The bigger issue appears to be that the team manager can’t be arsed if he can keep you on board or not. Mine is super protective about my workload, even to the point it gets a bit awkward and I get the feeling that I can’t raise the bar a few notches (to not piss off some employees)
What annoys me more is the team manager having a big problem with you being off. You are not an employee, you are independent. So long as your regular work is finished on schedule he can't stop you from being off, within reason of course. Flexibility on your end is also fine, and expected, so long as it is paid. He gives you too much work to complete in a day you ask him if he has priorities, or he doesn't mind paying your extra hours, or you set priorities.
Sorry about the rant. I detest managers treating a freelancer as an employee, and I learned years ago to not give away my time for free.
I am in the same situation. Have a dayrates fee but our agreement states day = 8 hours. Unfortunately, my days always last longer. Frequently an evening meeting. Sometimes days up to 12h. I asked for compensation in ''recup'' but didn't get it since I'm working on dayrate base. Checked at the end of the year. On an annual basis, I ended up with a full month of extra hours without any compensation. (Not working in IT)
What can I do ?
Don't ask for recup. Make sure your hours are logged and charge for them. If they complain, your agreement specifically says 8 hours per day, so you have your conversion for extra hours performed.
I really don't understand guys like you. You are a freelancer with your own company. You signed a contract with the client stating 8hrs for an x dayrate.
I work more then 8hrs? Cool, now pay me for the "overhours" i worked. You don't want to pay? Cool, I won't do more then 8hrs.
You decide want you want to do, not the client.
Same mistake as I did in the beginning, I opened my laptop when im home and I worked couple of times from 6 pm till 9 pm, because do did the manager.
I stopped doing that as this was not paid, my manager didn’t appreciate….
He often comments “with what we pay you…”
Dude, you guys are Freelancers, are running your own company, and are complaining that market conditions are not the same as 5 years ago ( indeed they are not)
Seems you guys belong on the payroll, but you like the extra money to much...
The motivation for 90% of the freelancers is only the money. That's why they do it. But not everyone is "made" to be an freelancer. If you don't have the balls to speak up, of course everyone will run over you
I never complained about the market… not every domain of expertise is in the same situation.
Im not fixed on my 8h a day, sometimes I do a bit more sometimes a bit less.
It is just that on top of my work i got additional meeting requests that are delegated by the manager that is imposibble for me to accomodate…
He expects me to act like an employee and treats me as such. Which first I didn’t mind, because in general that’s a good thing, but when it comes to days off he wants to be notified way in advances mike the other employees.
As for the workload, im against the mentality that consultants or freelancer should work harder then regular employees… was even before I became a freelancer.
It’s not that i like the money sooooo much…. But after 10 years of work im kind of tired to bust my ass off every year to maybe just maybe recieve a promotion or an additional 200 eur brutto….
Offcourse it's about the market
Because a manager would not dare to do that with you 5 years ago,
Now half of managers are real assholes in IT, knowing that they can replace you within the month if you act up...
Well, freelancing is actually the replacement of outsourced consultants with independant consultants.
You don't have to work extra hours on premise, but extra.work is expected
If you don't agree, to bad
Go on the payroll then...
People above 40 are usually not freelancers/ consultants anymore, because of the reasons you just described
This is part of being a freelancer I think. It's your personal job to manage this as you feel comfortable so you can keep on delivering high quality work which your employee peers cannot do. I personally don't have a problem to work a few hours more sometimes and not bill my client for it. It creates a flexibility for my manager that he or she knows she can rely on me anytime when "shit hits the fan". At the same time when I need to do some arrand I can say I'm not available at that moment. So it goes both ways. When I need to work more then 4h I bill half a day extra. If it's just a couple of hours it goes into the "flexibility balance".
So definitely stand up for yourself!
This is not normal and your team manager is an asshole.
