Contractors face uncertain post-election landscape, warns IPSE’s McVicker
Contractors are facing uncertainty regardless of the General Election outcome, according to Simon McVicker, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed’s (IPSE) director of policy and external affairs. “One manifesto pledge might mean something positive for contractors,” highlights McVicker “But another might damage big business to the extent that contractors’ client base is affected and there is less work.” Despite a lack of debate around contracting, the manifesto promises of the main parties are encouraging, including improved IT infrastructure, commitment to HS2 and provision for maternity and mortgages. “We believe that the rise in self-employment will continue whoever is in government after the election, and any future government will have to recognise this,” adds McVicker. More...
Contractors with the right skills can ease the IoT talent shortage, and win new work
Contractors have the opportunity to meet the “tremendous shortfall” in the number of skilled internet of things (IoT) professionals that has been flagged by IT vendor Cisco. Computing reports that Cisco is predicting that the IoT market will be worth $19tn (£12.5tn) by 2020, and contractors prepared to invest in training themselves in latest IoT skills could benefit from the contracts that will be generated as the sector grows. Cisco is launching its own training programme that could also be of benefit to contractors. More...
Contracting opportunities counter-intuitively set to increase from oil and gas downturn
Contractors, usually the first out when organisations downsize, could find themselves plugging vital skills gaps as many oil and gas firms cut permanent headcounts. Two more oil and gas companies are in talks with staff following announcement of job losses. BBC News reports that Petrofac is in ongoing consultations, while Amec Foster Wheeler told the BBC that it was consulting on 100 onshore posts in Aberdeen. Contractors considering finding contracts in oil and gas provinces outside of the UK may wish to reconsider. Plans to reduce the workforce and save costs could present an opportunity for contractors in the UK North Sea as oil and gas clients start to view them as lower risk than employees. More...
Contractors targeting manufacturing clients to benefit from manufacturing recovery
Contractors seeking to renew existing or target new clients in the manufacturing sector prospect are improving, according to the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey. New order levels remained high in the three months to April 2015. Katja Hall, CBI deputy director-general, said continued growth was “encouraging” and that rates of expansion were “still above average”. The energy-intensive sectors, such as metal manufacture, are the ones for contractors to watch, having enjoyed a particularly strong quarter. More...
Contractors helping to support British export success
Contractors are helping businesses to trade internationally and are making their own contribution by exporting their services to clients outside of the UK. The latest international trade survey by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) highlights that UK companies are often slow to make the leap, but those that do benefit from increased sales and profits. John Longworth, BCC director general, notes: “We must redouble our efforts to grow a pipeline of new exporting companies that the UK economy so desperately needs”. Contractors with international experience can help businesses take that first step and start benefitting from trading internationally. More...
Contracting in France remains buoyant, despite slowdown during March
Contractors working in France experienced a reduction in demand during March 2015 following two months of growth at the start of the year. Staffing Industry Analysts reports that the latest figures from Prism’Emploi, the French Association of Employment Agencies showed that the industrial and services sectors grew by 3.1% and 3% respectively, with modest growth of 1.9% and 0.1% in transport and retail. The construction sector was the only one to report a decrease, continuing the trend set at the start of 2015. Strongest growth in contractor demand was reported in Lorraine, Normandy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais. More...
Contractors with investment properties gain from rising house prices
Contractors with buy-to-let portfolios will have seen the value of their property investments grow between March and April 2015. House prices across the UK rose by 1% during the period – the largest increase since June 2014. The “pick-up” occurred even though the housing market remained “fairly subdued”, according to a BBC report. The monthly rise was “strong” and predicted that prices would rise by 6% this year, which is good news for the value of contractor buy-to-let market portfolios. More...
Contractors may benefit from Tory pledge to review barriers to self-employment
Contractors could benefit from the Conservative Party’s pre-election commitment to review how self-employed contractors can access maternity pay, pensions and mortgages. According to IPSE, the announcement reflects its calls to give contractors the support needed to “flourish”. IPSE director of policy and external affairs, Simon McVicker, explains: “Issues around maternity pay, pensions and mortgages can deter many people from taking the step to becoming self-employed. We will be looking to whoever forms the next government to tackle these barriers to business.” More...
‘Contractorpreneurs’ pay out extra £11.5m following HMRC’s ‘rising stars’ campaign
Contractors rapidly growing their contracting business and, as a result, their net worth into the millions are the target of HMRC’s ‘rising stars’ tax avoidance unit according to Professional Adviser. Since it began targeting taxpayers with rapidly rising wealth in 2012, HMRC claims to have recouped over £11m from wealthy up-and-comers. Fiona Fernie, head of tax investigations at law firm Pinsent Masons said to Professional Adviser: “HMRC has been clamping down on suspected tax avoidance amongst very wealthy taxpayers for some time and it now has a system in place to monitor those with fast-growing wealth well before they reach necessary threshold for scrutiny.” More...
Contractors late with RTI submissions liable for penalties, confirms HMRC
Contractors running their own payroll and who submit late RTI returns will be subject to HMRC’s new penalty regime. Companies with fewer than 50 employees that reported late from 6 March 2015 will be penalised. The amount charged is dependent on how many employees there are in the company. Contractors working though limited companies fall within the 1 to 9 category and will face a £100 monthly penalty if they fail to report. More...