Reply to: Clientco Perks?

[Pondlife]

Current department head has a wife who works in the chocolate industry, so there are always free samples of past its sell by date or quality rejected product available.

FTFY.

My fav was a certain producer of those little Easter eggs with a chicken on the label. The chicken had to be the correct way up or it failed inspection and the whole run went to the staff shop. :weightgainsmilie

[doodab]

Crappily made crap starbucks (not that they are any good anyway) and a canteen that serves dull food bar the breakfast (bacon, egg and sausage sarnie for less than a quid).

One place I worked used to do a full breakfast in the canteen of a morning, the leftovers would turn up as "german salad" (i.e. the sausages chopped up and mixed with some potatoes" ) or "breakfast salad" at lunchtime.

[norrahe]

Crappily made crap starbucks (not that they are any good anyway) and a canteen that serves dull food bar the breakfast (bacon, egg and sausage sarnie for less than a quid).

[dang65]

One place I worked at had things like a dentist, a hairdressers, a cash point, a general newsagent/grocer shop, physiotherapy and nurse... I'm sure there was plenty more, but that lot was just on one corridor which I used to walk along.

Not sure I'd really want to work at a place which basically left you with no options for sneaking a couple of hours off "to go to the bank" or whatever. From a permie point of view, I mean. You need all the perks you can get when you're a permie.

[Sysman]

Current client has a very enthusiastic chocoholic as one of the managers, and they keep a big cupboard and fridge stocked up with fizzy drinks and cakes and sweeties for general free use. Takes a lot of self-discipline to keep away from that lot, and I'm not doing too well so far.

Current department head has a wife who works in the chocolate industry, so there are always free samples available.

On site canteens vary. Some are better than most restaurants I've been to, and very reasonably priced. Others are little better than fast-food outlets. And then there's the places where permies get a special discount card and everyone else has to pay full price. Always go off-site to eat at places like that, of course.

Of the canteens I've used that charged external staff extra, it was usually too much hassle or too time consuming to go off site.

[doodab]

Ooh, I forgot to mention our fridge full of beer.

[dang65]

Most places have some kind of unique facility available to "people working on site" ()

Got free newspapers at last client. You end up kind of forcing yourself to read them every day so you don't miss out on the freebie.

Current client has a very enthusiastic chocoholic as one of the managers, and they keep a big cupboard and fridge stocked up with fizzy drinks and cakes and sweeties for general free use. Takes a lot of self-discipline to keep away from that lot, and I'm not doing too well so far.

On site canteens vary. Some are better than most restaurants I've been to, and very reasonably priced. Others are little better than fast-food outlets. And then there's the places where permies get a special discount card and everyone else has to pay full price. Always go off-site to eat at places like that, of course.

[Doggy Styles]

Current clientco canteen is staffed mostly by attractive east european girls who are quite chatty and friendly.
Perk enough for me

Same here. And at the last place I worked.

[NotAllThere]

Croissants on Friday. Coffee, tea and bottled water the rest of the time. The occasional champagne apéro in the afternoon, and sometimes project dinners.

And there's an external bigco consultant wandering around with a packet of Amaretti at the moment.

When it gets very warm, I stock up the departmental freezer with Magnums for the permies.

[d000hg]

Do they offer all their suppliers the same perks, or just their employees?

If they don't offer the same deal to Joe the Plumber, then you are looking more like an employee than a supplier.

Free food/drinks often could be offered to tradesmen as well as to consultants, not just contractors. If a company has a policy of being generous it doesn't make you an employee for accepting their generosity.

[Spacecadet]

Current clientco canteen is staffed mostly by attractive east european girls who are quite chatty and friendly.
Perk enough for me

[gadgetman]

Sounds like you've had a few good freebies. We had a Starbucks at Barclays in Knutsford but it wasn't free!

I've often had subsidised canteens and suchlike. These are often "what flavour of chicken tonight are we having today" but the current one isn't too bad. One place had it's own starbucks, which was nice, and another had free ice creams.

The best things I've had as freebies are a sailing weekend on a proper ocean racing yacht (it once held the record for a monohull for distance covered in 24 hours), internet access (as in my personal box sat in a rack and plugged into a switch connected to a router two hops from the LINX), a few go karting jollies, and skiing weekends.

[gadgetman]

Ha ha, no such concerns down here

As he is down under, that may, or may not be a factor in whatever is the IR35 equivalent.

But yes, over here, I would be horrified if I was offered "employee" benefits.

[Doggy Styles]

I hate it when they say that. It's like "all dogs (including butterflies)"

Ah, but butterflies can't "go over to the dark side" and become dogs.

Perhaps you could have said "all dogs, including women" ?

[thunderlizard]

all staff here (including contractors)

I hate it when they say that. It's like "all dogs (including butterflies)"