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In my current (soon to end) role I am not sure if the think I am a consultant or contractor. Normally it is academic although a previous client started wanting me to do things like three days work...

Couple of times I have contracted direct were a real eye opener trying to get paid. Like it or not agents do serve a purpose for most of us.

They probably should have thought of that!

Your occasional reminder that the City while being important and influential isn't in fact the entire Contracting industry and practices vary.

This is it. All very well hiring cheap/cheaper labour from around the country or world but at some point people will be returning to offices and they won't be able to afford to do it.

I expect this is something that will need to be tested but the whole point of the exercise was the end client assume responsibility for the determination.

We go through this with agents once in a while. I agree some of them don't help themselves and contractors have a love/hate relationship with them (no doubt reciprocated) but they also are the best...

Must confess to not having seen this but your experience might be different.

It has got to the stage now I hardly take any notice of my end date as it tends to either get terminated early because they have run out of money or you are renewed to finish the project.

If you...

I was out between June and November. Hopefully will be a bit better this time round.

By the sound of it - bearing in mind I have never physically been in an office with these people - they just haven't got the money coming in at the moment so are cutting anything that isn't nailed...

Thanks.

Just heard my contract is ending on February 4th as the client is running out of money. Onwards (on Monday, I shall allow myself a brief period of mourning).

There isn't a way in the world I could have negotiated a contract that required me to be their in person from January the 1st with a straight face for several months.

Unless it is WFH it isn't...

I do so love a school of hard knocks conversation at Christmas.

I wouldn't bet on it, but then again I wouldn't bet against it.

I would have thought the would either recruit someone inside IR35 or FTC if they didn't want contractors anymore.

I suspect at some point the industry will retire me. I don't mean in terms of technology but there will be some legislative change that will eventually kill Contracting or off shoring will improve...

I have a three day week WFH contract at the moment. If I had no mortgage it would be ideal.

My problem is the permanent jobs I would be aiming for seem to pay much the same as when I started contracting in 2008. Would also need to be commutable from where I live (for a start a monthly rail...

I agree 5k is at the top end but some on here have paid off their mortgage when times were better for contractors and/or having a partner bringing in money.

Well done if you have but that hasn't...

Is work contributing to their depression? I suffered it years ago and actually found work a bit of a welcome distraction and offered a bit of structure, although everyone is different.

If they...

You have got too emotional involved. Follow the process for pursuing non-payment outlined above.

I believe it is but what seems to happen is 'we can't find someone' really means 'we can't find someone cheap'.

Short answer: No

Long answer: Quite possibly yes but they could just say there is no work for you yet so won't sign a time sheet. In reality it would take such an effort legally to prove the...

As for importing workers a two step process would more or less sort the situation out:

Roles must initially be advertised locally (to stop someone using a company as a bridgehead to get their...

This is it. Develop personal connections and a track record of integrating yourself into projects and delivering with the minimum of fuss.

Clients don't always want the cheapest or flashiest...

At this time of year I always go out at lunchtime as it is my only chance to see daylight.

Managers who should know better seem to think you can put what you do in a box for someone else to pick up.

At the time it was predominately India being outsourced to and I think the problem was they tried to integrate technical staff into European projects and the cultural gap was too big. Around this...

There was an era about ten years ago when it was de rigueur to outsource development to India regardless of the fact in most examples it was hugely ineffective. It really was emperor's new clothes...

Was it Napoleon who said graveyards are full of irreplaceable men?

Wrap up what you have been doing and send them the details. I tend to find it goes between the extremes of them not engaging...

If you are sitting around twiddling your thumbs and available while they get themselves together then absolutely start billing. If not then logoff, wait for further instructions and don't charge.
...

Long story short you are an employee when it suits the government and self employed when it doesn't.

Down about 20% since April, although I was out of work from the end of May until last week which means I have subsequently had a 100% increase.

Unlike people's employment status my posts won't have to stand up against a future HMRC Tribunal.

Quarter of people have had a rate increase? Ok then.

Rate cut slightly mitigated by no travelling expenses and being able to eat at home though.

Was going great guns in the first half of the year with a solid if not spectacular paying contract that would have taken me into July and possibly beyond. WFH from March onwards before getting...

Always remember you can fail 200 times but only have to succeed once.

Partial success. Have a part time contract starting next Wednesday. Minimum of two days a week and not great money (although WFH) but might need to more work and eventually full time.

Done...

I agree that sometimes the better and more productive contractors don't always succeed against contractors who just seem to always find contracts but aren't actually that good.

Yes but your skillset makes you above average.

Absolute nonsense. If someone was average they wouldn't be getting paid more than 95% of the population.

Indeed. Rinse and reset ad infinitum.

To put it another way every company is different let alone every sector.

If a client is happy to have people working remotely from the other side of the world then they were always going to go down that route eventually anyway.

When the accountants take over and the...

Never worked in the City (although at various stage have worked in Farringdon, Brick Lane, just behind Borough Market and Holborn so have circled it!) so can't really comment but from the outside...

Couldn't they have always done that?

I am sure some of the larger places will go that route but the mid sized outfits either outsourced or went with contractors (or a combination of both) ages...

Our collective problem is if it was just Covid-19 to contend with we could reasonably assume the market will bounce back at some point int he future. If it was just IR35 changes we could start to...