While Sir Mervyn King’s ominous warnings about a dangerous new economic storm emanating from the Eurozone are not to be taken lightly, contractors supplying the UK’s IT skills market have some encouraging news to boost their morale: ReThink Recruitment’s annual survey of IT directors reveals that a majority expect pay rates in their departments to [...]
A week is a long time in politics, Harold Wilson famously declared; it also appears true of the IR35 Forum, amongst whom unseemly divisions are erupting. Just a week ago, the Forum appeared united, opposing the new ‘business entity test’ as weighted and selected by HMRC. All parties seemed to endorse PCG Chairman Chris Bryce’s [...]
With storm clouds gathering ominously over the Eurozone once again due to the crisis building in Greece, UK contractors working assiduously through umbrella companies cannot be faulted for worrying a little over their future job prospects; however, if British businesses heed the advice of one expert, a significant hike in contractor roles can be expected. [...]
PAYE umbrella contractors with experience in the digital IT skills market have good reasons to be cheerful, following the latest quarterly jobs index released by specialist recruiters JM Digital. Over the last twelve months, the report reveals, demand for digital skills has ‘exploded’, with the financial sector in particular attracting experts in digital IT contracting [...]
A somewhat mixed picture for PAYE umbrella contractors has emerged from the latest REC/KPMG Report on Jobs. Permanent vacancies rose modestly in April, while temporary billings fell slightly. Demand for permanent staff appears to be solid, continuing the trend seen at the beginning of the year, although the growth rate fell back to January’s level. [...]
HMRC has finally published its new business entity tests – and they are every bit as bad as leading industry figures from the IR35 Forum feared, being weighted in such a way as to place most contractors working through limited companies in medium to high risk categories. HMRC appears to have completely disregarded advice given [...]
PAYE umbrella techies specialising in the field of IT contracting may be perturbed to hear of a new and unhelpful trend among some corporate hirers: many are ‘stockpiling’ cash rather than feeding it back into the business, with the result that openings for highly skilled contractors are being squeezed. The recruitment firm Hudson told the [...]
Amidst ongoing concern amongst jobbing PAYE umbrella contractors about the potentially negative impact of the Agency Workers Regulations, a recent webinar organised by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation suggests that the effects remain minimal so far. Key contributors to the webinar included legal experts Paul Chamberlain of Brarners, Chaffe, Street solicitors and the REC’s own [...]
Contractors working through limited companies may again be in the media firing line following a leaked letter to the Chancellor from Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, in which he expressed “shock” at the “sheer scale” of off-payroll remuneration arrangements in the public sector. Over 2,000 workers may be paid by these means. This comes in the [...]
The majority of employment agencies have reported that the demand for temporary workers under the new Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) has hardly been affected. Recruitment agencies are saying that there is still a high demand for temporary staff working under umbrella company contracts and that they are experiencing “little or no impact”. The results were [...]