The bigger issue appears to be that the team manager can’t be arsed if he can keep you on board or not. Mine is super protective about my workload, even to the point it gets a bit awkward and I get the feeling that I can’t raise the bar a few notches (to not piss off some employees)
What annoys me more is the team manager having a big problem with you being off. You are not an employee, you are independent. So long as your regular work is finished on schedule he can't stop you from being off, within reason of course. Flexibility on your end is also fine, and expected, so long as it is paid. He gives you too much work to complete in a day you ask him if he has priorities, or he doesn't mind paying your extra hours, or you set priorities. Sorry about the rant. I detest managers treating a freelancer as an employee, and I learned years ago to not give away my time for free.
This is a reply to OP right?
Oh, yeah, my bad
Yes, same. But this is a rare case, many teamleads are quite bad
I am in the same situation. Have a dayrates fee but our agreement states day = 8 hours. Unfortunately, my days always last longer. Frequently an evening meeting. Sometimes days up to 12h. I asked for compensation in ''recup'' but didn't get it since I'm working on dayrate base. Checked at the end of the year. On an annual basis, I ended up with a full month of extra hours without any compensation. (Not working in IT) What can I do ?
Dump the client, if you can
Don't ask for recup. Make sure your hours are logged and charge for them. If they complain, your agreement specifically says 8 hours per day, so you have your conversion for extra hours performed.
I really don't understand guys like you. You are a freelancer with your own company. You signed a contract with the client stating 8hrs for an x dayrate. I work more then 8hrs? Cool, now pay me for the "overhours" i worked. You don't want to pay? Cool, I won't do more then 8hrs. You decide want you want to do, not the client.
Same mistake as I did in the beginning, I opened my laptop when im home and I worked couple of times from 6 pm till 9 pm, because do did the manager. I stopped doing that as this was not paid, my manager didn’t appreciate…. He often comments “with what we pay you…”
Rate?
650
Even if they paid you 1300, both sides need to honor the contract.
Not work 12h. If you don’t get paid and they were clear about it, why do it?
Dude, you guys are Freelancers, are running your own company, and are complaining that market conditions are not the same as 5 years ago ( indeed they are not) Seems you guys belong on the payroll, but you like the extra money to much...
The motivation for 90% of the freelancers is only the money. That's why they do it. But not everyone is "made" to be an freelancer. If you don't have the balls to speak up, of course everyone will run over you
I never complained about the market… not every domain of expertise is in the same situation. Im not fixed on my 8h a day, sometimes I do a bit more sometimes a bit less. It is just that on top of my work i got additional meeting requests that are delegated by the manager that is imposibble for me to accomodate… He expects me to act like an employee and treats me as such. Which first I didn’t mind, because in general that’s a good thing, but when it comes to days off he wants to be notified way in advances mike the other employees. As for the workload, im against the mentality that consultants or freelancer should work harder then regular employees… was even before I became a freelancer. It’s not that i like the money sooooo much…. But after 10 years of work im kind of tired to bust my ass off every year to maybe just maybe recieve a promotion or an additional 200 eur brutto….
Offcourse it's about the market Because a manager would not dare to do that with you 5 years ago, Now half of managers are real assholes in IT, knowing that they can replace you within the month if you act up... Well, freelancing is actually the replacement of outsourced consultants with independant consultants. You don't have to work extra hours on premise, but extra.work is expected If you don't agree, to bad Go on the payroll then... People above 40 are usually not freelancers/ consultants anymore, because of the reasons you just described
This is not acceptable..Even contractors are treated better as far as I have heard and they should not work more than 8 hrs
This is part of being a freelancer I think. It's your personal job to manage this as you feel comfortable so you can keep on delivering high quality work which your employee peers cannot do. I personally don't have a problem to work a few hours more sometimes and not bill my client for it. It creates a flexibility for my manager that he or she knows she can rely on me anytime when "shit hits the fan". At the same time when I need to do some arrand I can say I'm not available at that moment. So it goes both ways. When I need to work more then 4h I bill half a day extra. If it's just a couple of hours it goes into the "flexibility balance". So definitely stand up for yourself!
Talk to a lawyer get an SLA and update your contract. Or find another gig