Contract-to-hire with no end date

Question

I have been working a supposedly 6-month Contract-to-Hire C2H position on W2 for an agency for about 8 months now. Coming into the position having previously been a full-time permanent position with a smaller company was a risk for me but I was promised many exciting things and a bigger company, some of which turns out to have been BS.

I have received great feedback from my peers and leadership relating to my performance, but have not received any offer to convert to a FTE. I have been told on more than one occasion it'll be happening in weeks, but after months of waiting, nothing has changed.

While this is a frustration, I am left in something of a limbo as the contract I have with the agency has no end date. It reads like I am a permanent employee. Relating to Term and Termination, the contract states

"The term of this Agreement will begin on the Effective Date, and will terminate when either the Employee or the Company terminates the employment relationship (the “Term”)."

It feels like I am not getting the benefits of contracting or the benefits of being an FTE.

So - what are my options here? Can I reasonably request a definitive end date to the contract-to-hire from the agency? Should I request more money from them as a stop gap until the company pull their finger out and hire me? Is it advisable to get a permanent job offer in an attempt to force an offer from this company?

From what I understand of others who have been in this position, it is typical for an end date to be included in the contract, at which point a decision is made to hire full time or to pass.

Answer 1

This happened to me, almost exactly word-for-word. I signed a contract for a contract-to-hire and was given an estimate that my hire to FT would be about two months away. Well, months came and went, and more vague promises, all while being reassured that they had every intention of bringing me on FT. Then the project work stopped being consistent and reliable. Then the invoices started being paid later and later until finally, they told me they weren't going to be able to pay anymore.

There were a lot more issues with this particular company. They asked a lot from me that were unreasonable or unlawful, as I was a contractor, not a employee (had to attend daily dev standup in person at the office, that sort of thing).

Depending on your work situation, you can give an ultimatum - you've had months of observation of this trend so you have no reason to believe that will change if you let it go. It won't stop happening until someone does something; they're not going to be that person, so hop on it yourself.

You can ask them for a date by which they will hire you. If they refuse, remind them that you are a free agent and are (presumably) able to find more work at another company who will commit. I am in software development so I was able to find a FT job the week after I ended my contract.

Oh, and start keeping documentation of EVERYTHING. Every email, every meeting (take notes), every conversation. You won't regret having evidence.