To ask for some advice ok how to handle a work situation - very cross manager and corona problems

[Mebeline]

Im an IT contractor and had a long contract through lockdown. There was a miscommunication and I ended up spending much longer on the essential project than initially contracted in January, pre lockdown, thinking this was OK. My line manager sub contracted the management of me to a colleague. This manager / colleague was verbally understanding over March and April about the difficulties setting up from home ie no equipment for a month snd the challenge of home schooling while working. A

I clearly was not working at full productivity and was told verbally that we could take 20 percent longer on the project, which had been allowed for all members of the team, to get us through.

My my actual line manager has since gone through the stats and hit the roof and has insisted I only charge for 4 days work for every 10 worked for three months to make up for the shortfall.

Internally I have been very upset ranted to partner etc but on the emails I have raised my queries about what was said verbally, I have been told I was mistaken and that it is all my fault, despite not having the physical equipment with which I need to do my job for the first 4 weeks! Of course I don't want to continue working there and I have found another year long contract which will start when the time has been 'paid back', in 2 months.

I can take it on the chin, and I know that due to childcare issues and general lockdown stress i was not my most efficient self. Nothing was in writing from my line manager saying we could take longer on the project due to lockdown. I feel a good will gesture would have been they could have accepted that I was simply not set up to wfh for the first month which would mean that I was 70 per cent less behind on the project, and not put me through 3 months of less than half pay to 'pay it back', but rather more like about 4 weeks. I have a teams call with my actual manager who has not done any management of me since last march, ie I have not had a single phone or teams conversation since then, next Wednesday.

The emails have been really aggressive, I feel, from him in response to my querying the impossibility of being able to work over that time specifically in relation to the absence of the equipment necessary. But, I have conceded on everthing and apologised - because I know I could and should have done better and because I need to protect my professional reputation.

Will I be unreasonable to not drag myself over hot coals again in this meeting and accept 100 per cent of fault which he clearly will want me to do? I have taken this lack of payment on the chin for 3 months as a consequence and i really don't feel like he has a right to take the opportunity to give me a verbal bollocking.

I know I have cocked this up BTW please be gentle on me!

If you're a contractor presumably it's your responsibility to have the required equipment to WFH then you say you were home schooling while trying to work. How they're treating you is not reasonable and I feel without any agreement in writing that it's up for discussion.

God I would go in and play hard ball if they are going to be like that. Does everything have to be in writing, when they weren't even managing you? Say you worked in good faith with the line manager in highly unusual and difficult conditions due to the pandemic and you would expect a bit of understanding from the company. Otherwise you can always walk out and sue them for constructive dismissal.

Thank you for your response!
No, not my responsibility as not possible to obtain the specific equipment except via the organisation.

I understand the position about IT equipment and think they need to take responsibility for that period. However, I think flexibility and loyalty to employees WFH etc is different to contractors and I wouldn'tbe expecting to pay a contractor for home schooling, not being 100% proactive.

I don't think I can do anything legally - I was contracted to deliver a project and it was late. That's the end of the matter for them.
I'd never ever work for them again though.

I agree.
That's why I'm a contractor and I appreciate there is always going to be less flex, that's the deal.
It's more that I don't know how to handle the verbal phone call and i do feel that I was verbally misled

They're in breach of contract and the manager is desperately trying to cover his back for his failure to manage while no doubt he has been swanning off. I bet higher management doesnt know.

I would escalate it, not accept any pay cut and send a solicitor's letter. I wouldn't worry about your reputation. This manager sounds so nasty that he will try to sink your reputation to cover himself anyway, and you have another contract to go to.

It is the manager's failure to provide you with correct instructions and to effectively manage that has resulted in thus loss. I think youre being far too timid and are being bullied. Raise it higher in the company and then threaten legal action. Sounds like your manager should be sacked.

Your employers are in breach of all sorts of common law duties to do with provision of work and trust and confidence, and seem to be suggesting a highly illegal deduction from wages. The work equipment us a red herring, as there are jobs where the employer has to provide this to contractors for security reasons.

Really quite shocked at how you're being treated. Seek legal advice.

It sounds like you should have been officially Furloughed for the time when you couldn't work due to not having the equipment.

It also sounds like there's been a language misunderstanding as in "taking longer" can mean that you do 3 days of actual work over the course of 6 days because you have childcare and homeschooling responsibilities, but you still only log/bill for 3 days work. If instead you only achieved 3 days work over 6 days but still logged/billed for 6 days then it is quite right for there to be a readjustment now while the overpayment is paid back.

In future always ask for clarity in writing for important instructions like this - you need to have certainty that you are doing the right thing.

OK, so, you were available to work for 4 weeks and they did not provide the correct equipment.

Due to being contracted to them, you were not able to find employment elsewhere. They should pay you your usual rate for this period.

For the remaining period there was a gentleman's agreement, you made your manager aware of your position. They decided not to manage you. They cannot now move those goalposts retrospectively.

I would accept a minimum of 80% for the remaining period. The project was completed and a significant proportion of the delay was their failure to provide equipment.

I would not accept 40%, nor a bollocking. They should have been managing you. They didn't.

To be honest I manage perms and contractors. I’d expect a contractor to have a laptop, broadband etc to be able to WFH as they are self employed. I’d give more allowances for the perm staff for issues around childcare in that I’d pay them their full wage and would not expect them to make up lost time.

