using them as a stop gap after the first set of rate cuts.

Personally I would never work there due to their reputation

Ah. So is this a nationwide policy for them at the mo?

Thing is the rate is far from poor. But then again, it wont be if they play the rate cut trick after one month and knock 25% off.

Yeh they have a bad rep it seems.

[eek]

It seems they've got a bit of bad rep for various things. Anyone ever worked in Cardiff?

One thing did strike me as weird. Agency were forcing the point that any contract would have zero notice from their end, but no notice allowed from me for 9 month contract.

Good for IR35 but bit worrying that they feel the need to do this. Or is this one of the risks with them? And I see they like cutting rates...

Rate for this is pretty good. Or am I letting myself in for massive rate cut after a little while and/or binned with no notice at random?

The no notice on the contractor's side was due to their rates being poor and people using them as a stop gap after the first set of rate cuts.

Personally I would never work there due to their reputation

[psychocandy]

It seems they've got a bit of bad rep for various things. Anyone ever worked in Cardiff?

One thing did strike me as weird. Agency were forcing the point that any contract would have zero notice from their end, but no notice allowed from me for 9 month contract.

Good for IR35 but bit worrying that they feel the need to do this. Or is this one of the risks with them? And I see they like cutting rates...

Rate for this is pretty good. Or am I letting myself in for massive rate cut after a little while and/or binned with no notice at random?

[GillsMan]

I worked in 10SC for Barclays and it was grand. I worked from home between 2-4 days a week. I went in only once in my final two months. I produced work a lot quicker than they could and everyone loved me for it. Even got a small extension at the end.

Right from the off I was treated as a proper contractor. Permits were fine, it was the other contractors I had issues with. They were in 5 days a week and don't think they were too impressed with me waltzing in and out as I please.

My experience was that as I made clear from the outset that I am operating a proper business, I was treated accordingly.

[Dallas]

[QUOTE=ronanm;1874558]Co (I was in OPS). QUOTE]

On the 'Disco Floor'? I think it was the 10th floor, North Collonade, I'd have loved to have been up there?

Every Friday they used to turn up dressed for clubbing and our Finance guys used to come up and perve in a finance-geeky-trpuser-rubby way

[BoredBloke]

Got a big thing about long hours. In the past, I have walked out of an interview where client has said we expect a minimum of 10 hours work a day. yeh crack on then.

Also, £500 a day where you there for 10 hours is £50 an hour. Exactly same as sensible gig at £400/day.

Also, if you take a gig which involves a fair amount of travel, you pretty much want to be working a standard day most of the time or the whole thing is going to fall to pieces. Hour or so each way plus 10 hours work can make for 14-15 hour days which IMHO are undoable on a regular basis. Perhaps thats why some clients are keen on local candidates - so they can screw you and you won't moan about missing your train!

And I hate places that look at you if you leave before 5. You might have been there since 7-30 but some bellend will still kick off if you leave before 5 (when hes strolled in at 9-30). Always the same - those who come in late and stay late look good.

I did 2 back to back stints there for completely different groups. Neither had a problem with my time keeping. I told them that due to travel commitments I might be a little late on Monday mornings and would need to leave early on Friday (4). The rest of the week I just did 8/9 to 5/6 So long as the work was done they didn't care.

The end of my contract wasn't great when I was escorted off site because they decided to cull a load of contractors. In 20 odd years of contracting I've not had that before - no chance to say my goodbyes and handover the stuff I was in the middle of etc. Just given a box with my belongings in and told to bugger off! They paid my notice out, unfortunately that was only 2 weeks. They also have a fondness for rate cuts. Also in mid nov we were all told that we had to take something like 20 working days out of our contracts before the year end. So 4 weeks to be taken off in the last 6 or 7 and these didn't include new years day! Obviously that didn't effect me as I was removed from site before it kicked in.