Reply to: Barclays Wealth

[Stan]

My 2p.

Yes they are terrible, they forget to pay various things, had to chase for my final invoice, for out of hours support (which was just "hourly" rate pro rata anyway). Their HR/contractor dept "Resource Solutions" make many many mistakes.

The tech is old and crusty (depends on team), management was out of touch with technology. Since they weren't great to work for they didn't get great people either, so you'll get paid less and have to carry more useless people.

Oh and of course they stung me with a "10% or get out" cut on top of an already tulip rate.

They did enforced leave at xmas, but they aren't the only bank that have done that so I didn't mind.

[rocktronAMP]

I still have one or two mates working over at Radbroke, was chatting to one the other week and he said now contractors cannot park on site, and he only has a desk on three days, WFH the rest.


qh

This is a pathetic situation and I hate it that we can't do dickie bird about any of it! It simply stinks!

I did a 3 month stint at Barclays.co.uk last year in Canary Wharf, I even volunteered myself to go and visit Radbroke Hall, but never lasted to see the 10% cuts. My contract was not extended, because of a bad manageress who couldn't plan resources and I got the blame for her inactions. Anyway that is neither here nor there.

The fact is that contractor rates have stagnated in the years 2004 to 2014, because they have not tracked CPI (consumer price index) vis a vis the cost of living. (I checked the data from It Jobs Watch search on C#, Java or JavaScript Web.) It is outrageous that we contractors have to bend over backwards at regularly intervals and take a stuffing up the you-know-what.

I wish we all could give these flipping banks the finger simultaneously like in a digital strike. Unless my friend knows that will end of us, contractors, and the Bobs will take over completely.

[quackhandle]

I still have one or two mates working over at Radbroke, was chatting to one the other week and he said now contractors cannot park on site, and he only has a desk on three days, WFH the rest.


qh

[JoJoGabor]

Aren't Barclays capital and Barclays wealth management two different organisations. I know ex colleagues who worked for BWP NAND said it was great, nice offices in Mayfair etc. Barcap however I have always heard venomous opinions of, whatever the dept. and credit Suisse

[mrdonuts]

are they on the phone all the time instead of working

[BoredBloke]

I was walked off site at BarCap - Desk emptied while I sat in a room and the contents handed to me in a box. I also got hit with the 10% rate cut shortly after I started. I'd think twice before going back. My role was shipped off to India. They have a large numbers of bobs working for them in Canary Wharf

[dty]

Nothing here sounds any different to any other bank I've ever worked in! I was at BarCap as a permie running a dev team which included several contractors during some of the periods mentioned. Which means I had to do all the talking. It wasn't popular, but most guys new it wasn't my decision and knew of peers in other banks who were also taking cuts too. IMHO, that's the contractor life. Some of those were difficult periods for banks and many were laying off permies. Be grateful for a 10% cut and not a 100% cut, I say!

[Taita]

Hi all,
Does anyone here work for Barclays? How is the work culture like?

There are clients who treat their contractors less better than they treat their permies...................then there is Barclays!

[Dallas]

Barclays Capital– again! Apr-14 10% 'Accept it or this serves as notice of termination' (no exceptions known to date)


There are exceptions. Plus RBS & HSBC have been playing these same games over the years = now normal, absorb it or walk.

[northernladuk]

Barclays Capital Feb-09 10%
Barclays Capital – again! 02/12/2011 10% ‘This happened a few years back as well, again just before Christmas … there was also a requirement at BarCap to take an additional 10 working days off before Christmas’
Barclays Capital – again! Jul-12 10 days enforced leave (excuse: Olympics) ‘There was also a very short notice (knee-jerk) enforced 10 day’s leave for the London Olympics that raised my ire. After months of telling us to be prepared and plan ahead for travel issues they suddenly leaped on the opportunity presented by the Olympics to save money.’
Barclays Capital – again! Dec-12 Enforced 10 days ‘break’
Barclays Capital– again! Mar-13 10% 'Accept it or this serves as notice of termination' (Some exceptions rumoured)
Barclays Capital – again! Dec-13 Enforced 10 days ‘break’
Barclays Capital– again! Apr-14 10% 'Accept it or this serves as notice of termination' (no exceptions known to date)
Barclays Mar-14 10% ‘received a very un-professional email badly worded, spelling mistakes and using several different fonts and size of typeface’

[stek]

So what specifically about Barclays is worse than other places?

Surely everyone knows the answer to this!

[Dallas]

I am currently relevant also

I am seeing a mix like anywhere else:
- overhang from the last cut of upset contractors that did not leave but are digging their heels in
- 2+ year contractors trying to leave but having more cash thrown at them to stay
- IT people in and out like a revolving door due to planning or lack of
- huge resource gap in the reg space
(I have been reading some pretty bad CVs this week, trying to get people in)
- permie redundancies later this week

This is pretty much everywhere these days, as another poster said yesterday; depends where you land and how good you are...

[northernladuk]

They are well known for introducing regular sweeping 10% cuts and have at least once that I know of walked every single contractor off site to make numbers meet.

They don't half abuse their contractors.

Barclays has rolled out another 10% rate cut for all contractors in the UK and U.S. - eFinancialCareers

This is the second time that Barclays has implemented a pay cut for its contractors in 12 months, after curtailing rates by up to 10% for temporary IT staff in February 2013. Again, the new rates are non-negotiable and contractors can either accept them or move on.

And that is just 2013/14. I had a the about 7 years ago and there have been others since.

Roger Sinclair from Ergos is tracking these. Let me see if I can find it.

EDIT : Here you go...

http://www.egos.co.uk/contract-breakers.htm

60 Entries and 8 of them are Barclays.....

So more or less the same as everyone else is just utter bollocks.

[dty]

You're joking right?

Who? Me? Well... yes and no. I'd be loathed to mention the name of my current client in a public forum, but let's just say it's relevant to the conversation It's also worth mentioning that I have several years experience in another part of my current client's business as a permie several years back.

But there's always the risk of "here's a shiny new contract with a shiny new rate..." or "oops, our business priorities have changed, sorry". That (at least the latter) is part of "the game", no?

So what specifically about Barclays is worse than other places?

[northernladuk]

You're joking right?