Contractor asked to do more hours than permies

[northernladuk]

Trying to reply but my posts need to be moderated!
Public sector contract and firmly inside IR35 (they say).
Contract says '8 hour day'. Colleague next to me says full-time is 37 hours.

Is your 'colleague' a permie?

[hamsterfreelancer]

Do tell how I would have known there is a difference while signing the contract before stepping foot into the building? I've never ever been told to do different hours as a 5-day-a-week contractor so why would I even have asked 'does everyone else work different hours'? Plus I was given the contract the day before start date. How was I to know 40 hours isn't the norm for this org?

[hamsterfreelancer]

Yes she is.

[northernladuk]

Do tell how I would have known there is a difference while signing the contract before stepping foot into the building? I've never ever been told to do different hours as a 5-day-a-week contractor so why would I even have asked 'does everyone else work different hours'? Plus I was given the contract the day before start date. How was I to know 40 hours isn't the norm for this org?

You don't but it is so suck it up. Next time ask them to put it in the contract.

[northernladuk]

Yes she is.

So what on earth does her hours have to do with you. She's right, that's what it is for a permie. You are not a permie you are a supplier.

And if she isn't your colleague, she's an employee of your client. If you can get this right in your head you might understand why things are a little different for you.

[hamsterfreelancer]

Not quite sure why the need for rudness. Clearly she is my colleague if I am 'employed' as per IR35

[northernladuk]

Not quite sure why the need for rudness. Clearly she is my colleague if I am 'employed' as per IR35

Not being rude. Just a tad frustrated with all this.

That's an arguable point but you are under a different contract. Do you want your 3 hours back but paid pro rata the same as your 'colleague'. You can't pick and chose which you want and which you don't.

But anyway.. Your options are..

Try renegotiate.
Tell them flat you aren't doing it and do 37.
Suck it up.

1 and 2 will mark you as a troublemaker and could potential create further fall out.
3 might be your best option.

Not sure what else you want us to tell you.

[zonkkk]

You've signed for 8 hour days, you do 8 hour days.

If they have already told you that you need to do 8 hour days, you either do it or you walk.

If you try to negotiate and they won't budge, it might work to your advantage when they ask the permies to do overtime...

[WordIsBond]

I think I would probably ask them to revisit the IR35 decision. They are implementing a significant difference in working practices between you and their employees, so why have they decided that you should be taxed as an employee? The argument for IR35 is that those who do the same job in the same way should be taxed the same. That doesn't apply in your case.

If you can get them to change the IR35 thing, the three extra hours a week will be well worth it. Maybe they'll change the three hours, maybe they'll change the IR35. Either is a win.

If they won't budge, document everything. HMRC just lost a case a few months ago over throwing someone inside IR35 but not giving them holiday pay, I think it was. You might chase down the history on that. It's possible if they won't budge on it that you'll have a case, and this seems pretty inequitable.

All that said, I do have some sympathy for what others have said. You signed a contract. If it didn't specify, you can't really complain if a client wants 8 hour days out of you. It's not exactly an unusual standard, if you wanted something different you could have checked the contract and asked to have it included in the contract. The fact that perms may only work 37 hours really doesn't actually hurt you. If someone only worked 20 hours it wouldn't hurt you either. If you are getting paid well for the contract, what others work doesn't matter, you are still well paid. If you aren't well paid, you shouldn't have agreed to the contract, and you can quit.

So, I don't like what they are doing and think they should change it. I think this whole thing of throwing people inside IR35 is bad enough, but if they compound it by treating you worse than a perm, it's pretty bad. But I also don't think you have a lot to complain about if you have reasonable terms and reasonable pay, and if you don't have that, it's your own fault. They should be doing better but you shouldn't be a whinger, either. Try to get them to change it if you can, by all means, but if they won't, your best bet may be to just get on with it, and ignore when the perms go home a little earlier. You're probably on a lot better money than they are, anyway.

[hamsterfreelancer]

These are some good points and I certainly haven't 'whinged' to anyone except posting on here.
Just wanted views. Yes I am on good pay all in all, but when people use that as a way to basically ignore contractors' concerns (not you, people in offices) it gets old very quickly. The fact is they want me to be an employee but also not be one at the same time.