Should I lob in a grenade on the way out?

[MackenCheese]

Hello wise people. I have been unceremoniously sacked from my job. Not performance related, just the company using IR35 to get rid of people after 2 years. I did not know this was a thing when I joined. My colleague/ manager is very lazy, does not contribute to the team effort, and spends his whole time hobnobbing with senior management and external clients whilst Ithe rest of us do all the grafting (we are equally well qualified btw). I really want to let senior management know what he's like, mainly because he lied to my face when my role was ending and got someone else to do it, he does not do his day job and is taking the company for an expensive ride. He does have form for getting people sacked or pulled up for 'bullying' for complaining about him, but I'm leaving the business anyway. Who thinks I should have a meeting with senior managers, send a goodbye letter to the team hinting about the injustice, and to watch their backs (i know I'm feeling angry/bitter) or should I just walk away? Please don't say just walk away 😆

A true contractor works for themselves and provides a service so need to be fairly detached from the business. There is no "under your nose" as you should have no real vested interest in anything other than providing a good service business to business. Obvs if you were being discriminated against that's different as contractors still have the same protections there.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. The role of my boss is not a hobnobbing one but I can't say more as its outing. I will go with my head held high and send them all a cheery final email. I'm not vindictive. I just hate being lied to my face.

I thought ‘dropping the bomb’ was going to refer to some major fuck up or to announce to the office that your manager was having an affair with Tracey in accounts as you flounce out the door. The fact you think he’s lazy is just your opinion. The big bosses probably know he’s lazy but he might be great at hob-nobbing, meetings and XYZ. It just looks like sour grapes, don’t burn your bridges.

But they can only do you an outside ir35 if they can say no one else can do the job, if they bring someone in permanent to do it then they are lying to the revenue. A permie will be cheaper than a contractor. Did they offer you an inside ir35 contract? You have contractors to plug a gap usually. You can’t be sacked if you are a contractor

You don’t have a boss though if you are outside ir35! You are providing services, ones that the company cannot as they don’t have the skill set.

Sending an email saying you don’t like your manager and in your opinion they’re a bit shit.

Hardly a grenade. Just burns your bridges and makes you look mental.

I'm on a FTC and I most definitely do have a boss. And objectives, kpis, and an end of year review to work to.

I also have a built in clock that's constantly going 'X weeks left to complete this project', which the permanents simply don't have.

I'm grabbing all the testimonials, social proof, thanks, well dones and a bonus as usable post-contract promotional stuff, and connecting with colleagues in strategic roles, on LinkedIn.

You're a one person business with one product - you and what you do.

Your personal and business brand is what they say about you when you're not in the room.

Don't let yours be 'remember that loony temp who did that thing?'

Loads of contractors do the same roles as perm in companies, and loads bin off to replace with perm, that's not an ir35 consideration, its the nature of the relationship that matters.

Perm not necessarily cheaper either. There's enic, tax, hols, pension, sick pay, equipment, management time, cost of benefits, paying contracted hours even if lack of work.....

Have you voiced your feelings about him to other work colleagues previously, or them to you. does everyone have the same opinion of him.

I would let your new replacement know why you think you were let go.

Otherwise, I don’t think management would really be interested in the opinion of a contractor.

Plus, a company identifying that a contract role is better being done by a perm employee could possibly go in their favour if there is an investigation by hmrc, as that could demonstrate they realised the role was becoming more key to the business and therefore requiring control and direction over the outputs so can't be carried out by a substitute.

As you don't seem sure about employment law, and it doesn't sound as if you in fact have a grenade to lob, then no. 'X isn't very good at his job' isn't going to be in any way surprising or liable to lead to any action, especially if, as you say, he has a good relationship to senior management. And I don't see what the point is in an email to your team 'hinting at the injustice' -- was there any injustice? Were you just a contractor? Maybe the other employees understand IR35?

Walk

The boss is a nasty twat, but there is zero benefit to you (apart from a momentary fuck you moment).

