Negotiate rate increase with agency or client?

[Rabotnik]

I've been on a contract since February which was initially 3 months but got renewed twice and now they want to renew for 8 months. I went to the interview with my usual rate, but then there was some kind of misunderstanding where the client thought my rate included the agency fee (no idea why, since I've hired before myself, and the rate on the CV is the contractor's rate excl. agency commission). So as a compromise, the agent lowered his rate and I had to drop mine by £13pd to get the gig.

Fast forward to now with the 8 month renewal on the table, and I told the agent I want an £8pd increase for this next 8 months since I have been working for 9 months on the reduced rate, so it's time for a bump (I did agree to the initial cut after all, and I turned a 3 month contract into 18 months).

Surprisingly, first he said he would speak to my manager about it, which I didn't understand, since I expected him to absorb the cost. Then he replied again today and said my manager wants to talk to me about it next week when he gets back from the US.

Why should I have to speak to the client about it? Surely my contract is with the agency, so I don't give a **** what the client pays them, I am telling them my rate will be £8 more, so they can agree or look for someone else.

Is it normal to discuss rate rises with the client? I thought it was supposed to be a contractor-agent discussion. I feel like the agent is making me do his job by trying to get the client to pay him more rather than pay me from his cut.

[bless 'em all]

The agent doesn't want to drop his cut so the only place the money is coming from is the client.

I have to ask though, are you really prepared to walk out of an 8 month renewal for the sake of £40 a week?

Winter's coming.

[Old Greg]

The agent doesn't want to drop his cut so the only place the money is coming from is the client.

I have to ask though, are you really prepared to walk out of an 8 month renewal for the sake of £40 a week?

Winter's coming.

I guess the OP may be on a low rate. £8 increase on £100 pd might be worth it. If the OP is on £300 to £500 pd, then it's all a bit odd.

[Rabotnik]

It's more of the principal. I dropped my rate from my previous gig for this one though I wasn't desperate for it and the agent has had his cut for nearly 9 months, so it seems fair that he take some pain now for the next 8+ months. And like you say, it's only £40pw, so I don't see why he's made a fuss about it. November is not a great time to go, and I was actually hoping they would just ask for another 3 month renewal so I could just not renew in February.

[Old Greg]

It's more of the principal. I dropped my rate from my previous gig for this one though I wasn't desperate for it and the agent has had his cut for nearly 9 months, so it seems fair that he take some pain now for the next 8+ months. And like you say, it's only £40pw, so I don't see why he's made a fuss about it. November is not a great time to go, and I was actually hoping they would just ask for another 3 month renewal so I could just not renew in February.

How much money is the principle worth?

[Scratch It]

How much money is the principle worth?

8 quid

[Rabotnik]

How much money is the principle worth?

So you think contractors should roll over so they don't get their contract terminated? I purposefully went for a small increase (2%) so I wasn't taking the P. Even then I am not at the rate the agent initially put me forward for.

[CheeseSlice]

I went to the interview with my usual rate, but then there was some kind of misunderstanding where the client thought my rate included the agency fee (no idea why, since I've hired before myself, and the rate on the CV is the contractor's rate excl. agency commission).

Whoa hang on there. You discussed your rate (contractor to agent rate) with the client? Why?
Why do you think the rate on the CV is normally the raw contractors rate? I'd say that only happens in very specific scenarios where there is a fixed margin or one of those so called 'Open contracts'.

In my experience a contractor shouldn't discuss their rate with the client, and I suspect you're at one of those places. I've actually seen a copy of my own CV on a desk at a clientco with the rate displayed on it including the agency margin. You can't assume clientco's are aware of the contractor rate.

[Old Greg]

So you think contractors should roll over so they don't get their contract terminated? I purposefully went for a small increase (2%) so I wasn't taking the P. Even then I am not at the rate the agent initially put me forward for.

Do you think agents should roll over so contractors don't walk? Seriously, good luck to you. Not sure I could be bothered. I did hold out for a £20 pd increase once, but my costs were increasing.

[Rabotnik]

Whoa hang on there. You discussed your rate (contractor to agent rate) with the client? Why?
Why do you think the rate on the CV is normally the raw contractors rate? I'd say that only happens in very specific scenarios where there is a fixed margin or one of those so called 'Open contracts'.

In my experience a contractor shouldn't discuss their rate with the client, and I suspect you're at one of those places. I've actually seen a copy of my own CV on a desk at a clientco with the rate displayed on it including the agency margin. You can't assume clientco's are aware of the contractor rate.

No, I didn't tell the client my rate, after the interview the agent told me there'd been a mistake and the client thought the rate the agent put on my CV included their cut. It was the first time this agency had placed someone there, so that's why there was confusion about what the total cost would be.

My main point with starting the thread was whether I should be talking to my client about a rate increase. I thought as a proper business I just tell it to the agency and it's up to them to pay me and they can try negotiate with the client but it's nothing to do with me.