With 2011 being ‘pitched’ as the year of recovery for the contracting market; 1^st time contractors and, perhaps even, more experienced contractors need to be aware of the potential pitfalls of using third parties to manage their payroll. Legislation changes for EBTs (Hotlink to previous article) and now news of 2 umbrella companies going into liquidation emphasise the need to take good advice.

The recent high profile bankruptcy of two ‘umbrella’ companies highlights the importance of recruiters and contractors undertaking better due diligence of service providers before engaging their services, says giant group, the contractor services provider. (more…)

Following-up our earlier article from SJD Accountancy, titled ‘Recession Busting Tips for Contractors,’ we have another article which highlights the current rates of pay for IT Contractors.

Thanks again SJD and keep these excellent articles coming! (more…)

At the end of last year, we noted a significant decrease in I.T. contractor rates.

Specifically, itjobswatch.com reported that they had monitored slippage of nearly 10% over the previous six months.

Yet there have been several reports throughout the I.T. industry that these economic uncertainties may actually help I.T. contract rates. The theory was that both permanent staff and contractors alike would be less willing to switch jobs, meaning employers needed to pay more to get people moving. (more…)

Pay for most freelance IT workers held steady in the economically fragile third quarter of last year, as average hourly rates in September matched those paid in January – according to a recent study by ATSCo, for view on the Contractor UK website. (more…)