Approaching an old client

ps124

Hi All,

I moved into contracting last year and am currently in a contract. I am full remote and seem to have a lot of free time.

My previous employment was a permanent position doing the same role. I had an excellent rapport with the client I used to work alongside when I was doing the permanent role. I delivered a number of important bits of work for them and I know their organisation really well.

Its been a number of months since I left the perm position and I'm thinking of approaching the client (who is very senior) directly via email to see if they have any work/projects they'd like to 'outsource' to me. This is just in order to supplement my current contract and if there is anything much larger in terms of work, even possibly move into a contract or perm position with them.

I've been hesitant to approach to date because consious of leaving a time gap between working for them via permanent position and contracting and also for the following reasons:

• Should I do this or will it burn any bridges with my old employer if they were to somehow find out about this direct approach? (I'm on good terms with management at old firm)
• Would it be frowned upon by the client or anyone within the client organisation?
• Not sure how to approach or what to say?

Does anyone have any experiences they could share or any advice/guidance? Thanks

gm0

If this is a (relevant) client, or a prospective client (sales prospect) likely to receive proposals from your current employer - then your current contract terms as a contractor are likely to have something to say about this.  In which case - caution.  If wholly unrelated - less so.

That would complicate things if it got difficult and you had already broken your contractual obligations to the current employer. 

It can be awkward to seek permission if you are currently technically full time engaged and yet not. 

And yet people permie and contractor - look for a job from a job all the time.  So if the trail left by any approach is couched in the right way - reintroduction, reminder of prior success, your interest in future opportunities - then this is easier to defend as a starting point - until the process goes further. 

It's a small world in most sectors.  So it can go three ways. 

A shrug - natural evolution.  Process your exit when you take the new role and give notice.

Sometimes it makes the account manager of the service provider angry - but they have to just grin and bear it because the senior client - wants that solution and has effectively "poached" an individual from the service provider client team or elsewhere - but causing internal grief.   This can fall foul of no poaching or poaching with terms arrangements that big clients and service providers may have in contracts.  This was a regular thing at one time.  I believe less popular of late.  Unclear on the legal edge.  That would be in the service provider customer contract and not yours so the obligations would be on them (both) apropos of cross hiring.

And rarely a company will hunt you down and enforce non-compete and all other contractual terms and plausible allegations and make a bit of an example of you - to your career detriment.  Using the we have money for lawyers and you don't method to stomp you.  This tends to occur if there is valued intellectual property (that is felt to have left with you innappropriately - and in some specific non-compete / long running big procurement / major new product scenarios

Marcon

ps124 said:

Hi All,

I moved into contracting last year and am currently in a contract. I am full remote and seem to have a lot of free time.

My previous employment was a permanent position doing the same role. I had an excellent rapport with the client I used to work alongside when I was doing the permanent role. I delivered a number of important bits of work for them and I know their organisation really well.

Its been a number of months since I left the perm position and I'm thinking of approaching the client (who is very senior) directly via email to see if they have any work/projects they'd like to 'outsource' to me. This is just in order to supplement my current contract and if there is anything much larger in terms of work, even possibly move into a contract or perm position with them.

I've been hesitant to approach to date because consious of leaving a time gap between working for them via permanent position and contracting and also for the following reasons:

• Should I do this or will it burn any bridges with my old employer if they were to somehow find out about this direct approach? (I'm on good terms with management at old firm)
• Would it be frowned upon by the client or anyone within the client organisation?
• Not sure how to approach or what to say?

Does anyone have any experiences they could share or any advice/guidance? Thanks

Exactly what restrictive covenants (if any) were in your old contract as an employee? You don't seem to have considered this aspect and it's one which could be a stumbling block. 

DullGreyGuy

So you want to approach the client of your ex-employers and try to poach work from your ex-employers?

It's not clear as you say "working for them" and in other sentences your "client" could also be interrupted as a colleague in your ex-employers (though that would be strange terminology). 

You need to check your former contract of employment to see if there is any period you are blocked from competing with them for or approaching their clients. If there isnt or you've passed it then technically they are fair game. Note that the client may have similar terms in their contracts which may or may not be longer but that is an issue for them to worry about not you. 

