• Do you find yourself looking at your manager and thinking you could do better?
• Does the thought of spending the rest of your working life at the beck and call of others make you sigh?

Then moving towards a career in IT Contract work could be just what the Doctor ordered.

It may sound a little scary at first, leaving the security of a fully paid job, but let’s be honest in times of economic strife is any job really secure? Perhaps now is the time to make that break away from the routine of corporate work and into the world of Contracting.

What are the advantages?

Remuneration: It is a fact that IT Contractors can make significantly more money doing the same work if they are contracted rather than employed.  30% higher rates than the equivalent permanent positions (Note – If you work full-time for one employer, then the IR35 tax regulations may in the UK.)

Flexibility: You choose the hours you work, you choose what IT Contract jobs you want to do, and you choose how much you are going to be paid. If you wish to take a break between contracts, you have that choice, if you want to take 3 weeks holiday in the spring, again the choice is yours.

Variety: The flexibility of IT Contract work means you can work wherever you want, for whomever you want. This can lead to meeting some very interesting companies, meeting lots of new people and contacts, and the work will be very different and varied too.

Skills: When you work as an employee, your job is your job and you often do not get the opportunity to enhance your IT skills and learn new things. As an IT Contractor you can set aside some time to go on courses and learn new things.

There are many more advantages of being your own boss.

How much would I get paid?

Of course payment varies according to your skills and experience, and who is paying you and what you negotiate, but we have pulled together some interesting facts from various trusted resources to help you decide if IT Contract work is right for you.

Source: BITE Statistics

How easy would it be to find work?

Of course as an IT Contractor you would need to ensure you have the work to maintain your lifestyle. Here in the UK 50% of the job market is contracting! It’s normally around 30%, but due to the current economic environment there are more contract jobs available in place of permanent jobs.

Most IT contractors will look for contracting positions through an on or offline recruitment agency. There are 1000′s of agencies in the UK. Some specialise in only IT contracts and others are more general, covering all sectors of employment.

Agencies are not only for contractors, and most agencies will have jobs for: permanent, contract, temporary and part-time employment. The agency will put you in touch with the client but to get paid you need to have a limited company – either an Umbrella Company or your own limited company of your own.

Before you sign up with any agency ask yourself and them a few questions:

• Is the agency you are going through credit worthy?
• If they cannot pay you how will you recover your earnings?

Which agency do I choose?

The IT contracting market in the UK makes up 50% of the total IT job market, substantially more than in most other countries.

No recruitment agency or software house in the UK has more than 3% market share. It’s therefore important to work with several agencies. The size of the recruitment agency is not important, often a smaller one will work in a specialised sector within IT and will have clients that other agencies do not.

But with so many agencies it’s vital to ensure they are credit checked before contracting with them.If working through BITE, we’ll guarantee you are paid even if the agency is late or unable to pay.

What about the legal requirements?

When working as an IT contractor, it is really important to ensure you are keeping within the law to ensure you are protected, and to ensure you get the best deal.

BITE Consulting have detailed a few laws that you should take note of:

2007: Managed Service Company

This law introduced in April 2007 which made it illegal for contractors to operate through a limited company that was “managed” by a third party. A contractor can only legally work via an Umbrella Company or their own limited company, known as a Personal Service Company.

2000: IR35

Legislation introduced in 2000 that’s used by the Inland Revenue to determine whether or not a contractor meets the definition of being self-employed or a freelancer. Contractors who do not fall under this category are said to be caught by IR35 or said to be inside of IR35 legislation and are therefore liable to pay full tax and national insurance.

You want to make sure you’re operating outside of IR35 (safe from the legislation). If you’re on a visa there may be further implications for you. You can find out more by visiting our website below:

http://www.biteconsulting.co.uk/uk-contracting/ir35.html

2011: The AWR Legislation

On the 1st October 2011 the UK implemented the EU legislation for agency workers.

This means in practise two key stages;

Day one right for workers and equal treatment after 12 weeks. Some examples of day one rights include the staff canteen, car parking and child care facilities and it is the end client who has the responsibility for ensuring agency workers are provided access to these facilities. This includes access and information to job vacancies that permanent staff would also have access to. In the event of a dispute there is no liability on the recruitment company.

After 12 weeks the agency worker acquires additional equal treatment rights provided they remain in the same job role. This includes pay and bonuses, duration of working time and annual leave. The requirement is simply to treat the worker as if he or she had been recruited directly to do the same job. In the event of a dispute it is the recruitment agency that is initially held responsible but will have a defence if they requested the info and failed to receive it from the client/hirer. End clients can include indemnity clauses in their contracts to pass liability to the recruitment company .Equally recruitment companies supplying contractors through another organisation will need to request the required information just as they would do in dealing with the end client directly and checks will need making on the contract.

Where possible workers/contractors should always be advised on any pay/rate comparator data and asked to confirm if they operate through a limited company that they are in business of their own account. For more information, please click the link below:

http://www.biteconsulting.co.uk/uk-contracting/awr-legislation.html
Request an appointment to discuss your individual circumstances with BITE.

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Thank you - Keith Boatman