Contracting or Employment?

It is likely that whilst looking for work you’ll see both contracting and employment opportunities. If you have not previously contracted before in your working life, here are some points to consider when deciding between contracting and employment.

There are numerous businesses and recruitment agencies operating in the UK that offer work on a contract basis. 

In most industries contract workers will find that the hourly rate they can achieve is quite a deal higher than what they’d be offered in a permanent role. Further to this higher rate workers also can also use legitimate business expenses against there earnings to reduce their tax obligations.

Another plus point for the contractor is the ability to choose the contracts that they’d like to take on, and those that they wish to refuse. This provides a contractor with a great deal of flexibility as well as the ability to control the amount of variety in the work they complete. 

It is important to remember when contracting you won’t be entitled to the same benefits as direct employees. You are not entitled to payments when absent for public holidays (8 days/year), sickness, maternity & when taking vacations (employees normally receive 20 days paid annual leave). You will also need to make allowances for periods of down time between contracts and be sure that you’re able to support yourself should you have an extended period out of work. 

That said the good news is that due to it’s size and the number of companies that take on contract workers, London is certainly a city suited to a contract worker.