Company Ended 6-Month Contract Early

[clhamon]

Hi. I was working a 6-month contract as a NOC Specialist, and the company decided to end just today. I am 3 months into the contract, and there was no warning. Is there anything that I can do with this contract to help my financial situation. I don't have much in my savings at this time, and I am a little worried. Thanks for any help.

[hericles]

Was there an early release clause specified in your contract? Any article at all that allowed for early termination by either party?

[pritaeas]

I suggest contacting a lawyer. There are usually regional laws at play (if it's not mentioned explicitly in your contract). A lawyer will know exactly what to look for.

[clhamon]

I'm not sure if there is something to cover early termination in the contract. This was my first contract, and I put a lot of trust into the company that I would be treated fairly. I am still trying to find the information in the contract.

I think that I was a W2 contractor, if that makes sense. I'm still not sure what that means in this situation. I do know that I will never use that company again to find a job.

[clhamon]

I just found the paperwork. Here's part of what it says:
Contract Employee further understands that the length of assignment is subject to the will of Client. Therefore, advanced notice from Apex may not be possible should Apex terminate Contract Employee’s employment. As such, Contract Employee understands and agrees that Apex may terminate this contract at any time, with or without cause, for any reason or no reason.

It sounds like I have no rights at all. I probably won't have a case with wording like this. Why is there no protection for the contractor?

Yeah that sounds like you're pretty much screwed. Sorry to say. For whatever reason, they are unsatisfied. You might take some solace in knowing it may not have been the quality of your services, perhaps the company just couldn't afford to pay you for the rest of the three months. Or they have found someone cheaper.

Best thing is to keep your chin down and keep punching, invest your time in pursuing another form of work. Kicking up a fuss will be just wasted time.

[clhamon]

I was working as a NOC Specialist, and I received many compliments from the people that I worked with, bosses too. I knew more about Cisco networking than anyone there because I was the only one that had taken any courses on networking in or out of college.

I was a little over qualified, and the company has been considering outsourcing the department out of the company for a while. With no job security, I was already planning on leaving after the 6 months. My boss was told to get rid of any people that he didn't think were good enough or would stay after the contract was up. There was no option for a promotion for me, so he knew that I wouldn't stay so he terminated the contract and made up a different excuse.

I know that it wasn't my performance. They let people sleep, play video, watch YouTube, and get on Facebook at work. Even my superiors did those thing. I never did any of that, and I am the one who is now unemployeed...

[clhamon]

Sorry, I'm still a little mad about my situation. I'm going to do what you said iamthwee. That is the best thing to do for my career.

Not sure about your legal situation, but will you be depending on the company for a reference for future jobs?

[clhamon]

I have a few years of experience before that contract, so I will probably not try to get a reference from them. I have been on the market for 3 days now, and I have received a good amount of interest.

In these type of situations it is really difficult to NOT take it as being personal, but it's not, it's just business. Chalk it up as an experience that you can use to help you. In any case it sounds like you're going about it the right way... One door closes another opens and all that jazz.