However, I would not expect a contractor to bill me full hours if they are doing half the work. I’d probably approve full pay for the first couple of weeks but beyond that I’d expect them to complete their hours even if it means they have to work late to make up the shortfall.

Contractors are used as a short term resource to get a specific job done and in order to get paid a lot more than perms they accept the risk of not getting perm benefits such as still getting paid full wage despite doing less hours during the pandemic. Perms get paid less than contractors as they want the benefit of more support and employee benefits.

For any future companies if anything like this arises again, once the phone call is finished. Just send a follow up email “great to speak to you earlier, just confirm the allowance for delivery of this project etc etc”

One of life lessons working in a corporation is to cover your back as people will always say I never said that.

Sad world but it’s better than being stressed and feeling like you have been made out to be the bad guy

And what does your written contract say? Presumably gives you an hourly rate and days, but if it doesn't specifically allow for deductions on these specific instances, and you made a reasonable attempt to carry out the work and weren't given correct instructions, then your employer is in breach of contract.

Hence your manager's aggression - he doesn't want to be found out.

Oh and your biggest mistake is giving them too much information and self blaming.

I am sure that part of the delay was in fact due to the people you work with also being impacted upon by covid. Hence affecting their availability.

Sorry took me so long to type my response that I’ve just seen that they needed to provide you with specific equipment to do the job. In that case you should definitely be paid 100% up until you received it. However, beyond that they shouldn’t have to pay you for times you didn’t have childcare, that’s a perm benefit.

The new manager is rude though.

How are you being paid - time sheets or milestones? If you were charging full hours when you weren't working 100% then they're right to be angry but I don't think there's anything they can do if the time sheets were authorised in the knowledge you weren't working 100%. If milestones, surely the delay hasn't changed the cost, just the length of delivery?

Don't let him bully you! If you have a contract with them it's based on the standard conditions in the office, when you would have full access to the equipment. As soon as the changed the contract was changed. They can't change their part but expect your part to remain exactly the same. I'm not an expert but I think your manager is trying it on and that's why he is being so aggressive to you, he knows he is in the wrong.

What is your day rate? If it is high and you were unproductive you need to be willing to negotiate. I am not sure how you could reasonably expect that taking longer, and presumably charging for more days than originally agreed which could significantly increase the cost, would be acceptable without confirmation in writing. Are you able to invoice for the number of days originally agreed for the project?

It sounds like you have been dragged over hot coals more than enough. I don’t understand why they are not accepting the blame for not giving you the equipment needed for that 4 week period? That part was beyond your control.

I do think that you will learn the hard lesson that those verbal conversations effectively count for nothing. In future get everything in writing, the unavoidable delays you experienced with equipment and agree extensions and your pay.

It does not seem fair that you will be losing out so much though. In this phone conversation state the facts and don’t keep apologising for the parts you couldn’t control and were their fault.

Good luck in your next contract, you sound like a good person, try not to let it drag you down.

What was your payment agreement? Timesheets or milestones? If you've submitted falsified timesheets (ie said you've worked 8 hours a day when you've not had equipment/spent 4 hours homeschooling) then you are on very dodgy ground indeed.

Milestones there is perhaps a bit more leeway as the day to day manager has said there's a 20% allowance. Of course, this should have been in writing and reflected through the project plan, but you know this now.

As a contractor, it's not acceptable to be 'bollocked' - I mean, it's not acceptable for anyone really, but as someone with a very specific relationship to the company this is not behaviour you should accept. In terms of the payment though, it really depends on what happened as above.

Did you raise lack of equipment clearly and in writing? Daily or at least weekly? I mean, you really can't expect them to pay you for literally doing nothing for four weeks.

This sounds like a hot mess...

I'm a self employed contractor. The IT issues seem reasonable but not the productivity issues related to childcare. As a contractor I think you need to take that on the chin.

I clearly was not working at full productivity and was told verbally that we could take 20 percent longer on the project, which had been allowed for all members of the team, to get us through

Have you delivered the project within the additional 20% time they said you could have or is the three months you’re expected to work now part of the additional time?

If the project is still ongoing and within that 20% I’d push back hard on the expectation that you work for the lower pay rate. You could work our how much time you actually spent on the project during lockdown (Excluding the time you were waiting for them to provide the essential equipment) and negotiate a lower rate for that time, with the expectation that they pay your full rate ongoing.

I’d also on the call remind your manager about the lack of oversight from them, and that you were working on the basis of their verbal instruction about timescales. You may have been able to do better - and need to think about what stopped you - but they need to take responsibility for their communication and expectations as communicated to you. I suspect they’ve realised their budget is off and are trying to pass that on to you.

I wouldn’t worry too much about professional reputation - you could work the rest of the project at their proposed rate and they’d still bad mouth you if they’re so inclined. You also have the option of walking away, which may mean you have time before your next job to do a bit of extra work or training. I wouldn’t be prepared to work for 40% of my fee for 3 months.

I agree with the misunderstanding about taking longer.

I would take that as meaning longer time but the same number of billable days. Not that I could bill more days

Without the equipment how could you work to full capacity? If your actual line manager has not contacted you since last March it is he who needs to take responsibility. If anyone should not be paid, it should be the manager especially as he has not even contacted you since last March and has not assisted you with sorry equipment and lockdown issues?