Contractor Rights

CptSternn

Hi. I am new to contracting in Ireland and was wondering if anyone knew what rights a contractor has in regards to the contract they are working.

I ask because I came here from working contracts in America, which seems to be a very different way of doing business.

What I have found here is this - the contract you have really doesn't mean anything. I say this because the company I am currently working for has changed the hours I work, the amount of hours I work, and the length of the contract all in a couple months after I started. I have protested to the staffing company I am hired through, but they say there is nothing they can do.

In America, you cannot change a single aspect of a contract unless you renegotiate the whole thing. Here, I sat down for hours while they laid out the exact terms, hours, pay rate, etc. and now they have changed every aspect of it and claim they don't need a new contract, and if I quit I will be breaking the contract, however, them changing every aspect of it somehow does not negate the contract.

Is that really the way it works here? Can they just say we don't need you next month, so we are cutting your contract short a couple of week, oh, and while you are still here we are cutting your hours by 15 hours a week - plus now we want you here at 6AM instead of 9AM to work until noon, good luck?

Nody

What does your contract with your agency say?

In general though the answer would be no, it would require your consent as well. The key thing is the agency you've gone through and what you've signed with them.

homeOwner

Having contracted myself here for 7 years in IT, it was the norm once the original contract ran out, to work with no signed contract (even with large multinationals).

My experience was that yes they can change any aspect of the contract and not give you a new one. You are within your rights to refuse to accept these changes, but you will be given notice (usually 2 weeks depends on your contract) and you will be let go in favour of someone who will work for those conditions.

The "contract" really only means something for the duration of your notice period ie they cannot force you to leave today if you have 2 weeks notice, you must be let work those 2 weeks or be paid for them. after that they can let you go and technically rehire you under new conditions or not.

Due to the fact that most IT contractors have LTD companies I am sure that the law would take your side as a contract is a contract but who is going to bother in reality. If you feel strongly about it you could discuss with a solicitor. But if you expect the company to extend your contract you dont really have much of an option...welcome to contracting.

vibe666

ditto to everything homeOwner said.

I've been doing IT contracting for 8 years now in Ireland and they can pretty much do what they want with you.

usually, the only thing fighting them will get you is unemployed unless you can guarantee that there aren't dozens of unemployed people with similar skills that would be only too happy to jump into your shoes on the company's terms.

something that is pretty unlikely given the current climate unfortunately for you.

InReality

Well legally a contract cannot be changed without your agreement.

So you have that protection.
I don't know if you want to argue with a company about it though, esp these days.
Although I'd try not to be a "walkover" about it either .. I don't think that does you any good in the long run.

CptSternn

Cheers for the input. That seems to be the real crux here - either you let them change our contract, else they will not extend it. It's a bit of a balls really. That being said there are plenty of jobs in my field of work listed on IrishJobs and Monster, so I'm going to send off some CV's and if push comes to shove I won't be so pressed.

It's just sad to see large companies who are in no way hurting due to the recession using it as an excuse to push through unacceptable cost cutting measures thinking their employees will just let it happen, due to fear.

vibe666

CptSternn wrote: »

...That being said there are plenty of jobs in my field of work listed on IrishJobs and Monster, so I'm going to send off some CV's and if push comes to shove I won't be so pressed.

if it's IT related (and probably for everything else too) don't take what you see on irishjobs and monster as meaning there are plenty of jobs out there.

i thought the same thing when i got told my contract was being terminated.

I tried for 7 weeks to get something else and failed. there were plenty of jobs listed on both irishjobs and monster and after weeding out the non-relevant ones i applied for 19 that suited me and didn't get a single interview.

my fiancé used to be in recriutment and she said that a lot of agencies reccle their most common types jobs and smudge a few of the details to fish for CV's.

that way, when they finally do get something in they have all the leg work done and they haven't just been sitting there doing nothing while it's been quiet.

feckers the lot of them, but that's the way it goes.

filter out agency jobs and you'll find it a lot quieter.

one of the lads i worked with took 4 months to find a job (he's sh1t hot and with good qualifications and experience). there just isn't much out there for us IT geeks right now, despite how it looks.

lucky for me i got a stay of execution and I'm back in again where I was originally, so i'm safe(ish) for now.