unsure how to handle this

gonewithwind

i was working as a contractor for a bank through an agency. initially it started as a 3 month contract but was extended continuously 4 times so as of friday i had worked a year. around a month ago i had 2 separate chats with my manager and the overall manager in the bank (lets call her mary)... and was told there was a 2 year contract coming up next april and i would be first in line for it so i thought great. also i was told what days i would have off for xmas leave. however a week ago i was on the phone to the agency asking if there was any chance of a payrise until april as i was only getting 9 something euro an hour and working very hard. the agency then told me my contract is not being extended and is due to end in a week (which is last friday)
i then sent my manager an email asking if my agency got false information. my manager forwarded the email i sent to mary who then wrote back a really abrupt email saying "unfortunately the agency is correct and her contract will end on friday" and i was given no reason or explanation. i was very shocked as i worked very hard every day. also if i hadnt found out by accident would the bank have given me no notice at all?
i had come to rely on my pay from work and feel it was unfair not to be given any notice or explanation,
initially i thought maybe they were making cutbacks, but i saw many new contractors were hired last week also..
i feel quite upset now waking up tomorrow with no work and i feel like i wasnt given any proper closure if you know what i mean. im finding it hard to pick myself back up when i was rejected so abruptly and given no chat or explanation. the manager then ignored me all of last week and didnt even say goodbye to me when my colleagues were giving me a card and gift
did i do something wrong? what should i do? just forget about it or send her an email? i found her cold treatment of me very odd and rude and cant understand it... ??

Stheno

I wonder did you pick up the "there is a two year contract coming up in April" wrongly to mean that you were extended to April and then there was a possibility of this two year contract?

Nothing you can do really

Mrs OBumble

You're a temp, not a contractor.

Temps come and go all the time, and do not have to be given notice. You have no right to closure etc - it's a gig, you work when there's work, and don't when there's not. And you have no right to notice.

As an agency temp, you will never be having conversations about dates with the company. You may have informal chats, but it is always the agency that has the official information. It's unfortunate that someone other than your employer gave you expectations about work-days - again, that shouldn't have happened, the manager should have told the agency, who should have been the ones to tell you.

Yes this sounds harsh - and it is. But it's quite legal, AFAIK.

It's quite possible that since your question, "Mary" has been told by the agency how much it would cost to hire you directly for the two year contract, got annoyed by this, and decided that she doesn't want you so much after all. This is quite normal: if any agency places you somewhere, then their contract will always say that the company can't hire you directly without buying out the agency.

Work on managing your relationship with the agency, and hopefully they will place you somewhere else soon.

Glinda

It is also possible that your agency has lost the contract for placing workers in the bank - the new contractors you mention, are they employed by the same agency as you? Sometimes the manager on the ground has very little say if the organisation as a whole has moved to a new agency.