I feel like I am being taken advantage of.
I started a contract position this past spring. 90 Day contract, 520 Hours with the opportunity for a full time position at the end of the contract. Cool, awesome, no problem.
Fast forward to the end of my contract, everything is quite peachy. I have taken initiative and been noticed and eventually offered a higher paying position set to start 2 weeks after the offer letter was signed. I signed the same day. I felt like it would be a good fit, and it seemed like they felt the same.
So here is my issue, 6 weeks ago I signed the paperwork. I have worked an entire month past the “start date”. Technically I am still a temporary employee, paid by the contractor. I am not eligible for health benefits for 30 days after my “start date”, vacation doesn't kick in until 90 days after and I think 401k is like 6 months. All pretty standard, however I feel like I am getting screwed over by a long shot.
At this point I am fully engaged in the new role and not getting paid for it, nor is the clock ticking on my benefits. The company keeps saying they are waiting on a background check to come back. For 6 weeks? Is this standard? I talked to my boss this week and asked what the deal was. He said they wouldn't be able to retro my start date back to when the original day was or give me back pay. So at this point I'm out all the straight time and overtime for the past month. Plus I don't have a clock ticking for benefits or vacation.
What are my options here? I have negotiations in place to at least increase my contract pay in the meantime starting Monday. Why would I not be eligible for back pay to the original start date after the background check comes back clear(it will)? Are they just messing with me? I'm very aggravated at this point and I'm finding it hard to maintain my responsibilities with this hanging over my head. I can't speak to HR because I'm not a full time employee, I don't want to involve the contractor any more than I have. But how would I go about negotiating back pay and start date? Or am I just out that money/time and I should put my head down and shut up.
I hope to speak to my manager again Monday. Any advice would be great.