Contracting-The Modern Way To Work: A Professional's Perspective
Authors: Banks C.D. , Pavan E.A. 
Published: March 2010

The relationship between employers and employees in the oil and gas industry has been undergoing some very fundamental changes in the past several years. The traditional relationship of a stable employer providing lifelong employment is changing. This change in employment practices has taken several forms as employers experiment with what is the best for them and for their people. These changes in the employer/employee relationship are but a part of the whole restructuring process going on in the industry. Some of the work related changes that we see are:increasing use of contract professionalsless than full time work (work sharing)more work being done at homeindividuals partnering or in association with groups of professionalstransfer of properties to subsidiaries or [Q contract management Organizations

In this paper the authors discuss one of the more popular trends away from traditional employment, i.e. the use of contract professionals and technical personnel within an existing corporate structure. The authors refer to this relationship as contracting and to the professionals doing the work as contractors.

Definition of Contracting

Contracting, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone working under the direction of an employer with a relationship other than "permanent". An individual in a contracting relationship can be known as a contractor, a consultant, a temporary employee, or a part-time worker.

In describing the "contract-employment" of professionals we prefer the word "Contractor" rather than "Consultant" or any of the other terms. There is a fundamental difference between contractor and consultant.

The contractor normally works on the premises of the client company and functions substantially as a member of the staff. In most circumstances, the contractor works under the direction and control of the client company and under the same working conditions as other regular employees. The contractor is usually dedicated to only one employer during the contract.

Consultants normally work in premises separate from the client company providing their own timing and direction. The work assigned to a consultant may be performed by an individual or a group of individuals of the consultant's choosing. More than one client may be receiving services at the same lime. This is a more "handsoff' situation.

The term contractor need not have a connotation of time; the length of a contract relationship can be as indeterminate as that of "permanent" employment. However, in common practice today, the greater portion of contractors are working in positions where the work is related to a specific project or where the contract has an identifiable term.

In the scheme of employer-employee relationships, therefore, "contracting" is a distinct type of employment taking its place among permanent, consultant, temporary, part-time and Lime share jobs. The contract employee is becoming a major factor in today's business world and will continue to be a substantial part of the work force in the foreseeable future.

Arranging Contracts

Networking

The traditional way of forming contractual relationships is through the "network system," that is; the "buddy" system.