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!

I think the only way you're being unreasonable is by accepting this shitshow and not demanding your rightful pay. You won't work for them again so you have nothing to lose, although it might be too late to do a U-turn now.

All you can do is learn a lesson to get everything in writing. And stop kicking yourself!

Hi all thanks for the feedback and support I really appreciate it.
The work is in milestones so all the work I've been commissioned to do is late if that makes sense? 3 projects running along side.
I am not happy about 40 percent of pay for 3 months but do not feel in good conscience I can walk away.

It is a shit show.
Don't know what else I could have done... I think I know 30 per cent is for sure my fault and I should have been able to do more.

At what cost, though? You're obviously a very conscientious worker but you couldn't just abandon your child/ren during that time, especially when you were hamstrung by lack of equipment anyway.

What's done is done and your attitude is great. Just be careful not to let them shift too much blame on to you!

Thanks, @ZoeTurtle that's kind of you. No I couldn't ignore the kids - aged 4 and 8. Dh a critical worker doing 12 hours a day outside the home for most of it so really no flex in our family system, which meant my job sufferered, realistically.

OK if you're being paid by milestones then why are they focusing on your day rate? (I mean, obviously I know the answer to that, it's because they've fucked the budget and getting money back from you is the easiest way to rebalance things, but still...)

How late are the milestones
How much of that is your fault, how much is their fault, in your opinion
Work that out as a percentage and apply that to your rate, that's what would be fair to discount, then negotiate on that.

HOWEVER, have you charged time that you actually didn't work? For eg, were you charging a full day when you were homeschooling? Because that is not going to go down well at all.

See @ZoeTurtle I disagree with that - as a contractor, the kids are nothing to do with the employing organisation. They don't owe OP the same duty of care/engagement as they do a perm employee. They've paid for 8 hours and so 8 hours has to be delivered. If OP only had 4 hours to give, then she should have been clear about that and charged 4 hours a day.

Sorry teams call need to go but will answer later! Thanks all for the support it means a lot. In short though was working from 5am till 8am then11am till 2pm then 7pn till 10pm so still working full contract days but clearly not able to work to usual standard

You are contracted to work with their manager to deliver a project. You are not an employee but an equal and it was their job to work with you to bring the project in on time.

Given that they failed to provide the correct equipment for a month they delayed the project for that length of time.

How late was the project? If a month then that's on them, if six weeks then you take responsibility for two weeks. What evidence does the manager have that they were doing their job and working with you to deliver on time. If they have no evidence (given they did nothing) you just say that as far as you are concerned they were happy with how it was developing given the lack of contact.

They have fucked up and passing the buck. They have no right to bollock you for their cock up.

I would escalate up their chain.

Thank you. Really appreciate the feedback. My productivity levels were 30 percent to do with the delay so I would say it would be reasonable for me to work unpaid 16 days instead of the 36 they have insisted on to account foe the 4 working weeks I was unable to progress the projects.

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett

See *@ZoeTurtle* I disagree with that - as a contractor, the kids are nothing to do with the employing organisation. They don't owe OP the same duty of care/engagement as they do a perm employee. They've paid for 8 hours and so 8 hours has to be delivered. If OP only had 4 hours to give, then she should have been clear about that and charged 4 hours a day.

But the main issue was that the OP didn't have the equipment she needed. They paid her for eight hours, she was available for six (around homeschooling) but could only deliver four because she didn't have what was needed - and it was their responsibility to provide it. So she should be paid for six, not four.

Sorry to be clear I could not do any work for the first month and I was not furloughed either as the equipment was 'coming' and week on week it did not arrive.
This was absolutely blindingly obvious tbh. One or arrived I worked a 9 hour day around home schooling but was about 30 percent less productive than I should have been.
But lessons learnt - badger management to have it all in writing no matter the push back.
No wonder working organisations are so full of people who basically loathe eachother it feels like

Also, I think that it partly depends on what you did to get the equipment. Eg could you have gone into the office to pick it up.

There are two separate issues:

1. The first month when you didn’t have the equipment.

1. Further time when you were less productive than normal.

For the second you should only have billed for actual hours worked.

For the first you didn’t actually do any work. You could have done work for someone else or built up new clients etc. So again, as a contractor not an employee it would seem that you shouldn’t be paid as you didn’t do any work

@Mebeline

Sorry to be clear I could not do any work for the first month and I was not furloughed either as the equipment was 'coming' and week on week it did not arrive. This was absolutely blindingly obvious tbh. One or arrived I worked a 9 hour day around home schooling but was about 30 percent less productive than I should have been. But lessons learnt - badger management to have it all in writing no matter the push back. No wonder working organisations are so full of people who basically loathe eachother it feels like

You need to push back on that four weeks thing. If they were sending you equipment you should not be penalised for their issues

You’re a contractor, you don’t have a line manager you have a client. When you say your contract is milestone based - do you mean that you are paid fixed amounts for specific deliverables not a day rate? If so then how are they underpaying you- are they refusing to pay for a completed deliverable or is it just that it’s taken you longer than expected to complete the deliverables so you feel you should be paid extra?

It all comes down to what your contract says. In writing.

Does the contract say they must provide equipment?

What period did the contract cover, what were your deliverables when?

If you work in a small industry/area where everyone 'knows' each other and reputational damage would mess up your future job opportunities, then it might be necessary to take the hit of less pay than promised.

You need to be clear - are you on a day rate. Did you agree the total number of days up front? If so then you need to suck this up and deliver. (From what you have put here it sounds like they agreed to extend the deadlines but didn't agree to pay more as there is no additional effort required in delivering the work).

If you are treated more as a fixed term employee on a 6 month short term contract then you are salaried and it's a completely different arrangement.

Are you a new contractor? Do you have experienced contractors locally who can mentor you and explain all this?

(I always contract by days so that is the project increases in size/complexity I can renegotiate. Equally if it takes me a few additional days in duration because either my delay....or if their client is slow to respond then that is just swallowed up in the original quote. But you have to communicate with the project manager regularly so they know when to expect each piece of work).

Get legal advice. My gut feeling is that they knew you were working, you had a verbal contract, you’ll have evidence of the work you were actually doing, and there is no legal recourse for them to not pay you your agreed rate. But as I am not a legal expert, I can only advise asking one! Don’t accept their offer without a meeting with someone who knows your rights.

Agreed that it all depends on your contract.

When you said contractor then I assumed that you were on a day rate. And therefore my advice holds.

Or were you effectively an employee on a short term contract for a specific period of time, in which case the situation is different

Are you sure they agreed to pay you for the extra time?
It sounds to me they agreed you could take extra time over doing it, but that doesn't necessarily equate to agreeing to pay you extra as a contractor.
And would the submanager have had the authority to do that anyway?

The work is in milestones so all the work I've been commissioned to do is late if that makes sense?

If the work is paid in milestones, why would you be paid in days? As PPs have said the question is what does your contract say?.

If you have been being paid in days but did not work during them then they are not wrong.

If the equipment delay was something from them to allow you to work on their system then it should be full pay. If it's just you setting yourself up the it's your issue.

The delays themselves should not incur a financial penalty unless that is specified in the contract. Their management failures are not your issue.

If his emails are merely a bit aggressive then you need to suck it up and speak to him. You need to learn to communicate much more clearly and deal with difficult clients.

If he's been unprofessional or abusive you need to refuse to deal with him and kick it upstairs (or use that threat to bring him to heel).

Whatever the situation: stop worrying about their interests and what you have done wrong. Start focusing on your interest and what the best solutions are.