Banking contract - 7 days per week billing ok?

[Optimus Prime]

Any idea about how big banks will feel about a contractor offering to work (and bill) 7 days a week? Yes, I am a workaholic and have no social life.

Of course, when there isn't any visibility on what work is to be done - that may not happen. But if I go to the workplace and actually spend 8 hours there and do some work, are the IBs fine with this or is it likely to be frowned upon?

And, if the rate I have is a per day rate - but I consistently work 10 - 12 hrs a day - would any of the seasoned contractors with the bigger IBs be billing 1.25 days for such days? (Nothing outlined as such in the contract.)

[Moscow Mule]

Most of the contracts I've had don't allow for 1.25 days for longer days - they normally expect you to be there until the job is done for no extra money.

Weekend work is normally only for exceptional projects - not as a regular thing. Some banks pay 1.5x some 2x, some just 1x.

Sounds like you should try and be paid by the hour

[BlasterBates]

You can ask, but normally not, weelend work has to be approved. Unless approved you´ll will only be able to bill the given number of working days in the month and no more.

[Optimus Prime]

Weekend work is normally only for exceptional projects - not as a regular thing. Some banks pay 1.5x some 2x, some just 1x.

You mean if weekend work is requested (rather than approved on my request), I should try negotiating for 1.5x/2x the normal rate for those days?

[malvolio]

You mean if weekend work is requested (rather than approved on my request), I should try negotiating for 1.5x/2x the normal rate for those days?

I suggest that before you go trying to bill for work that doesn't actually need to be done, you look up the full meaning of "Mutuality of Obligation" and its implications for IR35

As for overtime, if it's not in the contract it doesn't happen.

As for "working days", that's what they mean: do any work in any given 24 hour period - one hour or twenty three - and you can charge the agreed amount. The trick is do more one hour days than twenty three hour ones.

[Optimus Prime]

I suggest that before you go trying to bill for work that doesn't actually need to be done, you look up the full meaning of "Mutuality of Obligation" and its implications for IR35

Well it won't be work that doesn't need to be done. There seems to be an endless stream of work. And I'd be happy to work on weekends as well towards getting it done.

Practically does it actually happen that one does a couple of hours of work from home (if allowed) or from the work place to make sure the last bit of work remaining for the delivery on Monday is completed - and then one bills a full day for it?

[malvolio]

Practically does it actually happen that one does a couple of hours of work from home (if allowed) or from the work place to make sure the last bit of work remaining for the delivery on Monday is completed - and then one bills a full day for it?

Think lilke a business, not an employed permie.

It works for me, over the last fifteen years, but I'm in management and consultancy rather than production. It probably helps that mostly my work is about saving more than I cost, of course.

But in my case it's not about time spent working anyway, it's about discrete deliverables. Day billing is just an accountancy convenience driven by set budgets, inept micro-managing middle managers and agencies being incapable of selling anything other than three month chunks.

[Optimus Prime]

Think lilke a business, not an employed permie.

That is exactly what I am attempting to do here. Maximize my revenue. And the revenue/hours-worked ratio.

[MarillionFan]

That is exactly what I am attempting to do here. Maximize my revenue. And the revenue/hours-worked ratio.

The extra days/hours will relate to how you agree it. If for example a product will take 40 man days to complete and you're tasked with it's delivery and the client is ok, the all be it.

I invoiced 8 days for last week. But that was agreed in advance and was to complete 8 man days of a project plan.

Just agree in advance. If I asked you to
do a piece of work for the week and expected it
to be done on Friday and then you invoiced for 7 days saying that's how long it took you'd be looking for another contract and you'd be googling a number of words I
used to tell you where to go.

[Optimus Prime]

Yea, I was thinking along the same lines. There is something to be done in 4 man days. I'll do it on Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun. And bill 4 days.

Or maybe I manage to finish it on Thu-Fri. I still bill 4 days.

Is the typical contractor work in banks - say Citi, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Goldman, UBS etc very "do this much work in these many man days" oriented?

Or is it that the team is generally working towards getting to a goal 5 months down the line and there is not too much break down in terms of tasks which are a week or so in size?