Where do I stand as a contractor?

London_Exile

Have been working as an IT contractor for a while, just started a new contract and all is not well. And I need some advice on how to proceed........

Bascially the contract I'm working on isn't a very friendly place, apart from the normal "hello" and "good morning" it's pretty much not a place where you can get chatting.

Anyway, the main problem seems to be that I'm not being given the resources to do the job; I've been told that I won't get an account for the call logging system, I'm having to use someone else's account. I've been told that it's because the compnay can't or won't trust contractors. That's all BS and as someone who has worked in Information Security, not giving someone a user account becuase of security, then allowing them to use someone elses makes no sense. This means that I can't assign myself work and can't verify that I have done any work, when we have to complete daily activity logs. For example; today I had some quick fix jobs to do, which were then taken off me and done by someone else.

I very nearly quit on the spot. I just can't work in that kind of atmosphere. In fct the only reason i didn't quit, was the fact that this is my only source of income. So I need to make this work. But as a contractor what are my rights, etc?

Conor_3

You're self employed I take it. You therefore have no rights as an employee or any of the protection of employment law. You have no rights to fairness, no ways to appeal, no right to paid holidays or sick pay, no rights to paid notice etc etc etc. These are what you give up in order to rake in the money and save on tax/NI by being self employed.

The only thing you have a right to is being paid for the work you've done.

London_Exile

Thanks for being straight to the point.

I'm only doing the contracting thing until I can get a decent perm job. Just wanted to know where I stood.

PasturesNew

Having worked for over 20 years in IT, and as a contractor, here's my take on it

London_Exile wrote: »

Bascially the contract I'm working on isn't a very friendly place, apart from the normal "hello" and "good morning" it's pretty much not a place where you can get chatting.

IT isn't a friendly environment. It tends to be filled with people locked into their specialism. They're there to work, not to chat. Quite often they've got complex solutions forming in their head, they're thinking about problems that are recurring and wondering how to solve them. It isn't that they're not friendly, they just take their work very seriously. They're not a chatty bunch, they just crack on with stuff and fix problems. Personally, I love this atmosphere. I am at work to work. I have no interest in chatting to people. At appropriate times a joke is shared, but it's not an environment where people stop to chat just for the heck of it.

Personally I find working with IT people the best work in the world. You can rely on them, they do their jobs, there tends to be no BS at all. Play is for outside work ... and get them out of work they're brilliant.

London_Exile wrote: »

Anyway, the main problem seems to be that I'm not being given the resources to do the job; I've been told that I won't get an account for the call logging system, I'm having to use someone else's account. I've been told that it's because the compnay can't or won't trust contractors.

This is all quite normal. Most contractors at least start off on a shared login; sometimes this is just due to the fact that the work is ad-hoc so nobody's really sure what you need until you need it; sometimes it's because that's just the way it is.

But I'd not think this odd at all.

London_Exile wrote: »

That's all BS and as someone who has worked in Information Security, not giving someone a user account becuase of security, then allowing them to use someone elses makes no sense.

Those rules tend to apply to users. Not IT. In IT there's a lot of trust between each other and you have to be trustworthy to be in the role.

London_Exile wrote: »

This means that I can't assign myself work and can't verify that I have done any work, when we have to complete daily activity logs. For example; today I had some quick fix jobs to do, which were then taken off me and done by someone else.

Reassignment of work is quite commonplace. Maybe the Manager wanted to keep somebody else occupied. Not because you are the lesser person, but maybe that person's best out of harm's way. You see this quite a lot where a manager with little time has somebody that just can't occupy themselves or would be interrupting others if they had spare time. Sometimes in IT you just have a rogue member of staff, perhaps somebody who slacks off or surfs the internet when it's not allowed. And they need to be kept busy. So they're given the easiest work to grab and hand over.

London_Exile wrote: »

I very nearly quit on the spot. I just can't work in that kind of atmosphere. In fct the only reason i didn't quit, was the fact that this is my only source of income. So I need to make this work. But as a contractor what are my rights, etc?

