Contracting - notice periods

[psanger]

I work in IT and I'm currently permanently employed and on a four week notice period. I've just been offered a contract role and day rate is very good.
The contract which I've been given has an immediate notice period from them to me, and 30 days notice from me to them.

How common is it in the world of contracting to be offered a contract with such a notice period? I'm naturally concerned that I could go to the trouble of setting up my own company, taking out professional indemnity insurance, etc. only to turn up on the first day and be given notice instantaneously, which would leave me in a far worse position than I am in currently.

Thanks

[98elise]

For contracting the lower the better. My contract is currently zero days both ways.

For me its just part of the reason the day rate is better.

[bucksmanuk]

Such is life
That’s why some homework is required on the company and also the agency.
Notice is usually a week either way, but most contractors I know give a month.
On the last contract I gave a week, which I felt guilty about, but I genuinely felt as if I was going mad working there.

[UpTheIron]

Pretty much the norm.

You also need to realise that most contracts don't any guarantee that there will be work offered, therefore even with a notice period the client would simply ask you not to turn up, and given that they don't want your business to do any work, they won't be paying either.

[bigandclever]

You're effectively on zero notice anyway ... well, that's how I've always looked at it (no work, no pay and all that). Contracting's risky, that's part of the appeal

[ali_kat]

It's fairly normal.

I'm on a months notice either way at the moment which is a bit of a

[ic0n]

Meet them in the middle, ask for a revised contract 2 weeks each side.

[Nick Grant]

http://www.contractoruk.com/ir35/ir35_why_it_pays_...

[psanger]

Thanks for this

[Autopilot]

I had a contract in IT for a global engineering firm. We were required to give one weeks notice which is fairly normal in my experience. Our project governance was VERY strict and the Programme Manager expected that if any of our customers (internal) called and asked anything about any project, he could go in to Project Server and see a pretty accurate view of what's going on.

I usually had around 8 - 10 projects on the go at any one time and due to the nature of the business, in some fairly diverse or complicated environments. I'd been at this company for around 18 months when the inevitable happened and was offered a contract elsewhere.

I handed my notice in on a Wednesday morning and was told I could go Friday if I'd handed over all my projects to the new delegated PM's. I was flat out right up until 5pm the following Tuesday, and started the new job on the Wednesday.

Despite the strict project governance and the fact we all followed the same processes (we actually had process maps of how we were required to deliver projects and what the mandatory documents, approvals etc were so all play by the same rules), it was still ball ache!!

Due to the struggles the PM's who inherited my projects had, upon my leaving, the notice period was increased to a month.

[theboss]

My client can terminate immediately with no notice and no reason. I don't have an early termination clause. Works for me - I'm happy to take the risks and at the same time commit myself to delivering something - helps avoid the temptation to jump when you suddenly get a sniff of something more compelling!