You could need a reference, or something unforeseen happens and you wish you handn't

I sent emails cc’ing HR and there was an investigation into what happened, after my contract was terminated last year (7 months). However, I was treated really badly, totally out of the blue and 2 other people who’d also resigned due to bad behaviour by colleagues/managers advised me to complain (there was sexism in my case too).

I don’t regret my actions in that contract but only because they completely did an about turn about me, my work etc. I do slightly regret an email I sent but I was quite upset over how I’d been treated generally.

In your case, I really wouldn’t do anything here. Just walk out, head held high.

The big global company I worked for before employed a PA as a contractor for 5 years. She was told if she dared to complain about anything (usually minor) that she shouldn’t complain as she was a contractor.

Her last boss for a year bullied her by refusing to speak to her or sit next to her, unless absolutely necessary and by saying unpleasant things to her, and criticising her work. As far as I saw she was an excellent employee. She left after that year after being employed as a contractor for 5 years.

I don’t agree management shouldn’t be interested in the views of a contractor especially if colleagues behave badly but I can see why they wouldn’t be interested in the views of a contractor, easier to let them go.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns

I think contractors are mainly seen ( well in my profession anyway) as people who are more focused on money than the company, won’t commit to the company, Can leave at short notice, don’t really integrate with other work colleagues, possibly don’t have the company’s best interest at heart…….therefore they are a lot less respected than permanent employees, the up side of being a contractor though is you earn a lot more money than a perm employee

I wonder if anyone has ever been ceremoniously sacked? :)

Someone in one of my teams did this last year, we still laugh at the email to the team.

One of my big regrets is not being honest in an exit interview when I was asked (directly asked!) whether bullying within the team lead me to look for another role. It was, but I fibbed and said I was just ready to move on. What an idiot.

Anyway, in your case? It’s probably best to keep quiet.

Well yes, they're temps. You want loyalty and commitment and all the rest of it, you employ someone permanently. Temps/contract staff are usually brought in to sort out a specific issue and then leave. I'm not going to be loyal and committed to a company that can boot me out with a week's notice on spurious grounds if they feel like it. Incidentally, in nearly 20 years temping I was always respected because I did a damned good job - in several cases sorting out enormous and expensive messes that permanent and allegedly 'loyal and committed' staff had created.

As for 'you earn a lot more' - don't make me laugh. It looks a lot more because when the agency invoices the employer it contains tax, NI, agency fee and VAT. I can assure you the temp doesn't get paid all that. And has to fund their own pension, as well.

As others have said, you don't have a boss if you're self employed, so I presume you're talking about your client?

If you don't actually regard yourself as self employed and see this work as a job, then it probably wasn't too wise to sign a contract as a contractor...

You're right, I was very much underpaid compared to the market rate. Anyway I've gone now. You live and you learn!

Nah, leave them to it.

You might need a reference later and you know it's all going to turn to shit at some stage, let them work it out for themselves. Why give them the head's up?

Agreed with a lot of @MrsDanversGlidesAgain, but when I’ve temped in the past few years it’s not been to sort out a specific issue, it’s just been to fill in until they find permanent staff, or they don’t want to employ permanent staff so use a temp instead, or they aren’t sure what they want (as in one last role) but they need help. These are contracts of 3 months and more though, up to 18 months and over.

In most of the companies where I worked on longer contracts I was expected to be loyal to the company and their values so do all the diversity and equality stuff plus induction etc, socialise etc (thank god it was covid time so I couldn’t!), and they wanted colleague integration. I saw myself as a temp contractor but they expected more! I still think especially re the latter it’s not nice to treat you badly especially in HR matters, because you’re a temp on a contract. Whereas to me, especially with 1 year and 18 month etc contracts it gave me a chance to see if I wanted to work there permanently.

I’d agree that our pay rate once the agency took their commission, tax etc wasn’t much more than what permanent members of staff were on.