Contract says 25-75% travel, should I quit?

[PugwasHDJ80]

I wouldn't do that travel without a £5k car allowance I know that!

Personally I'd be getting another job lined up and then jumping ship.

[johnfm]

If you do approach the client to contract directly you should check your contract and the client's contract for restrictive covenants.

Good luck - sounds like employer is taking the piss, especially if you've been there since day1 - you should leave anyway.

[fvey]

ehonda said:

This happened to me, I quit and went to work for a client, ex employer went batst. New employer told them to STFU.

Yes, I buy into this! A clause about not working for a competitor is one thing. Or taking staff/contracts with you. But if you quit your job, you're on the market, then your partner/supplier offers work? I guess it happens.

UpTheIron said:

Is the travel really an issue? Contracting directly to the client isn't going to fix that.

Good one - so in short, one fix is money, isn't it? Looks, smells, feels like a piss-take. Would you let your wife sleep with Richard Gere for a million dollars, would you spend 3 hours a day in the car?

I have been brainstorming it like this: How would I interview someone to meet as many of the requirements as possible? Good interview , Candidate X... so by the way, the location for this job, you can hotel it or drive it. So the employer may find someone nearer, but it hasn't happened so far. And I've done quite a few interviews over the last few years.

As Type R Tom spotted, this isn't the SE.

Something has to give. I asked for a change. Multiple push backs. They can do one?

TooLateForAName said:

Noting that you are a new member here...

Must confess this is an alt profile. I wanted public opinion from my go-to forum, just not against my real profile. Is the boss here? Doubt it. But this is public, indexed, published.

TooLateForAName said:

You dont say what it is that you do / Would the role change

Well, let's keep it generic without going down into role and domain. Would I move? No, I'll do it for money because my belief is its hardship. And doesn't add up. If I don't do it for money, I'm off. Time for a new challenge.

You are asking good questions: yes I'd like to change my role. Doing good work in challenging conditions, shouldn't there be upward momentum? For me, yes. Bodies litter the streets of this project. So, yes I need to slightly re-role, in order to get the board to wake-up. I don't appear to have the voice, credibility, influence. So it's like it or leave it, the 80% travel thing. And you know what? I don't like it.

Can I change things without quitting? Feels like no, otherwise I wouldn't be throwing this situation out here for community comment. I believe 80% travel and push-backs equals this feeling of p!ss-take. Ominous in a small business and "core" team? Some sort of weakness at the top of the business wrt listening/discussing/agreeing/acting...? Or I'm a complete prick of course.

I like what you guys are generally saying. I don't play poker, not the sort of guy on a team to burn trust by calling bluff, so I've redone the CV and I'm looking around.

[Efbe]

can you find another company to work for?

[Some Gump]

Op,

First bairn? I presume so but apologies if wrong.

Being a dad is fking hard. So, one of the first pressures is the need to earn / support your family. Plenty of phers will obsess with that (mentioned above no doubt). This means you can't just quit without somehwere to go to, and yes paternity can be affected - but it's 2 weeks of bugger all cash anyway so meh.

The thing is, you simply can't be away that much with a young kid. It won't work. Not fair on you, wife or bairn in the slightest. Even if you manage to physically do it, you're going to be knackered and so is she - and with 3 hours travelling and a full day you're not going to be there to help.

Get a new job, and do it now IMO. Your existing employers are clearly not people people - such is the way in life. You're clearly a high achiever - so go find someone who will respect / reward that - they won't change and threatening to leave without a new job to go to is too risky with a nipper on the way.

Gump
(Who has an ace 18 month old, but fresh memories of the first 6 months!!)

[Royce44]

Sorry but "1.5hrs EACH WAY" is not a long commute. Im personally 2hrs and enjoy the time to myself.

Try london commuting doing 13hrs door to door. By the sounds of it your job involves a lot of travel which you openly knew about when signing on, yet your issue seems to be the travelling lol

[Some Gump]

Royce44 said:

Sorry but "1.5hrs EACH WAY" is not a long commute. Im personally 2hrs and enjoy the time to myself.

Try london commuting doing 13hrs door to door. By the sounds of it your job involves a lot of travel which you openly knew about when signing on, yet your issue seems to be the travelling lol

Nope, that's only "normal" for the poor miserable bds that work in the city and either want to live somewhere nice, or can't afford to be close. 13 hour working days can not be anything resembling happy for anyone, especially with a family.

