IT Contractors’ Agency Guides

Rogue recruiters ignore warnings at their peril

Agency law firm on the kicking of a limited company owner that contractors will cheer.

Contractors' Questions: What about agents when already contracting direct?

Enlisting a recruiter on top of a direct-to-client engagement doesn’t have to be too taxing.

Getting the most out of your IT contractor agent

Six IT contractor tips on making recruiters go the extra mile, by Outsource UK.

IT contract renewal - what to expect of agents

Evil, danger and incompetence await agency IT contractors approaching their end-date.

Top 10 Recruitment Agency Tips

Choosing agencies to deal with, getting the rate you want and preferred suppliers.

Agency checklist

When selecting which agencies to represent you there are one or two initial considerations to bear in mind.

Agency tricks on IT contractors 'still common'

How IT contractors can spot the rogue from the reputable.

i. Agency basics for IT contractors – CV sending

Part 1 of 5: 'on spec' CV sending or the more the merrier?

ii. Agency basics for IT contractors – CV privacy

Part 2 of 5: do IT contractors have a say about where their CV is sent by their agent?

iii. Agency basics for IT contractors – Crisis Tactics

Part 3 of 5: how to get the most out of a downturn.

iv. Agency basics for IT contractors – Lingo

Part 4 of 5: Decoding agency-speak about how recruiters operate.

v. Agency basics for IT contractors – Relations

Part 5 of 5: Agents on getting the most out of the contractory/agency relationship.

Getting the right rate for the contract - negotiation for IT contractors

The basics of negotiation and establishing what rate becomes a 'deal breaker' for you.

Contract rate negotiation: How to negotiate a rate rise

An IT contractor's guide to asking for premiums.

What not to do as an IT contractor

Leading agents reveal the 'no-nos' for IT contractors.

Negotiating for contractors: How to get the best IT contract rate

How do you get the best rate for a new contract or a contract extension? The IT Coach explains that it comes down to your ability to negotiate.

Agents are contractors' best friends - A contractor's view

Casually asking where you've been for interview might seem like a friendly enquiry, but...

Negotiating a better rate for IT contractors

Contractors have a right to control the price paid for their services.

Top 10 tricks used by recruitment agencies!

This article is an 'old favourite' with our readers: Devious agency tricks. To be forewarned is to be forearmed though.

Contractors' Questions

Contractors’ Questions: Which is the busiest month for IT recruitment?

When it’s hot, and when it’s not, for freelance IT workers who use agencies.

Contractors’ Questions: Can I return to contracting part time?

Computer People on how to work the current market to reduce your contracting hours.

Contractors’ Questions: Did my recruiter break the law?

Legal aid for two IT contractors hoping for recourse from a dodgy agent.

Contractors’ Questions: Why don’t agencies deal with sole traders?

Tax rules prohibit agency contractors from using the UK’s most popular business model.

Contractors' Questions: Do I have grounds to renegotiate?

Legal advice for a freelancer feeling owed a rate rise within the contract's first month.

Contractors' Questions: Can agents take a fee for direct work?

Solicitor backs a clause permitting an agent to profit from going direct.

Contractors' Questions: Can my agent pull the contract?

Advice for IT contractors if agents refuse to make contracts more IR35-friendly.

Contractors' Questions: What if a role has many agents?

Make a choice and stick to it, says the IT Coach.

Contractors' Questions: How to ditch my agency?

Expert aid for an IT contractor stuck on a non-compete clause.

Contractors' Questions: Is my agency facing administration?

No sure way to know if your recruiter is next on the administration list.

Contractors' Questions: Can I work direct for my agent's client?

Expert advises a freelancer hoping to cut out the middleman for something different.

Contractors' Questions: How to claim money owed?

Legal aid for an IT contractor worried about the cost of proceedings.

Contractors' Questions: Is an agent entitled to my passport?

Legal aid for an IT contractor asked to hand over personal documents.

Contractors' Questions: How much is an agency's margin?

Why recruiters may be taking up to 50% of contractors' profits.

Contractors' Questions: Is my agent in breach of contract?

An agency is making IT contractors feel their client's pinch.

Contractors' Questions: Is a vow to renew binding?

An IT contractor asks about the 'renewal' that never was.

Contractors' Questions: Agency commission: how much do agents take?

Recruiters reveal how they earn off IT contractors.

Further Reading

Employers can treat agency staff as their own

With the right papers in place, courts have little scope to interfere, says employment expert James Tait.

Pass a two-tier test to be your client's employee

Solicitor Gary Cousins on what the courts are effectively saying to agency and contract workers.

Court rejects agency worker's claim to be an employee

Looking and acting like a permie doesn't make you an employee, rules Court of Appeal.

Agency Workers Regulations: what IT contractors need to know

The Government’s draft Agency Worker Regulations could potentially impact contractors – CUK investigates what it could mean for you.

Ban on agents asking health questions

No more nosiness into contractors’ health and, potentially, conduct.

When IT contractors push for a rate rise

The elephant in the room at contract renewal - asking for more money.

The tax tangle of the freelance who cried employment

A seemingly sweet payment route is now a door for HMRC, writes IR35 expert Kate Cottrell.

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Conduct of Employment

Opt in, opt out? What the agency regs are all about

Conduct of employment regulations FAQs: Cubism Law on the agent & contractor.

Opt in, opt out? What the agency regs are all about (part 2)

Conduct of employment regulations FAQs: Cubism law on uncertainty and IR35.

Opting out is an ambitious contractor's simplest course

Six years on, the agency regs are still stumping new and expanding IT contractors.

Contractors to keep agency rules 'opt-out'

Umbrella and limited company workers using agents can choose for themselves.

The biggest sting since IR35? Employment Agency Regulations - the facts and myths for the IT contractor

Stung by IR35, IT contractors now contend with ambiguous Opt-out rules hitting professionals at the heart of contracted business. Contractor UK grills legal specialist, Brookson, on how controversial Employment rules govern your role as an IT contractor.

Opt-in, opt-out? Legal specialist Egos comments

Egos offers advice on how either opting in or out of the employment rules could affect you as a contractor.

CUK 2-Minute Guides

IT contractor's guide to the Agency Workers Regulations

Free to download, quick, expert guides for IT contractors

Download here

Agency Workers Regulations

Workers and agents are each victors of the AWR in court

First cases saw a score draw, but all parties are worse off if fathoming the AWR’s meaning is the goal.

Agency Workers Regulations - 24 myths (part 2)

Lawspeed completes the list of AWR falsities still doing the rounds.

Agency Workers Regulations - 24 myths

Lawspeed reveals popular AWR falsities – one for each advent calendar day.

AWR having 'little impact' on contracting

Professional labour sector is unscathed by new rules for agency temps - REC.

Law dictates your AWR status, not mantras

Being outside the scope of the AWR isn’t as easy as agents are making it sound.

AWR due diligence is more than merely speaking to umbrella companies

But spotting good, bad and ugly compliance is a job agents should be helping out with too, Jenrick says. 

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