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Contracted Hours issue - Advice please

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    Contracted Hours issue - Advice please

    Hi guys,

    Been a lurker for many months and I have learnt a great deal about the contractor ways, so my thanks for that. I am in my 1st contract and a situation has occurred that I need your advice on.

    I'm currently contracted for 37.5 hours per week. Do to issues, the project I am on is behind and on a tight schedule. He pulled the team in to advise that we should be working a "professional day" as opposed to 9 - 5. In other words working as long as it takes to get the job done.

    Since I am contracted in hours I thought this was something odd that they couldn't really suggest to me so I discussed with the agency and they said I should be a little flexible but not too much as it should be agreed beforehand and paid. So I was a little flexible, taking into account the general life events I needed to take care of.

    Then, a week later, I get pulled into a meeting on my own and told that I basically wasn't putting in the extra hours that the PM expected and that the perception was I was just doing my hours. He then made the statement that "If you don't put in these hours then we will dismiss you". Yet could not say what hours would be acceptable.

    After arguing the point about contracted hours and my willingness to work more if agreed due to the extended nature (IE. looks like a minimum of an hour a day for the next 2 months, which works out as a week extra so not an insignificant amount) and the obligatory remuneration for working extra for a while, he has made it clear that there is no negotiation, they don't believe my contract should be hours/claims it wasn't what they discussed with the agency and we'll get rid if you don't conform.

    (Followed by a second discussion on him trying to get me to admit whether I had enough work to do in my hours and that I really should have more than that to mean I have to work the extra hours, which was followed by me stating that if there are tasks they want me to do then they need to assign them to me rather than hide them so I can see what my workload really looks like. I've also not really mentioned that that I was given a specific job description (Project Coordinator) and have had the PM since agree that my role is nothing of the sort that was originally proposed in the description...sorry I digress)

    What would you suggest is the best response? Do I leave? How bad does that reflect on me as it's my 1st contract? Or since I'm not planning on working every hour for nothing wait until they cancel my contract over some contrived malpractice since I'm sure they couldn't terminate me for that reason?

    Sorry for the ramble, I appreciate any guidance from you experienced people!

    RM
    If it aint broke....it probably means I've not touched it yet.

    #2
    What does your contract state about extra hours over the 37.5hrs contracted?

    Alternatively advise the client that you were not part of the terms negotiated between them and the agent and that you are more than willing to renegotiate the contract to a rate per hour to enable you to get the project completed on time, then work all hours that they expect and cash in on their bad project management skills. Once they take to this idea, speak with the agent and advise the pimp that they might want to get in touch with client. Obviously try and get a slightly better rate with the agent given that you know the project is up tulip creek and you will be working more than 40hrs.

    Make it clear unless your contract changes you are working as contracted, they will of course try and squeeze you for every free hr you're willing to work.

    Good luck.
    The proud owner of 125 Xeno Geek Points

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by chef View Post
      What does your contract state about extra hours over the 37.5hrs contracted?

      Alternatively advise the client that you were not part of the terms negotiated between them and the agent and that you are more than willing to renegotiate the contract to a rate per hour to enable you to get the project completed on time, then work all hours that they expect and cash in on their bad project management skills. Once they take to this idea, speak with the agent and advise the pimp that they might want to get in touch with client. Obviously try and get a slightly better rate with the agent given that you know the project is up tulip creek and you will be working more than 40hrs.

      Make it clear unless your contract changes you are working as contracted, they will of course try and squeeze you for every free hr you're willing to work.

      Good luck.
      I would ask the PM how much hours more does he think you should put in, and if he is flexible on time, ie work 9 hours one day and 7 another. If the project is tulip, and you are made to work extra for someone else's fault, then I would seriously consider my position there. It never happened to me personally, cause it was always give and take, work extra and get some paid time off. The PM does not really want to burn his staff cause then he will get tulip productivity. It also depends how much work you are doing in these 7.5 hours though, being your first contract and all.

      Comment


        #4
        Sounds like a classic Deathmarch Project, doesn't it? I've pulled extra hours on a project before (and in fact spent the weekend following my last contract finishing something off for the client). And, as a manager, I've also asked my team to pull extra hours on occasion as a one-off effort to get some critical piece of work kicked off or completed. However, there's a difference between making a one-off effort, and merely exhausting yourself or other people by regularly pulling unreasonable hours. Making people work longer than they should on a regular basis only leads them to become less effective than they would if they just worked a normal day with proper rest in between. And whilst people who work regular hours on a regular basis usually see themselves as heroes pulling all-nighters, in reality people that regularly work that way are usually amongst the least competent members of a team.

