Advice for Newbie

[claudius]

Hi,

I'm a newbie. Never contracted before.

I've been out of I.T. for a few years but it seems my old skills are still in demand. I've a chance of a contract in operations/technical support on some old kit I used to work on in the nineties. Minis/small mainframe. The rate offered is £25 an hour. I understand that there is some shift work involved and the odd weekend.

Is this good, bad or average. I've absolutely no idea. Would a different rate normally apply outside 9-5, or does an agreed rate apply 24/7?

The agency has put me in touch with Giant to use as an umbrella company, but
looking at their pay method of minimum wage, and the rest as a dividend and allowing you to claim £75 a week unreceipted subsistence looks decidedly dodgey if the Inland Revenue were ever to audit me. If I go with a PAYE umbrella it seems this is worse than going on the employers payroll due to having to pay employers N.I. contributions. There must be a benefit in contracting over permanent, what am I missing?

I may have to sign initally for 6 months and I don't want to make a mistake at the start thats going to haunt me for that long. I'd like to forget about the money once it's all settled and enjoy the return to I.T.

Any advice greatfully accepted.

Claudius.

[PerlOfWisdom]

The biggest mistake you could make would be to have anything to do with Giant. For 6 months or over, contact an accountant advertised on here and get them to set up your own limited company.

[DaveB]

The biggest mistake you could make would be to have anything to do with Giant. For 6 months or over, contact an accountant advertised on here and get them to set up your own limited company.

Agreed, don't touch Giant with a very long tulipty stick. The agency are probably on a kickback anyway.

Get an accountant - SJD and 1st Accountancy seem to be the favorites on here, there are others, and get your own ltd co. set up. It's not half as scary as it sounds and a decent accountant will deal with most of it for you.

As far as the rate is concerned, some people get more some get less. The important thing is, are you happy with it? When it comes to out of hours etc then check the contract they give you and negotiate if you're not happy. Time-and-a-Half for overtime/weekends is not unreasonable.

Look at it like this, it's your first contract and 6 months is a good solid start. It will make it easier for you to get the next one and n ext time round you can go for a higher rate.

If you really want to go with a brolly to get you started then Parasol are probably the best bet. You can always switch to a Ltd later once things are up and running.

[Clavdivs]

Hi Claudius. Are you a relation of mine?

[Jace]

Giant

I agree Giant do suck...
I went with them on my first contract with advice from the agency (Sandersons) and I'm paying about 30% in various charges.
There seems to be a lack of customer service as well and I got BS on the phone from them about paying less than PAYE when I signed up.

From speaking to other contractors with your own Ltd and a good accountant, you should be paying out about 20%.