Reply to: Forced pay-cut :D

[northernladuk]

Looks like he's lost a few pounds...

Wouldn't you having to carry MF around all day??

[SlipTheJab]

Another 'Yippi ki-yay MF'

Looks like he's lost a few pounds...

[nicholas22]

I take it you are not one of these Rise of the super-contractors as IT skills gap widens or if you are then you must have a sh*t agent

You must be joking to believe this tripe. This is just for lobbying more visas and cheaper labour.

[DodgyAgent]

I work for a finance industry client and they haven't been doing amazingly this year- in fact over the few months lots of permies & contractors have been let go.
Now they want us remaining contractors there to take a pay cut, I'm not sure what percentage it's going to be, maybe 10-15% I'd speculate.
I was considering my options, I have only ~3 months left in a multi-year contract.

My options are:
a) Stay with them till the end of my contract. I guess this is being professional, but I'm a bit concerned that it will look bad on my next contract interview being on a lower rate for a while..?
b) Leave as soon as. I may well be able to get a similar rate as per current, so win-win?
c) Or take 2-3 months break. This suits some travel arrangements I have pre-booked and I could even try out an idea or two of my own I've had for a while- but I'm also concerned here that it might look bad being "out of work" for a while and having to explain my situation. (although I can probably blab about running a startup etc )

Am I right about some of my concerns here, or am I over-thinking this?

Thanks!

I take it you are not one of these Rise of the super-contractors as IT skills gap widens or if you are then you must have a sh*t agent

[WTFH]

1. Can you afford to walk away?
If yes
2. Do you want to walk away?
If Yes
Walk


If 2 is no, then stay put and quit yer whinging.
If 1 is no, then stay, but look for a new contract.




(looks far better as a visio diagram)

[vetran]

If they give you a 10% cut and you leave, you'll probably spend 4 weeks looking for a contract. That lost revenue will cost you more than the 10% cut, so if you stay on the lower rate for 3 months (for example) you will be better off than jumping ship and earning 10% more for only two months, because you were on the bench for 4 weeks.

The most economically efficient response that maximises your income is to stay put and search for a new contract at renewal time.

So good I posted twice !

[Unix]

If they give you a 10% cut and you leave, you'll probably spend 4 weeks looking for a contract. That lost revenue will cost you more than the 10% cut, so if you stay on the lower rate for 3 months (for example) you will be better off than jumping ship and earning 10% more for only two months, because you were on the bench for 4 weeks.

The most economically efficient response that maximises your income is to stay put and search for a new contract at renewal time.

Is there an echo in here?

[BlasterBates]

If they give you a 10% cut and you leave, you'll probably spend 4 weeks looking for a contract. That lost revenue will cost you more than the 10% cut, so if you stay on the lower rate for 3 months (for example) you will be better off than jumping ship and earning 10% more for only two months, because you were on the bench for 4 weeks.

The most economically efficient response that maximises your income is to stay put and search for a new contract at renewal time.

[FatLazyContractor]

Who is MF ??

Another 'Yippi ki-yay MF'

[Scrag Meister]

A matter of principle my arse.

90% of something is better than 100% of nothing while you're looking for the next one.

[psychocandy]

I would do a) but do 15% less work. leave earlier every day etc, they will get the point. #passiveagressivestyle

Reckon someone is gonna slag us here unix but I sort of agree with you.
Not sure if I'd be doing 15% less work but in my eyes, a client doing this does sour the relationship somewhat.

I certainly wouldn't be doing little favours/ extra hours for free. And I certainly would have even less qualms about leaving at end of contract/giving notice.

Theres a lot of give and take in my book. If a client is fair to me then they'll get extras off me. If they whinge when I come in an hour late because of a doc appt or when I leave an hour early to go to parents evening then I'll be less inclined to stay an hour to finish off something urgent.

One thing that is a bit of a pointer to me is attitude to extra hours. If (as I have done) I work a 15 hour day for whatever reason then it goes a long way with me if next time I want a day off, client says, just book this as a normal day because of what you did for us the other day.

[psychocandy]

OP - you're worrying way too much about how your CV will look. Your next client won't know your previous rate, they won't care too much about 3 months off.

End of the day do what you want now. If you fancy staying at client and taking cut - do it. If you fancy your chances getting a new gig - do that. If you fancy a few months off - do that - clients has given you an out.

[SlipTheJab]

Same here.
Then 3 months later, senior management cut rates for a second time. I left.

BTW notice you and I both have "jab" in their names. Is this allowed?
Perhaps this means I must challenge you to a duel..

Just remember to slip when I try to stick one on you!

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

Contract or perm finance sector not what used it to be % wise contractors gets cuts, permy no rises and bonuses are sh*t. After 16 years in the sector I'm looking else were.

[GJABS]

When this happened to me many moons ago as a contractor in banking (10% cut) I told them to shove it, my PM had a quiet word and told me to book an extra hour (this was back in the day when hourly rates were much more prevelant) overtime a day and he would sign it off to keep me there

Same here.
Then 3 months later, senior management cut rates for a second time. I left.

BTW notice you and I both have "jab" in their names. Is this allowed?
Perhaps this means I must challenge you to a duel..