Contract Negotiatios

tzzt123

Hi All! Remember me ? (It's negotiations by the way. Sorry for the typo)

I have a new question.

I've interviewing for a large American organization since January. Over the time, there had been countless calls, a number of applications I had to rewrite, salary requirements, and so on.

Now, the job is in fact not in the UK, so I would have to move to another country. This is something I had thought about even before I applied for this job. I knew I would like to move, however I told myself (and the interviewer too at some point) that the only way I would move is if I get a decent offer, so I can be financially safe.

At one point the interviewer asked me if I would consider a part time position and I refused for the reason above.

Last week I got a call from them saying they would like to offer me a contract. The interviewer mentioned that it might be a little below my expectations, but with better benefits after the contract is renewed, and since I actually like the position itself, I said I was very interested to see the contract.

What I was sent, is a consultancy contracted - hourly paid and an additional clause mentioning expenses paid after approval (no specific details or commitment)

Since we had spoken about financial stability, I called back - Maybe it would be good to mention now that we already passed the "formal stage" and they had been calling me directly (which I am totally fine with).

What I asked was some clarifications : Ideally what I asked was commitment: at least a minimum fixed salary, expenses - communication bills - and since the salary was not as much as I expected - if there is no fixed salary - pay towards accommodation:

Why accommodation? The job itself would require me to work from home part of the time, and then outside in the rest of the time. At the beginning of the interview it was mentioned that it would be best if I had an additional room where I could set up a small office.

Now, I told them that if I don't know what my next payment would be, I need to at least be sure I can cover my rent, plus, I need to feel comfortable since it it a demanding job and I would like to perform very well, so I don't want to be thinking about how to save another pound every month. Financial comfort. To a certain level.

Their response was:
A. I was the ideal candidate and they absolutely want me for the job.
B. They will pay towards communication bills
C. They said I would do a certain salary on average - but this is only verbal, the contract wasn't revised
D. Apartment costs are out of the question
E. What annoyed me a little was a demand for me to sign quickly since it had been a week of negotiation and some how a claim that
I had already agreed on the lower salary

I don't want to lose the job, yet
Technically speaking there is no real commitment on the company side since according to the contract I could be working 5 hours next month and not even be able to cover a small shopping list. I know they said some things, and I would like to trust them - I mean that's a base for any job.

Still, the contract is for 6 months and I will be moving countries here.

What do you guys say I should do ?

tzzt123

no one ? what ......

Dumbe

What industry is it in? Only ask as in some industries / roles this might be standard.

In the industry I am in, if you were taking a position abroad if it was in a country the company didn't have to organize visas it would be a minimum of a 1 year contract.

If somewhere like the USA it would be a longer contract based arround the visa( normally they give 3 year contracts for the USA and 2 years for Australia)

You obvisiously want the role but on reasonable terms that protect you,maybe look at what the competitors would offer.

To me if the offer is reasonable will depend on the industry and it's norms.

InsideInsurance

Even with a contracting or consulting contract I would still expect it to have both a minimum number of hours per week and a notice period

It isnt uncommon for accommodation and travel for the main location not to be considered expenses but depending on tax jurisdictions they may be able to be offset against your profit to at least reduce your tax liabilities. Normally these would be reflected in the day rate but depending on where you're working the local rates may not be able to stretch enough to make a meaningful contribution towards these. At the end of the day as a contractor, where you live is your problem not the clients and they wont pay massively over the odds -v- what they can get locally

tzzt123

Hi Guys.

Thanks for answering. The Industry is Education Testing. The company. I'm not being sent to the USA but rather the middle east, where the company doesn't have visa arrangements and I would have to sort it out myself as a consultant (its relatively easy as I have been there before and already have the right visa)

I do want the job, but like you said on terms that protect me. The company is willing to insure the amount of hours per months which would equal to a fixed pay - which is much lower than what I had expected, meaning, I would have to struggle. They additionally are offering or at least consider it an offer - a laptop/mobile phone/accommodation paid on business trips - I don't know, maybe it's just me, but those things should be obvious.

They said they would also be willing to pay for 2 weeks at a hotel until I find a place.

Bottom line is, the job sounds interesting, yet, on salary nearly half of what I actually require, it's very hard.

On the other hand, I might be wrong but since it's been negotiated for 3 weeks since the initial offer - they think I'm a great candidate (other wise they would have turned me down)

So, ideally, I would like to negotiate further. But how?

Daedalus

tzzt123 wrote: »

So, ideally, I would like to negotiate further. But how?

I can't accept anything less than £X guaranteed.

tzzt123

Then, I might just upset them. I was looking for something more diplomatic.

Savvy_Sue

tzzt123 wrote: »

Then, I might just upset them. I was looking for something more diplomatic.

I wasn't aware Americans were famed for their diplomacy ...

tzzt123

Thanks. Well, This is what is being done. The question is how I ask for what I want without having anyone annoyed and better - how I use the fact they're interested in me to negotiate for the maximum.

Errata

On the other hand, I might be wrong but since it's been negotiated for 3 weeks since the initial offer - they think I'm a great candidate (other wise they would have turned me down)

Have you considered that perhaps all the other candidates decided they wouldn't touch it with a bargepole?

harrys_dad

Seems to me they have made it clear they only want you if you are cheap. I agree with the poster above, get a contract in writing for £x 000s a year or tell them to stuff it.