It's unlikely your old employers will be happy with you but then as a day rate contractor realistically are you a material threat to their business? 

ps124

Hi All, thanks for the responses/guidance. Apologies if I've confused the questions but to simplify, I am operating under my own limited company and my current contract role is outside IR35 so there is nothing within my current contract that stops me from taking on another role.

When I was working as a permanent employee, the only restrictive statements in my perm contract were that I could not directly work for a client of the company without a 6 month gap (which has now passed).

I'm not trying to poach anything from my previous employers - as previously stated by DullgreyGuy, I'm a single day rate contractor that will not really pose any threat to my previous employer.

I'm a project manager/consultant by profession so all I'm wanting to ask is if they have any projects/work which I could pick up. The work may now even be related to the work areas or services provided by my previous employer.

Does this help to provide some clarity to my original questions?

Marcon

ps124 said:

Hi All, thanks for the responses/guidance. Apologies if I've confused the questions but to simplify, I am operating under my own limited company and my current contract role is outside IR35 so there is nothing within my current contract that stops me from taking on another role.

When I was working as a permanent employee, the only restrictive statements in my perm contract were that I could not directly work for a client of the company without a 6 month gap (which has now passed).

I'm not trying to poach anything from my previous employers - as previously stated by DullgreyGuy, I'm a single day rate contractor that will not really pose any threat to my previous employer.

I'm a project manager/consultant by profession so all I'm wanting to ask is if they have any projects/work which I could pick up. The work may now even be related to the work areas or services provided by my previous employer.

Does this help to provide some clarity to my original questions?

Now you've provided the essential bit of information about your previous contract, there's nothing to stop you doing what you suggest.

I'd start by picking up a phone to the client and seeing what they say. Just make sure you 'rehearse' (to yourself) what you are going to say to them - just don't start with the comment 'I seem to have a lot of free time' which comes over as desperate rather than professional!

DullGreyGuy

ps124 said:
I am operating under my own limited company and my current contract role is outside IR35 so there is nothing within my current contract that stops me from taking on another role.

Whilst it's likely the contract wouldnt have restrictive clauses it's not an absolute unless you have read the contract and double checked. I've seen many "outside IR35" contracts that had clauses that would seriously make you question that assessment (referring to your line manager at the client, having to have time off authorised by your manager etc)

ps124 said:

When I was working as a permanent employee, the only restrictive statements in my perm contract were that I could not directly work for a client of the company without a 6 month gap (which has now passed).

Could potentially get in a debate on the first part here but it's a moot point given the period has passed. 

A former associate sold his company for a tidy 8 figure number. He had a non-compete clause of 18 months (from memory) but the day he got his earn-out money and left so his (house)wife bought a dormant company and renamed it giving clear indication that "she" was setting up a rival company. Lawyers had a field day with that one. 

ps124

Thanks all for the help/guidance. I've double checked my existing outside IR35 contract and it looks ok to me. No line manager references and some of the outside IR35 fundamentals are in place such as I use my own equipment and software, homeworking and no direct manager or reporting.

Going back to approaching the old client for contracting work, is there any reason to suggest a phone call over an email? I would much rather email so I can list/say everything I need and want to, and then follow up with a phone call if need be and things progress.

I'm just not sure how to approach and what to say. I was thinking of the following structure (but massively shortened):

• General greetings - how is so and so etc
• What I'm doing now (since I left the perm job) in terms of the services, work, experiences etc (small talk)
• Actual purpose of email - Any project management, consultation, co-ordination, planning requirements etc please keep me in mind type thing
• Direct to my contact details and company website
• Goodbyes and keep in touch messages

Does the above structure sound like I'm on the right path? Feedback welcome.

SensibleSarah

It sounds like you had a good relationship with them so I'd just go for it with an email and be very up-front. Say that you have a bit of capacity to take on some extra projects at the moment and because you enjoyed working with them in the past, they spung immediately to mind as someone you'd really like to work with again. 
Outline the scope of what you can offer now that you're a one-man-band and see what happens. 

Personally, I think an email is better than an out of blue call - but I'm also someone who infinitely prefers emails to calls anyway  

ps124

Thanks all for your guidance!