State of the Market

[Bluenose]

Almost every call I get now is about a perm role. Agent asks what I'm up to then "would you consider a permanent role?", or "what sort of salary would interest you?".

The other calls that I get about contracts are from offshore bob agents who are almost certainly getting their RLMT tick-box stamp to process a visa for someone else.

hah indeed, we suffer as a group together in these times.

2012 bear market was similar, we know it will pass, strangely that was also an Olympic year.

[unixman]

The thing about IR35 is what has really changed? ...

Agree. Some clients have overreacted (mainly banks) due to compliance fears. Compliance, since the credit crunch, has been a major concern of financial corporations. They fear the government breathing down their necks and use compliance as a shelter, slavishly following punctilious regulations. Others (eg. tech companies) are still deciding what to do. Eventually it will be sorted out and the contracting market will function again, but in the meantime uncertainty rules.

Personally, I would be happy to go Umbrella again. The only slight annoyance being that double whammy NIC situation. Long term, "employers NIC" obligation ought to be removed from freelance engagement. There simply isn't an employer, and the government should stop pretending there is and take the tax hit. I should be allowed to work freelance and pay the same tax as my neighbour, not more (umbrella) or less (Ltd).

In fact, in 2010, Cameron promised to begin moves to abolish NICs altogether, and roll it into income tax. It would stop all this nonsense, as well as having many other advantages. Thanks for reading this rant.

[BigDataPro]

...Companies like HSBC who have blanket banned Contractors are doing so unfairly however I do wonder how they are going to replace such a massive loss of skilled workers ...

I personally know several contractors who are/were with HSBC for more than 3-4 years, some even crossed 6 years. If you can be a Yes man then you can easily be there for more than 24 months. So HSBC is fully aware that their liability is/will be very high, resulting in blanket ban.

[rocktronAMP]

I personally know several contractors who are/were with HSBC for more than 3-4 years, some even crossed 6 years. If you can be a Yes man then you can easily be there for more than 24 months. So HSBC is fully aware that their liability is/will be very high, resulting in blanket ban.

I deal you another card in this game: Lloyds Banking Group or rather HBOS / BOS with contractors approaching 5 years in the same place.

I'm so glad that I left investment banking behind several years ago, when it is Mr. Dodd and Mrs. Frank and the rubbishy XML Schema reporting tulip ...

[NeedTheSunshine]

Companies like HSBC who have blanket banned Contractors are doing so unfairly however I do wonder how they are going to replace such a massive loss of skilled workers which makes me think that there will be a further correction in a year or two where they will begin to assess contractors on a case by case basis once they realise there is a lot of things to deliver but no one to deliver them.

Dream on. HSBC is full of permie style contractors. And not many of them have niche skills. It's always been the case that if you can't get a contract anywhere else that HSBC will probably take you. It also used to be the case that RBS was a good backup, but that hasn't been true for a long while now.

There will be lots of contractors willing to go inside (or via whatever payment mechanism HSBC have come up with) in the next year or so. It's a buyers market at the moment. Therefore they will have lots of people to deliver.

[unixman]

It's a buyers market at the moment. Therefore they will have lots of people to deliver.

The contractor market is not operating properly in the financial sector. Banks are being driven by fear and uncertainty, rather than market forces. When things calm down again, the rules of demand and supply will inevitably resume. But when will that be?

There might even be a contractor boom, if the pool us shrunk by "permytractors" going permy.

[BritishLad88]

once everybody off on premise - the devops hype train will hit the buffers - its starting to slow already

that's why always having your skills updated, keeping up with current market trends is always ever so important.

[BritishLad88]

Dream on. HSBC is full of permie style contractors. And not many of them have niche skills. ...
There will be lots of contractors willing to go inside (or via whatever payment mechanism HSBC have come up with) in the next year or so. It's a buyers market at the moment.

The contractor market is not operating properly in the financial sector.

Exactly this, its pretty much why IR35 existed in the first place as already mentioned. The financial sector have taken the traditional contractor industry and broken it. HMRC therefore wants to clamp down on the wrong way contracting is being done (mainly in the financial sector) stopping some of us permie style contractors who take advantage of this broken system in order to gain an financial advantage.

[BritishLad88]

XML oh the memories!

Legacy systems supported by old hand contractors, some there for 10+ years.

When it came to upgrade them oddly the old hands were not keen on the replacement and claimed not fit for purpose...

sounds like the place i'm in right now!

the other day a 10+ years contractor was telling me: "from next week on, you'll get to work with cool modern tech in XML... ". I was thinking in my head "really??? XML? Modern?"

in another time, i told that same contractor and another few (who also been there for 10+ years) that we should upgrade the software systems/tech etc.. to latest tech and they obv wasnt keen on replacing saying same things like its not fit for the job, doesn't add value blah blah.

[BigDataPro]

sounds like the place i'm in right now!

the other day a 10+ years contractor was telling me: "from next week on, you'll get to work with cool modern tech in XML... ". I was thinking in my head "really??? XML? Modern?"

in another time, i told that same contractor and another few (who also been there for 10+ years) that we should upgrade the software systems/tech etc.. to latest tech and they obv wasnt keen on replacing saying same things like its not fit for the job, doesn't add value blah blah.