        Putting the negatives associated with the fact that your client's managers think it's a good idea to work this way to one side and concentrating on purely contractual issues, it sounds like you've got a choice to make. Whatever your contract says, your client's manager says they will get rid of you if you don't start pulling extra hours. If your contract is in any way standard, unfortunately they will be able do that. Even if you've got a million year contract with them stipulating exactly 37.5 hours per week, you'll probably find that there's a MOO (Mutuality Of Obligation) clause in there that states they're not compelled to offer work during the period of your contract, and you're not obliged to accept any work offered. Simply initiating that clause will effectively mean your termination.

        It's up to you how you play it, knowing that they can do that. If it were me in your shoes, I wouldn't work a deathmarch project for anybody. They always fail no matter what you do as an individual, and I'd rather not be a part of failure; I didn't get into contracting just for the money, but also because I like actually getting things done for people that want my help and are prepared to do the things they need to do in order to benefit from what I can provide.

        You may choose for financial reasons to stick with the project until you can find something where the client expectations are more reasonable. I wish you luck if you decide to do that, since it's difficult to find the time to interview for a new contract when you're working every waking hour.

        Alternatively, you may choose to stay with your present client, point out that your hours are stated in your contract and you will be working the hours you both agreed to, and thereby put the ball in their court. They may not initiate the MOO clause, or even be aware of their ability to do so depending on how close the person that's asking you to work extra hours under threat of termination was to the paperwork. It's not the first time I've seen an individual manager back down when you point out you're there to do exactly what was agreed, and no more or less.

        However you decide to play it, I hope you find a better situation soon. Working for unreasonable people isn't any fun. None of us got into contracting because we enjoy entertaining unreasonable requests.

        Comment


          #5
          OK, it's a mess. Blame the usual issue of intermediate managers not knowing their job.

          However, to be blunt, you're paid to deliver things, not work a number of hours. As long as you are delivering what you are required to deliver at the time it's needed your PM is out of order. What you can't do, and especially if you're on a hourly-paid contract, is miss those delivery points or delay someone else's.

          However, if they are saying your working day is now 9 hours, that's fine as long as they pay you for nine hours' work as per the contract. You're not there to make the PM's budget balance, that's his problem.

          You can walk away, of course, or get binned. So cost the dfference between an hour a day unpaid o/t for a onth or two and no more contract income (and please don't come back with "I can get a new gig tomorrow") and decide from there.

          You're a business. Think like one.
          Blog? What blog...?

          Comment


            #6
            One tactic I have used before to get was:

            I would love to do that but it is not in my contract, I cannot do duties/hours/lap dances out of my contract without voiding my IR35 insurance.

            I would love to help, honestly I would, but voiding my insurance like that would also cause me to break the law by acting against the interest of my company.

            However, I am sure we can churn out a relevant contract change within a day or two if we put our minds to it. I bet the T&C would take 5 minutes, do you have time now?
            "He's actually ripped" - Jared Padalecki

            https://youtu.be/l-PUnsCL590?list=PL...dNeCyi9a&t=615

            Comment


              #7
              To paraphrase Marcellus Wallis, that thing you're feeling is pride. You want to ignore it and don't worry about who is winning. There is no such thing in business as fair, just terms you ill not accept or a deal (of course a deal has further gradations of a deal, a sweet deal and a super sweet deal.)

              What I think you should be worrying about is:

              1. How bearable will your life be if you work the extra time? This is very difficult for me as I don't see my kids in the evening bit I regularly put in about extra hour or two on the train and occasionally late evening.

              2. What are your alternatives? What is the market for your experience? If this is your first contract and you have been there < 6 to 9 months, my hunch is that you have to suck it up unless you javelin a better offer. That is not to say that you cannot do a Bruce Willis double cross later if you do get a firm offer if that's how you want to play it. The contracting equivalent is exercising your right of substitution and sending suity. No need to give notice then.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Gentile View Post
                Sounds like a classic Deathmarch Project, doesn't it?
                WGS.

                Just what I was thinking...

                Be confident in your own assessment and decisions. The difference in attitude between a contractor and a permie boils down to this.

                I say that I'm going to do while thinking '...so fire me.' - and I truely mean it.

                I may actually get fired one of these days, but I haven't yet...
                "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by cojak View Post
                  WGS.

                  Just what I was thinking...

                  Be confident in your own assessment and decisions. The difference in attitude between a contractor and a permie boils down to this.

                  I say that I'm going to do while thinking '...so fire me.' - and I truely mean it.

                  I may actually get fired one of these days, but I haven't yet...
                  YACNCOTBAC. Only permies get fired.

                  I always say with a kind and wise sadness:

                  I would be very happy to continue on x terms, but y terms don't work from a business perspective. Of course, I understand if that doesn't work for you and I would be more than happy to agree a short-term arrangement if that would help you tie up loose ends and hand over neatly.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    A classic "you're just a bum on the seat, do as you're told, welcome to IR35" scenario.

                    Now of course, my company will work with client co when deadlines approach, and sometimes I will above and beyond the call of duty (contracted hours), that's my call, for my company.

                    Comment

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