Notice period

[GreenLantern22]

Had an offer in a contract from an agency and they said the notice period was 0 days for the client and 30 days for the contractor. Is this normal? I did some IT contracting 10 years ago and the norm at that time was 2 notice both ways.

[malvolio]

Notice periods from the client mean nothing anyway - what use are they of they stop giving you work so you don't get paid, but can't look for other work?

Notice periods from your side are good risk management by the client; if you want/have to leave early you will have to negotiate the terms.

Asymmetric notice periods are a marginal uptick for IR35 incidentally, as part of the debate around Mutuality.

So, in brief, it's not a problem. Others may disagree. They are not necessarily correct to do so...

[GreenLantern22]

Yeah in general I don't see this as a big issue. Even between 2 weeks notice and 0 days there isn't much difference. Please should factor the risk of contract termination within their work and keep a stash for a rainy day. I just thought it did seem different than before and you have confirmed it so thanks for that.

[northernladuk]

There isn't really a norm although things may have changed in the last 10 years. I've never seen 2 days and I was contracting back then. Thinking back every one of my last 5 contracts had different notice periods. At a guess I'd say 80% have been the same both ways with only a smattering of asymettrical ones.

Remember that is notice on the contract. There will also be the clause effectively saying no work no pay so they could pull the work at 5pm on any day and you are done. The contract can still run for the notice period but you won't get another penny so effectively instant.

On the contractor side you'll likely be able to negotiatiate your way out. No client wants a contractor on site whos ready to leave so as long as you hand over it's likely they will let you go early as well.

Summary, notice periods don't mean anything.

[NotAllThere]

In 2001, I took on a few very experienced contractors directly. Their notice period was the duration of the contract. I could dispense with them on zero notice. We were all happy with the arrangement.