I’ve (54f) been working as a contractor (1099) for the past year at a company that received government contracts.
The recruiting agency hired me for full time work. Recently the budget for the project I was working on ran out of hours, so all of a sudden I had scrounge for tasks that only added up to about 20 hours total for the last two weeks.
I tried to get some support from the recruiting agency but all my calls and emails have gone unanswered. I was able to talk to one person who asked what was going on and said she’d get back to me but never did.
I filed for unemployment to supplement the gap, and I’m doing everything I can to find another job. It would be much simpler if they laid me off but according to the person who took on all extra duties for our team, layoffs are coming and my contractor status means I’m first on the chopping block. COOL. But first they need to keep me around to finish this project when they get more hours at the end of the month.
In the meantime I was instructed by the VP second-hand to “get creative with the budget codes”. NOPE.
I want them to lay me off so I can focus on getting another job. As it stands now, I need to be available for 40 hours a week. There’s a lot of prep involved in the job-seeking process due to my line of work, and it would be nice to be able to focus on my job search.
I can either wait for them to lay me off (if I don’t find something new first) or quit and hope I can still qualify for unemployment. The job market is full of people who have been laid off so I need the unemployment in case it takes awhile.
What would you do in the same position? Quit? Wait to laid off? I’d appreciate any feedback that can help me find a good escape.