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Hiring IT contractors
IT contractors for hire, direct
Advertise your contract role to the UK contracting community that has read this site since 1999 — 1,000 live IT and technology contracts are on the board right now. Applications come straight to you: no agency in the middle, no placement fee.
- Hand-reviewed and live within 24 hours
- Applications, with CVs, straight to you
- Flat fee — never a share of the day rate
- 1,000 live IT & technology contracts
- 13,321 live contracts across every sector
- 645 stated outside IR35
- 711 contracts added in the last 24 hours
Live board figures, updated continuously — not a marketing estimate.
The process
How to hire an IT contractor in the UK
Four decisions, in the order they actually matter. The first one is the one most adverts get wrong.
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Settle the IR35 status
If you are the end client and not a small company, you determine the status and issue a Status Determination Statement. Small companies are exempt and the contractor decides. Settle it before you advertise — contractors filter on it, and “TBC” costs you applicants.
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Write the rate down
Contractors screen on day rate before anything else. A stated rate gets meaningfully more applications than “competitive”, because “competitive” reads as “below market”.
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Advertise where they already are
Post the role on ContractorUK from £29. It is hand-reviewed, live within 24 hours, and sits above the aggregated feed listings in matching searches.
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Read the applications yourself
Applications land in your dashboard with the CV attached. Shortlist, decline or message a candidate from the same screen. Nobody filters them before you see them, and nobody takes a margin.
Side by side
Direct or through an agency?
Worth being straight about this, because the answer is not always direct.
Through an agency
- A margin on the day rate, for the life of the contract
- The agency shortlists — you see who they pass on
- The role is advertised under their name, not yours
- You reach the contractor through an intermediary
Direct on ContractorUK
- One flat advertising fee, from £29 for 30 days
- Every application, unfiltered, with the CV attached
- Your name on the role, badged as a direct employer
- You talk to the contractor from the first message
When an agency is the better call
If you need someone else to filter — a niche skill you cannot assess, a volume of roles, no internal capacity — an agency earns its margin, and that is a fair trade. Hiring direct costs a flat fee and your own time reading applications: it is markedly cheaper when you know what you are looking for and can judge a CV in your own field.
One thing to know either way: if you advertise the same role through an agency at the same time, search engines usually show the agency’s listing rather than yours, because the bigger job boards carry more authority. Advertising the role only with you is what gives your own listing its best chance.
The supply
Where UK contractors are working
Live contracts by location, straight off the board.
- London 745
- Manchester 204
- Birmingham 201
- Bristol 168
- City of London 126
- Glasgow 105
- Leeds 104
- Liverpool 92
What it costs
One flat price per role. No commission, ever.
30 days on the board, hand-reviewed, with live stats. Prices exclude VAT.
Standard
£29
ex VAT · 30 days live
- Above all feed jobs in matching searches
- Hand-reviewed within 24 hours
- Applications with CVs, in your dashboard
- Impressions, views & applies tracked
- Expiry reminder and one-click repost
Featured
Most visibility
£49
ex VAT · 30 days live
- Everything in Standard
- Pinned to the top of matching search results
- Featured slot on the contract-jobs hub
- Stand-out featured styling in results
Enterprise
Hiring at scale
Custom
Volume roles, bespoke terms
- Everything in Featured, across every role
- Volume pricing on multiple listings
- Invoicing and PO-friendly billing
- Priority review and a named account contact
- Bespoke placement and employer branding
No commission, no percentage of the contract, no subscription. Rejected listings are refunded automatically. Everything a listing includes
Hiring contractors: common questions
Where can I find IT contractors in the UK?
Post the role where UK contractors already are. There are 1,000 live IT and technology contracts on ContractorUK right now, and the contractors reading them are the same audience your role is shown to. You can advertise a contract directly from £29 and applications come straight to you — there is no agency in between and no placement fee.
What does it cost to hire an IT contractor directly?
Advertising costs £29 ex VAT for a standard listing or £49 for a featured one, for 30 days. Beyond that you pay the contractor their day rate and nothing else — no percentage of the contract, which is what an agency typically charges on top.
What if I don’t get suitable applicants?
Then it costs you nothing. If you are not happy with the applications your listing receives, tell us and we will refund the listing fee in full — no questions asked. And if we do not approve your listing at review, the refund is automatic.
Do I need to worry about IR35 if I hire a contractor directly?
If you are the end client and not a small company, you are responsible for determining the contractor’s IR35 status and issuing a Status Determination Statement. Small companies are exempt and the contractor determines their own status. Decide the status before you advertise and state it in the ad — contractors filter on it, and roles with a clear determination get better applicants.
How quickly can I get applications?
Listings are hand-reviewed and go live within 24 hours, usually much sooner. Applications arrive in your dashboard with the candidate’s CV attached, and you can shortlist, decline or message from there.
Is it better to hire a contractor directly or through an agency?
An agency does the shortlisting for you and charges a margin for it, usually a percentage of the contractor’s rate for the life of the contract. Direct costs a flat advertising fee and your own time reading applications. If you know what you are looking for, direct is markedly cheaper; if you need someone else to filter, an agency earns its margin.
Put your role in front of them
Hand-reviewed and live within 24 hours. Applications, with CVs, straight to your dashboard.
Prices exclude VAT · Hiring several roles? Talk to us · Looking for a contract rather than hiring for one? Browse live contracts
From £29 ex VAT · 30 days · hand-reviewed
Advertise a role