Contract Rate Cut
This was sent to us by an IT Contractor about a contract rate cut and what he did about it.
They forced me to take a contract rate cut by 10% in about 2003 at Severn Trent.
I said I would agree but in return I would do 4 x 10hr instead of 5x8hr and I pick the day off each week.
This allowed me to reduce the cost of being there by 1/5 and it allowed me to start obtaining and servicing my own clients.
End of Contracting
Now I am in full time work with my own clientelle and don‘t contract any more.
One reason I moved out of contracting was when the day rate thing came in instead of teh hourly rate.
It made working in London, even at £500/day uneconomic if you lived beyond commuting range.
IT Contractor Comment
I remember when it was all hourly rate before the day rate came in.
It was a lot handier when it came to overtime.
Now, agencies, and especially clients, reckon that the day rate means that contractors have to do as many hours in the day as it needs to get their tasks done on time.
Estimates Agreed and Time Off for Tasks Done early
That might be correct if:-
- The contractor agreed the estimate before he started the task. If not then we are just relying on the ability of the permie project manager to estimate. Also, permie project managers make the task deadlines deliberately tight. They would make them even more so if they knew that the IT Contractor would have to do all the hours in the day to get the tasks done.
- The contractor and project manager agree the estimate and the IT Contractor wis able to leave early some days or not come in at al, but they still pay him, if he, or she, finishes the task early.
Contractor Daily Rate Means Something for Nothing
No, both agencies and permie project manager see this as a one way street. If the contractor doesn’t get the task done within the allotted time, despite having not agreed the estimate, they have to work extra hours to get it done. If they are able to do the task within the time they allot him, or her, they expected them to ask for a new task to do. Therefore there is no incentive to finish a task early.
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