Right to terminate at short notice

**stek** · 29 October 2013, 20:21

No work, no pay.

Stick with hotels, b&b, or house share at this early stage.

**evilagent** · 29 October 2013, 20:40

I know a few contractors that use "easyroommate".
You can rent decent digs, albeit shared, with just a couple of weeks notice to quit.
Best ones are where you share with the owner, rather than houses where the house is specifically used to rent out to a bunch of strangers.

Better than long-term lets through estate agents, who usually require a 6-month commitment.

There should be a sticky about good sites for house-shares, lodgings and such-like.

**cojak** · 29 October 2013, 20:51

Originally posted by evilagent View Post

I know a few contractors that use "easyroommate".
You can rent decent digs, albeit shared, with just a couple of weeks notice to quit.
Best ones are where you share with the owner, rather than houses where the house is specifically used to rent out to a bunch of strangers.

Better than long-term lets through estate agents, who usually require a 6-month commitment.

There should be a sticky about good sites for house-shares, lodgings and such-like.

You'd think, wouldn't ya?

http://forums.contractoruk.com/gener...otel-tips.html

**kingcook** · 29 October 2013, 20:52

Ibis Budget is your friend

... or Travelodge

**northernladuk** · 29 October 2013, 22:30

Originally posted by unnamedcontractor View Post

Hi guys

I'm just looking into contracting for the first time and have been wondering about the following:

When you sign a contract for say a 6 month piece of work, do contracts tend to have clauses in them that say the client/agency can basically cancel the contract with only say, 5 days notice?

Is there any way to avoid this? I am looking at contracts that arent local, which would mean I would need to find a place to rent in another town. Clearly its pretty precarious to be in a position where you have a rental liability of say 6 months, but your income could vanish with only a weeks notice.

Does this tend to be the situation or is it the case that contracts will normally give a better notice period than that?

Thanks for your help

S

If you are looking for job security you shouldn't be contracting. A weeks notice isn't uncommon, you get a month from time to time but anything more than 3 will put you inside IR35 (more or less anyway). What is increasingly common is that you cannot give notice but they can give what they like.

This is all well and good but...... notice periods are for permies. The client can bin you on the day and you have little to no comeback. You can start an argument with them and threaten to sue them for the notice period which occasionally may work but you are still out of work while all this is going on. A smart client will just tell you there is no more work to do. No work = no pay so effectively immediate termination, no notice period, nothing. It happens, stick around the forums long enough or try searching for 'terminated' or 'given notice' using the search method described in the FAQ section.

Welcome to contracting, a sweet smelling bed of easy life roses it is not

**TykeMerc** · 29 October 2013, 23:34

Security is not exactly a benefit of contracting, if you're not comfortable with the entirely real risk that the client will change their mind, run out of budget or put a project on hold for months with no notice then contracting is probably not your best option.

Most of the experienced contractors on CUK have either had it happen to them or seen it happen to other contractors on sites we've been at, it's a fact of life working the way we do. Contractors are a flexible resource with specialist skills, the reason clients pay the premium for using contractors is that they can bin us for any reason at what amounts to no notice.

**SueEllen** · 29 October 2013, 23:47

You are better of finding lodgings with an owner who works nights, isn't there most of the time you will be there i.e. someone else who works away during the week, or has a self-contained basement or annexe they let out.

As you aren't a tenant you can agree to give a minimum amount of notice as stated in your contract i.e. one week but they can also tell you to f*** off with the same notice if you annoy them by not cleaning up after yourself.

**mudskipper** · 30 October 2013, 06:27

Originally posted by BoredBloke View Post

In the last 12 months working for Bar Cap I've had a 10% rate cut, told to take 10 days unpaid leave and then my contract terminated and escorted off site.

See above -clients can drop you without a 'because'.

**unnamedcontractor** · 30 October 2013, 08:25

Hi all

Thanks for the advice so far

> Security is not exactly a benefit of contracting, if you're not comfortable with the entirely real risk...

Yeah - its not so much that I'm not comfortable with the risk - its just I'm not sure what the risks are in practice yet.

I'm still just gathering information on the realities of contracting - rather than what you hear from your mates and associates who have done it in the past

Thanks all for the info - very helpful

S

Right to terminate at short notice