Reply to: Insurance

[wendigo100]

You may mock, rather weird looking girlie, but that's what I call it. CVs are for permies.

Sorry Mordac, nothing personal, but I came from the PCG forums where everyone was so up their own arses about being "businessmen", "entrepreneurs", and such.

Having a Consultant Profile (or even worse, a Company Profile) instead of a CV just sounded like so much bullsh1t to me. It made me a bit cynical.

For example, to be "a proper business" you had to have your own webtulipe, making your company look like a multi-million dollar organisation.

It was laughable really, given that the great majority were simply freelance contractors who only had their own time to sell.

[Fungus]

Was that me?

Oh.

It was a Monday, I did that on a Wednesday...

He was Welsh but this was in Slough.

[Mordac]

Call them what you like, but they are CVs to those who pay the money. I've never been asked to send someone my "Consultant Profile"!

You may mock, rather weird looking girlie, but that's what I call it. CVs are for permies.

[wendigo100]

I have it listed in my Ts & Cs on MyCo's Consultant Profile (CV for retards & permies) ....

Call them what you like, but they are CVs to those who pay the money. I've never been asked to send someone my "Consultant Profile"!

[BoredBloke]

Cheers for the response. So basically you would not start a contract without knowing the review outcome.

Does starting work imply that you agree with the terms and conditions. I know the agency is going to try to push me to start, but I want a number of points to argue back.

Using the old addage that a bird in the hand etc I don't want to lose the cr@ppy job as I may not get the good one. So I want to spin things out a little.

What is their turnaround for a contract review?

[Mordac]

How many here get their contract professionally veted before going on a client site? Would you start a contract without having this done?

I have it listed in my Ts & Cs on MyCo's Consultant Profile (CV for retards & permies) that all contracts are subject to Bauer & Cottrell's perusal & approval. (It wasn't B&C originally, but having used them recently I'm not planning to go anywhere else). You have to protect yourself, we're potentially talking about a lot of money here. Agencies get their contracts checked and approved by lawyers, so they shouldn't be surprised when we choose to do the same. If more contractors held up proceedings for a few days while someone went through their contracts with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, maybe they'd take the subject more seriously and sort the contracts out beforehand. You can't do anything about the working conditions (tulip, I sound like a fecking trade unionist) though, and therein lies your real problem.

[BoredBloke]

Bernie,

I agree entirely. I am planning on doing the interview and taking the role if offered. I have allways made a point of sticking by the decisions I have made and if I say I will do a role, then I do that role. However in this case there are 2 factors.

1 - the difference in rate is too great for me to take on the chin. One is 200 per day and the other is over 400.
2 - The contract they sent me was so far off the mark of what I would see as reasonable that I want (and have to) get any other contracts which they send me vetted. This gives the time for me to take the other interview and possibly land the other role.

My feeling is that nobody has come up with a contract which I am willing to sign. And while I am willing to do this role at the lesser rate (although not keen) I cannot until the contract given to me meets my requirements. As such I cannot step foot on the client site until the contractual issues are resolved and in the meantime I am still free to consider other roles.

I'm really bouncing ideas which I will be saying to the agent on Monday.

How many here get their contract professionally veted before going on a client site? Would you start a contract without having this done?

[bernie]

Tony ... as a business your objective is to maximise your turnover . The nub of the question is is . Is your atttitude to contracting of a business to business type or do you see yourself as a disguised employee. I would not worry too much about offending employment businesses ...they are just an avenue of touting for business.

[Fungus]

At my last client site I recall one contractor who turned up on a Monday, spoke to me and a colleague, and then in the afternoon I saw him rush past me towards the exit. That was the last we saw of him. My colleague got the blame for scaring him off. To be honest I resent the slur on my character as I am just as irritating and objectionable.

[DimPrawn]

Fork em. Take the best offer on the table.

[BoredBloke]

I have a question to throw out to everybody.

Have you ever delayed the previously agreed start of a contract due to contractual problems?

At the moment I am supposed to be starting this contract on Tuesday. The new contract was not in the post this morning, so I will not get it until Monday at the earliest. This leaves very little time for the contract to be reviewed and no time if any changes are needed to be made. If I start the contract but do not agree with the contracts terms and conditions, does my starting imply that I do agree with the current terms and conditions?

What I am planning on doing is calling the agent on Monday to say that I want to send the contract for a review and so will not be able to start the contract on the agreed date. Until it has been checked and it's IR35 status is known, I feel that I should not set foot on the client site. Especially given the anti IR35 state of the first contract and the clause aboutr repaying money.

Also, if a better contract is offered on a different role, what would you do? I have verbally agreed to do this job, but so far they have not sent me a contract which I feel I can sign up to. I have been offered an interview somewhere else, on a massively increased rate (more than double) than this role. Obviously the interview may not lead to an offer, but there is a good chance that it will. So what would you lot do?

[Mordac]

Anybody know anyone who is any good in the North West for IR35 compliance checks?

Just email Sarah Bauer at Bauer & Cottrell - sarah.bauer(at)bauerandcottrell.co.uk
Best I've ever used.

[BoredBloke]

bernie - The contract arrived earlier today. It has Modis in big blue letters and titled 'Proposal For An Assignment' Basic Limited Company Contract.

What I suspect is that Modis are preferred supplier to this company and it is their standard contract and that the terms and conditions reflect what the end client wants in the contract.

A new contract should be making its way to me. However because of the nature of this contract, and especially that refund term, I want to get it checked and verified before I set foot on the client site. My first day was supposed to be Tuesday but I don't think this is going to happen now. Because this contract was so IR35 unfriendly I want to get it checked for that also.

Anybody know anyone who is any good in the North West for IR35 compliance checks?

[bernie]

TonyEnglish ,your Modis contract does not seem standard to me. I start a contract secured with Modis next week monday. In the contract, they require me to indemnify my limited company to the value of £500,000 for Professional Liability and £500,000 for Public Liability. I have worked with Modis several times in my 13 years as a Freelancer , and have never had a clause which requires me to pay back monies in the event of termination in the first four weeks. Ask them to send you a schedule for Limited Company suppliers on Projects, and their standard terms and conditions for Limited company Suppliers( as a starting point and work in the clauses you want ...negotiate man) . ...or are you going through the umbrella route?

[Mordac]

Has anybody got any valid clauses I should ask to be included if they are missing. I have asked for a substitution clause.

You want absence of MOO, and control over the way you provide any services, for starters.