Zero work to do on contract (confused!)

[CryingSheep]

Thank you everyone for your advice. It is a huge relief to know there are supportive people out there.
I'm so glad to have found this site, this morning.

You will see that now time will pass faster...

[PlanB]

I'm sorry if this is a long message - I've tried to be as clear/succinct as possible.

...

Any advice would be appreciated.

Some good replies, I've also been in this position and if you are there as a helping hand to the "busy contractor" don't dismiss the idea that you being there was not his idea and he views you as competition hence him acting like a bit of an obstructive rse.

I would be tempted to drop him an email and cc in his boss saying "all tasks complete please may I have another" but as has been pointed out this is permietractor territory but very common. Be wary that may precipitate your exit so be prepared for this.

In the meantime pick some skills you'd like to work on and fill in your time until you get the tap on the shoulder which by the sounds of it is coming. In parallel hit the job boards/ your network and try and get a new gig.

[BrilloPad]

personally i would look for other roles. use free time to develop skillset. post on cuk alot more.

And be grateful i had money coming in.

[DaveB]

Being completely cynical I'd say start looking for a new gig now and just play this for all it is worth.

If no-one cares if you are in the office or not, then don't be there. "WFH" more days, use the time to look for gigs and learn new skills / refresh your old ones. If you don't need a physical signature on your time sheet I'd go so far as to suggest you just stop turning up and wait for them to notice. Exercise your right to provide services from a location of your choosing. Keep invoicing in the meantime.

[PCTNN]

until you get the tap on the shoulder which by the sounds of it is coming.

Not necessarily. Plenty companies, especially big ones where money is not an issue, can keep a contractor just because the budget for the contract has already been approved. It's money they have already put down as a cost and just terminating a contract early isn't always worth the hassle.

What I would NOT do if I were you is just leave without having another gig lined up, especially since you don't seem to have a chunky warchest. Either find a gig and then leave, or leave without a gig only when you can afford some bench time.

[BlasterBates]

I would stick with it. If there really is absolutely nothing to do, spend the time improving your skills by building apps you think might be relevant to the project, eg automate or build a web front-end for the data entry task.

[GhostofTarbera]

I would stick with it. If there really is absolutely nothing to do, spend the time improving your skills by building apps you think might be relevant to the project, eg automate or build a web front-end for the data entry task.

This, market is rubbish at the moment - keep it going until finding something else


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[GhostofTarbera]

Not necessarily. Plenty companies, especially big ones where money is not an issue, can keep a contractor just because the budget for the contract has already been approved. It's money they have already put down as a cost and just terminating a contract early isn't always worth the hassle.

What I would NOT do if I were you is just leave without having another gig lined up, especially since you don't seem to have a chunky warchest. Either find a gig and then leave, or leave without a gig only when you can afford some bench time.

Reminds me of my time at JP Morgan

Myself and Watty (of these parts) worked together at JP Morgan in Glasgow, we only had to work 1 hour a day (by work I mean monitor a job) - rest of the time we spent in the boozer


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[Hertsseasider]

If I was you I would get out immediately. Your words "soul destroying" and "losing your mojo" are not good. You need to be fully on form and sparked up for job searching and any interviews etc.

Get on to job sites and LinkedIn and start looking now. Do you have anyone in your network you could reach out to?

I'm sure many people have been in similar positions and come out the other side better for it

good luck

[northernladuk]

Can anyone recommend any good job sites for contractors? I was approached via Linkedin for this one.

Jobserve is your go to board. According to the page below CV Library and OnlyContractJobs appear to be in the running for awards but IMO they are absolutely awful. OnlyContract has an option for searching permanent roles (WTF!!!). It also has next to no search critera and everything seems to be through adzuna. Just awful.

Shortlist 2019 — The Contracting Awards 2019