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Contractors on Salary?
An anonymous reader asks: "I recently got a new job (yes I am one of the lucky few) as a contract programmer. In part of the contract negotiations, the company would not allow me to work on an hourly rate, but instead placed me on salary. I have run into problems in the past where I have had to work an absurd number of hours as a programmer, and am curious where to draw the line. Obviously it is not ok to just leave at the end of an 8 hour shift if there is still lots to be done, but what if the poor project management is not your fault, and heavy deadlines are coming up? Can the company legally make you work 10-16 hour days? I would consider myself new to the industry but not unexperienced. At the company I used to work at, I worked crazy hours and didn't know it was OK to say that the hours are too much. What do you all think?"
US, Europe, somewhere else?
In Europe we have regulations to prevent this - stipulation on maximum working week etc. However, in the way the regulations were implemented in the UK, it's standard practice for everyone to sign a contract that allows overtime working with no fixed maximum.
So, if it did get too much, you would have to quit and probably work your termination period. There would probably be little to gain trying to argue the contract in court at that point.
I suspect that, even if there is a similar law in the US (or elsewhere), it would always have been implemented in an "optional" way to appease the large corporates.
>>No, no one will force you to work twelve hours a >>day. They can easily find someone else who will >>*willingly* do so, to feed their family and pay >>their debts.
I'm sorry, but that's a load. You should know going into a job what the work environment is like. As an exempt employee (one who's pay is not tied to hours worked, only to days worked) you have a right to know what the company expects from you.
Look around and make a judgement call. Say, "I will willingly work a 45 hour week, plus more on occasion" or some other reasonable standard. Companies, or at least good managers, realize that most people have lives outside of work. If you are good at your job then chances are they will want to keep you happy rather than work you until burn out and then watch you leave. (Yes, even in this shitty job market the upper quartile in any field rarely wants for work for any length of time.)
And those co-workers who are *willingly* putting 12 hour days without request or compensation are workaholics or naive or both. If you love your job enough to gladly work boku hours, or maybe if you're gunning for a promotion then maybe its ok. Otherwise don't waste your time (IMHO, of course).
www.avacal.com -- the home page of pete shaw
It doesn't sound like you're a contractor at all, but an employee. I've never heard of a "salary" being paid to a contractor, though per diem (aka per day) rates are common.
At any rate, I've found that setting expectations early is critical. Make it clear to your client what they are paying for. This does not mean you have to be inflexible. You both want the project to be successful in the end. If excessive hours are required, don't bother fighting. Simply make it clear that more work is more expensive, but that you will be happy to see to it that the client's needs are met. If your client has a problem with this, consider your relationship with them carefully. Make it clear that you understand their concerns and that you want to do whatever you can to help them, without getting screwed yourself. Your client is probably motivated by the memory of runaway projects. Make it clear that you have their best interests in mind. Remember, the client is motivated by both excitement and fear. If you can harness those emotions, you can usually turn the negotiations in a helpful direction for both of you.
Finally, it never hurts to show off your professionalism. Dress one notch more formally than those in your workplace. Be friendly and helpful at all times, but refrain from getting involved with office politics. Think about the mannerisms of your lawyer or doctor. You are a highly paid expert in your field. Act like it and your client will come to understand what they are paying for.
BRENT ROCKWOOD, EST'd 1975
Play hardball.
Specify that perdiem (ie per day) rates are $xxx/day. A normal day is 7 or 8 hours and does not start before 6:30AM or after 7 PM. A maximum of xx extra hours may be worked per week, with reasonable notice.
After-hours rates are $xx/hr and oncall rates are $xx/hr. Payment terms are Net 30 with a 2% discount if paid within 14 days. There will be a 5% fee for invoices not paid within 60 days, and a 1.5% fee per 30 days thereafter.
If they do not agree to a contract like that, they are looking for someone to exploit, and will probaly be slow in producing money.
My advice is to go out and find another place to work.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
You're a little naive.
An exempt employee is an administrative, professional or technical employee with a flexible work schedule. That flexibility is supposed to go both ways. (ie, if you work 60 hrs one week, you might work 30 hours in another). Plenty of employers abuse this, forcing workers to work beyond 40 hours regularly and not allowing a shorter workweek without a charge to PTO.
If that flexibility isn't there, you need to seek other employment.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I'm not a contractor, but am an IT Director for a small association.
Recently, our director mentioned that she expected at least 50-60 hours per week, every week from all professional, salaried staff (we have about 20-25 people in that category. Our "official" workday is 7.5 hours. In essence, we're being told that we have to work a minimum of 10-12 hour days every week of the year and more when we have critical needs.
As you might imagine, people are somewhat displeased by this and, unfortunately, many of the employable ones are beginning to look elsewhere. Life's too short to be dragged into a situation like this bad economy or not.
Absolutely. Anytime I hear something like that (and I've heard it a few times--fortunately, never anywhere that I have personally been working) I think "clueless boss" (is that an oxymoron? ;) ). Hours worked means nothing--it's what you get accomplished that is important. This is especially true in IT or programming, where a single inspirational flash in the shower one morning can more than equal a week's worth of toiling fruitlessly away behind the desk. Knowledge work is not like industrial piece-work--managers who can't get that shouldn't be managing knowledge workers.
No relation to Happy Monkey
1. If you're receiving a salary, you're an employee.
2. Nobody can make you work more hours than you want to. If your employer thinks you aren't doing enough work to justify your salary, they may fire you. But I have to say that in my 30 years in the IT industry, about half of it in the USA and about half in Europe, I have never come across a case of somebody being fired for refusing to work more than 40 hours per week.
3. A lot of young people seem to be very susceptible to peer-group pressure. You see a bunch of people working long hours, and you feel you can't just walk out of the office at 5pm, leaving them all beavering away. When you grow up, you'll realise that you can. Nothing bad will happen to you. You'll just get into the habit of wasting less time during the working day. And you may develop some independence of thought, which will be good for you.