Laid off and offered contract

couldbeanyone77

Hi All,

I was recently told I'm being laid off, along with other people, as the company is cutting costs. My HOD wants me to stay on as a contract worker with an hourly rate and said all the details will be revealed in a meeting this week.

It's a skilled position, so getting another job shouldn't be too difficult, although there's bills to pay so it's an uneasy feeling!

Obviously it depends on the details but I'm just wondering what anyone thinks about this and has this happened to you?

DomRavioli

Had it happen around 8 years ago to myself. Took the contract role, and was very happy there; I ended up leaving due to health issues (the commute was a good hour and a half either way so quite impossible in my circumstances).

I didn't notice a difference, as there were a number of staff who were contracted out who I worked with previously. we had a week off, and then started our "new" jobs.

asajj

Would your notice period be lower if you were contracting there? If so you could just take the offer and look for another job meanwhile. However it is also important if this will impact your ability to receive any redundancy pay assuming you are entitled to it.

aife

This is how things are now.
it might not seem that different at first but you are losing employment rights.
Smile and say yes and start looking for something else

getmore4less

Fairly dodgy if they expect you to still act like an employee.

like having to ask for time off, turn up on time not work from home, not send someone as a substitute.

Double pay as a minimum to cover holidays NI sick etc.

Gavin83

getmore4less wrote: »

Double pay as a minimum to cover holidays NI sick etc.

This. I don't think contracting is necessarily a bad thing but to leave a company as an employee and return as a contractor I'd be looking at double pay as a starting point. Of course nothing stopping you from accepting as a stand in until you find another job.

paddyrg

There may be a problem here - PEOPLE aren't made redundant, ROLES are, and this suggests your role isn't. Just mentioning it in case it's helpful in your negotiation ;-)

couldbeanyone77

Hi all, thanks for the comments thus far.

Me and other team members were sat down in a room and offered equal pay with just 1 weeks notice as contractors.

We collectively asked for a longer notice period or nobody would accept.

Our HOD said nothing is guaranteed, all of these decisions are coming from the top (because of mistakes made up there such as overspending on marketing, promised leads not happening). Essentially theres work until Christmas, where a product needs to be delivered and depending on what happens, full time employment may be offered again.

From the sounds of it, if the product isn't delivered on time, everybody is gone including HOD....

What a mess - any thoughts?

couldbeanyone77

Their response to demands: no change in contract at all - take it or leave!

getmore4less

Time to look for new jobs.

Just make sure you get the notice pay and redundancy that is due.