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In 1979 legendary rock band Status Quo released 'Living on an Island', and that's where you needed to be to miss Google's launch of its new mobile phone, G1. Exactly why we need a Google phone is hard to establish. While back in 1979 a phone was something rented for life from the GPO (General Post Office) and leashed to the hall table by a long curly wire, nowadays we are expected to change our phones every ten minutes and keep them with us at all times. The phenomenally arousing news is that Google's phone runs an operating system (OS) called Android, which, (forgive me for not wetting myself with excitement) is open-source. This is certain to make using the phone an altogether much more pleasurable experience. All this is progress, of course, and like the 1970s we're now heading for a recession due to the progress we've made in financial management. While some contractors might have been sticking their fingers up their USB ports and hoping the economic bad times would simply tick by, there is now little doubt contractors face a troubled couple of years. "I definitely think there has been a market change over the last three months towards the employers having the upper hand," said Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster.com. Jeff Brooks, chairman of the IT & Communications sector at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, agrees with the sentiment. "Demand has fallen," he says, adding that we are moving into a buyers' market where employers can be more choosy, and as a result will prolong the hiring decision. The outlook is worsening. Hewlett Packard announced plans to lose 24,600 jobs from its worldwide IT operations, as part of a restructure designed to help it integrate with the recently acquired EDS. Unions fear HP will turf out more than 3,000 workers from EDS in the UK alone, additional to 12,300 losses in the US. Prospects are no better in the public sector. Ovum analyst Alex Simkin said, "The public sector will be less likely to use contracted, temporary staff, squeezing the margins of staffing suppliers." But you can't believe everything you read, especially if it sounds like a conspiracy and particularly when it's published on the internet. So says Sir Tim Berners-Lee this month, and he's so concerned about the level of veracity on the web, he's created an internet foundation to filter reliable sources. The good Knight explained how some online campaigns and "cults" have already swayed thousands of people into believing falsities, which could prove "deeply damaging." For example, he says, the Large Hadron Collider was rumoured to be a doomsday machine, when it was merely a black hole for public money. It is suggested that "good" websites might be awarded some sort of kite-mark so the reader can be assured of the site's quality. But while he stressed the system would not restrict freedom of speech, but would seek to advance the Web, one wonders how "Intelligent Design" will fare under the scheme. And if they were not excluded, then surely the flat earth society must logically be included. Yet if this seems likely to cause tremendous and heated arguments, at least one contractor has this month had his fill of endless debate. Finally, Dragonfly's IR35 appeal has been settled in the High Court and the contractor concerned, John Bessell, will have to pay £99,000 to HMRC. Analysing the result, Roger Sinclair from law firm Egos, said, "Whichever way one views it, this is a case which sets out the detailed interpretation of IR35, in a way which is clear and logical, and will provide a valuable first point of reference for the future. You may not like it, but at least this spells out what you have to do to work around it!" Contractors are still in confusion, though. On the CUK bulletin board Bambam writes, "I remember a couple of fellow contractors refusing to accept electronic timesheets, citing something to do with causing them IR35 headaches. Does anyone know why electronic timesheets would affect them? Does a contractor dare use a client's desk anymore? Does using the client's toilet mean you are not doing the business on your own account? Is it possible to do what is asked without being considered 'controlled' by the client and therefore liable for IR35? It makes you want to go and live on Status Quo's island, and bulletin boarder DieScum (obviously some sort of German soap), is considering just such a plan. Yet he's worried about finding work after a long break. Has anyone ever taken a sabbatical? "I had one in the last recession, it was bloody brilliant," replies Moscow Mule, and he recommends the experience. Seems like a great plan for riding out the current economic crisis, but with one caveat as Mule reminds us: "I came back before I'd completely run out of money and had some cash to support me until I found a couple of contracts." This time around it should be easier with G1's Android, however. Google maps will tell you where you are, it will guide you to the nearest beach club, order your drinks, and you'll be able to arrange a contract while swinging in the hammock. William Knight Sep 26, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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