As a contractor you have no rights. You are self-employed. Either through your own Ltd company or under an umbrella.

The company has no employment contract with you. You are a supplier of services to them.

London_Exile

Well, thanks for that insight. However, I can't agree with you on certain statements. Firstly, I may not have as much experience as you in IT. But places I've worked before have all been friendly with plenty of banter. I've seen this both as a contractor and a perm.

And as for the shared logon. Again I'm going to have to disagree. The reason I've beent old I'm not getting my own account is one of "security", yet they will allow me to use another persons account. Thats hardly secure. And I could if I was that way inclined do more damage with the account I'm using than If I had my own one.

Our team such as it is has no real specalism, rather it's all break\fix work.

I ge that I don't have any real rights now, so I jsut have to take my medicine, but I've worked on far better contracts than this, and just feel that it's not a friednly place to work.

Conor_3

London_Exile wrote: »

Thanks for being straight to the point.

I'm only doing the contracting thing until I can get a decent perm job. Just wanted to know where I stood.

On a very shakey leg. It has its upsides but as you've found, downsides too. I hope you're getting enough to make it worthwhile.

A lot of people doing contracting don't fully understand the ramifications of it until something like you're experiencing happens and they suddenly find there's no right to redress. Too many people focus on the tax saving money side of it which whilst good, might not be as good as you think when you consider you have no holiday pay, company pension or company sick pay.

omen666

Unfortunately you don't have any real rights. How long is your contract?

I have have been contracting for 8 years now and have worked for all types of companies in different fields from Government to Finance, media etc. In most of these if they are worried about giving you an account on the AD or NDS then they normally just give you a bog standard account with limited access, no Admin rights but membership to certain admin roles that limits what you are able to do. I have never worked in a company that doesn't even give you an account to do your work, defeats the onject of you being there. Me personally, I couldn't work in that sort of environment, I would get so pis$ed off and frustrated as for other analysts taking your calls, I hate cherry picking. I would suggest you look at Jobserve etc and look for another position, as you are a contractor your notice period will be negligable at best, 1 week for anything upto a 6 months contract and if the company are so Security conscious they will probably release you that day you hand in your notice.

out of interest, what field does the company you work for work in?

Zazen999

Hi London

Sorry to hear it isn't going as well as you hoped; things are always different when you don't actually work for a company.

Although not in IT, I consult to large companies in one sector, and IT plays a huge part. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement [actually, we put it in our arrangement], as I get sent a lot of very confidential info and I have to go through it and put it into useable formats for what I do to it.

I also have to visit the same companies; and whilst I am told that I am 'part of the team' and attend team meetings; I still have to wait in reception each time I go - and have to be escorted in and out the security doors to the loo etc. I also can't chat too much as they are paying for my time there, and I don't want to know 'too much' about the companies - nor do I want to pass judgement on those who hired me!

Although I miss the banter; I am not in any way worried about it, and don't get stressed about using temporary or someone else's log ins; it just means that things are slightly more difficult, but my wage packet each month is probably twice that of those that I am working amongst.

Just don't let the little stuff that would irk you in a permanent job get you down. Life's too short. Let them do it their way - take the cash and keep your attention on getting that permanent job in the bag. Its not personal, it's just one job, at this moment in time, that is leading you somewhere that you need to be.

omen666

Nice post Zazen, I was a little tired last night when posting and omitted a couple of the things you said. I have to sign a confidentiality form as well as a chinese wall type form in some organisations, particularly where I am working at the moment, also i always look forward to the cash I earn in comparison to the permy sector. The other bit I enjoy about contracting is I can have my say and give my advice but never get involved in the politics most companies have.

London_Exile

The account problem is nothing like AD, etc. It;s the helpdesk tool. Thats what got me. I want to do as good a job as I can, but can't if I don't have the right resources.

omen666

In that case just take the money whilst they are paying you and look for another position