On Friday I got the offer of a new contract. Absolutely thrilled. 
Am currently under contract until September, and have recently renewed, but very bizarrely I find myself in a role where there is no work. I am quite literally being paid to sit there on my hands for 8 hours a day, which has been utterly soul destroying. I can't stand misuse of the word "literally" but it really does apply here - no emails, no phonecalls, projects I am assigned to have been mothballed. As someone fairly new to contracting, I didn't have the warchest to be able to walk, so had to suck it up for the last few months.
The weird thing is, even though I haven't been asked to do any work, I think they might be a little hurt that I am giving notice. They're nice people, and I'm grateful they honoured the contract, even after a takeover, so I don't want to upset them.
My plan is to be honest and up front, but question is - how do you give notice as a contractor? Do you talk to the client first before following up in writing, or would you simply send an email and wait for them to pull you aside for a chat? Should I inform the agent first? I informed them of the situation, and asked them to search the market for me, but predictably didn't come up with anything. New contract is via a different agent.
I have a notice period of a month, but new gig want me to start in 2 weeks, so looking to engineer a quick exit if possible.
Am currently under contract until September, and have recently renewed, but very bizarrely I find myself in a role where there is no work. I am quite literally being paid to sit there on my hands for 8 hours a day, which has been utterly soul destroying. I can't stand misuse of the word "literally" but it really does apply here - no emails, no phonecalls, projects I am assigned to have been mothballed. As someone fairly new to contracting, I didn't have the warchest to be able to walk, so had to suck it up for the last few months.
The weird thing is, even though I haven't been asked to do any work, I think they might be a little hurt that I am giving notice. They're nice people, and I'm grateful they honoured the contract, even after a takeover, so I don't want to upset them.
My plan is to be honest and up front, but question is - how do you give notice as a contractor? Do you talk to the client first before following up in writing, or would you simply send an email and wait for them to pull you aside for a chat? Should I inform the agent first? I informed them of the situation, and asked them to search the market for me, but predictably didn't come up with anything. New contract is via a different agent.
I have a notice period of a month, but new gig want me to start in 2 weeks, so looking to engineer a quick exit if possible.
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