Contractor - Project on hold

[clarebear1983]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone could offer some advice on my current situation.

I'm 3 months into my first project management contract job. It was initially supposed to run until Dec but due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances as of this week the project will be put on hold for 4 weeks, so my services won't be required until mid oct. There is a chance after a few weeks back the project will be abandoned.

Now to my question, as I'm not billing any hours, I'm not being paid. Would it be unreasonable to request a weekly retaining fee whilst on hold? The position is part time so I was thinking of asking for £100 p/w?

I should probably also mention I'm 18 weeks pregnant (they know this) so it would be quite difficult for me to simply leave and look to take on another contract or temporary position.

I could be way off the mark, as I said I'm new to the contracting world so I'm not sure what the done thing is. I don't want to blow my chances of going back there as the job is perfect for me at present (and I fear I'm pretty much unemployable elsewhere!)

Thanks in advance

My DH is a Contractor and I "manage" him
Get a new contract asap and don't mention the pregnancy, at 18 weeks you should be ok to cover it for interview.
Just focus on getting as much £ as possible in the time you have left.
It's unlikely the Contract will restart and usually when one is on hold all The Contractors leave ( in IT anyway)
If it's your 1st Contract you really need to shift your way of thinking - do your job well but remember you aren't an employee

The contract will definitely restart but potentially only for 2-3 weeks if it's abandoned. I'm the only contractor working as a project manager with a project team made up of staff.

unfortunately as I work part time, contracts that suit are few and far between. So even if I manage to hide the fact I'm pregnant it could take a while to find a new contract. Hence why I'd like to suggest a retaining fee unless it could potentially burn my bridges by insulting them! I really don't know what the done thing is.

It is part of being a contractor, if you need job security then you need to be an employee. You need to find another contract. Good luck.

I don't see why they would pay you a retainer,
It would be nice but unlikely
Contracting pays £ because you don't get any of the benefits of being an employee