The Seven Worst Types of Employers for Contractors

The Seven Worst Types of Employers for Contractors
By: Gerry McLaughlin

1. Those that make it clear from the start that there is a caste system,
with the management at the top, the permanent employees next, with the
contractors being the 'untouchables'.

2. Those that say "I could never work just for money the way you guys do".
Most companies and managers forget that contractors need to be motivated
too. They don't work for money on a day-to-day basis. They take the job
for money, just like the permanent employees. Managers are usually the
biggest demotivators of contractors, especially when they say things like,
"You shouldn't need to be motivated when you earn the money you do".

3. Those that keep a beady eye on the people that work for them, to make
sure that everyone is working every minute of every day. It increases the
stress on workers who already have deadlines. Everyone needs to have a
mental break every so often to be fully effective, so why should they have
to hide this from their dumb employer?

4. Those that ban contractors from any benefits, e.g. using the workout
facilities, the staff cafeteria, or attending the Christmas Party. If they
allow them to go to the Christmas Party, they charge them the full price,
making it clear that they resent the money that they are paying the
contractors, when in fact they are paying no more or no less than market
rates.

5. The serial sackers--those that get a buzz from firing a contractor
every so often to prove their toughness. It has to be for a reasonably
minor offense such as reading a newspaper five minutes after lunchtime
ends, and it must be done on the spot to encourage the others. The
contractor is escorted off the site in order for the serial sacker to
obtain full satisfaction, so that he doesn't need to do again it for a
while.

6. Those that complain loudly about contractors leaving at five o'clock.
He or she is, of course, unwilling to pay any overtime. Everybody wants
something for nothing. You never meet any who let you leave early
regularly when there is not enough work to do, and who still pay you your
full rate for it. If they don't think it is worth paying for your time,
they can't consider it that important, and you shouldn't either.

7. Those that tell you that your rate, as with that of the other
contractors, will be cut by 10 percent from Monday, otherwise you will be
out of a job. You could just imagine what would happen in boom times if
contractors said that they would be, en masse, leaving their crucial
project on Monday unless their rates were increased by 10 percent all
around. You could imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth if that
happened. Even worse are the employers who have a second bite of the
cherry and cut rates again by 10 percent just a few months after they
previously cut them.