[bga]

Some Gump said:

Nope, that's only "normal" for the poor miserable bds that work in the city and either want to live somewhere nice, or can't afford to be close. 13 hour working days can not be anything resembling happy for anyone, especially with a family.

It's not restricted to the city, it's very common for Professional Services all over the country. Often work is where the client is & it is part & parcel of being in PS.

[p1stonhead]

bga said:

Some Gump said:

Nope, that's only "normal" for the poor miserable bds that work in the city and either want to live somewhere nice, or can't afford to be close. 13 hour working days can not be anything resembling happy for anyone, especially with a family.

It's not restricted to the city, it's very common for Professional Services all over the country. Often work is where the client is & it is part & parcel of being in PS.

I was going to say. I do at least 12hrs out of the house each day. Out the door at 6.10, in the office quarter to 7, leave office half 5, back in the house half 6.

Its not that excessive and perfectly normal as far as im concerned.

[fvey]

I get the sense you may have skim read the first post!

What we're talking about is a job changing, certainly the balance changing, and about how that fits in with the rest of the business. I guess it's also about feeling that the crap bits that we all probably do, are outweighed by the good bits.

You knew about the travel in your jobs at the start, or you're saying you were happy to increase your travel to that extent?

Why does the balance work for you?

[Funk]

RichB said:

Yeah, just quit. Welcome to Pistonheads, now tell us about the cars you like and drive.

Absolutely this.

Sounds like you've been reasonable, diligent and responsible and you're woefully undervalued by the company you're doing so much for.

Move on, it seems like you'd be an asset wherever you move to.

[Lostprophet]

RichB said:

Yeah, just quit. Welcome to Pistonheads, now tell us about the cars you like and drive.

LOVE IT! Made me smile.

Okay, seriously, you need to decide if you should quid or if you can quit.

I am in the same boat as you but I need a job to pay for the petrol that fuels my Audi S5. So I cant quit.

Best of luck.

[Rude-boy]

bga said:

Some Gump said:

Nope, that's only "normal" for the poor miserable bds that work in the city and either want to live somewhere nice, or can't afford to be close. 13 hour working days can not be anything resembling happy for anyone, especially with a family.

It's not restricted to the city, it's very common for Professional Services all over the country. Often work is where the client is & it is part & parcel of being in PS.

+1. I can be out the office car park and sitting in may garden with a brandy and coke inside 30 minutes. 12-13 hour days though are far from unusual and I'm about as far from City life as it gets without being GetCarter!

[Volition]

Live in haste, repent at leisure. Right now your priority should be the stable income this job offers for your family and the birth of your child. You don't need additional stress of a job move right now. I know it's not ideal, just value the stability. Get your CV in order and start looking for a new job properly. These things take time. I personally wouldn't be hanging around any more. It seems like your current employer doesn't value you.

[andy-xr]

Line up the boss for the paternity, start reducing your workload because you're going to be off for at least a fortnight, probably a month and you might want to extend that, depending on how you feel. Does the boss know you're expecting?

If they kick back on it, you know pretty much where you stand with them. They think they're giving you the impression that you're too important, but it's because you take the jobs that no-one else wants to do, but really no-one is that important, otherwise the business is properly fked. It might be that they have to retrain someone to take over, but it's not like you have healing hands.

Start at the amount of travel going down, the birth and subsequent few months will be hard enough, and you should be around to support your family. I think some people get mixed up with what supporting actually means, it's being there to do the stty things you're needed to do, it's not to disappear for a month or so and come back with a wad of cash

It's a conflict and there's an amicable resolution to be had.

Edited by andy-xr on Thursday 23 April 13:11

[Rich1973]

Sounds to me like you have no choice but to leave. If you feel the company is taking the michael and they won't budge, its only going to make you more unhappy as time goes on.
Find a job with less travel and time away and ou will see more of your family. Would you say you are particularly well paid for what you do. Thats about the only reason you would put up with it.
What is out there. I presume you have looked at all the popular job search sites to help you consider your options.

[Vaud]

bga said:

It's not restricted to the city, it's very common for Professional Services all over the country. Often work is where the client is & it is part & parcel of being in PS.

Except a car allowance is normal.