Financial IT contractors facing summer slowdown, but City hiring forecast to improve
Financial IT contractors may be facing a slow summer for contract opportunities in London’s financial sector. According to the latest Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, financial services job opportunities fell by 9% during July 2013, compared to the previous month. However, Morgan McKinley’s operations director Hakan Enver remains positive: “The seasonal effect of the holiday period cannot be underestimated. It is not unusual for hiring processes to stall somewhat during July and August and we would expect to see vacancy levels recover again in September.” More...
Contractors may see renewed HMRC targeting over tax avoidance: new consultation
Contractors may be facing an unprecedented attack by the Treasury and HMRC on legitimate tax avoidance. This could impact on all contractors, not just those using avoidance schemes. In a new consultation, Raising the stakes on tax avoidance, among other measures the government is proposing to name, shame and fine tax avoidance scheme promoters. Contractors may even be required to list on their tax returns legal tax avoidance schemes they are using. Contractors have until 4 October 2013 to make their views known. More...
Contractor demand sustained across core sectors, shows APSCo data
Contractor demand in core contracting disciplines was sustained or grew during June 2013, with some sectors starting to pull ahead. The latest Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) Monthly Trends report shows that engineering contract vacancies increased by 22% between May and June, and construction grew by 69% when compared to June 2012. IT experienced modest growth and the financial sector is gradually recovering, with an increase in contract vacancies of 13% when compared to the same period past year. More...
Self-employed contractor numbers fall, as labour market conditions improve
The number of full time self-employed contractors fell by 11,000 in the quarter to June 2013, compared to the previous month. The latest Labour Market Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that overall, self-employment rose by 6,000 during the period, but this was driven by sharp increases in the number of part-time self-employed. More...
IT contractors can target “smart-meter roll-out vendors” for new contracts
IT contracts have a new target rich environment in the form of the IT, technology and communications firms selected by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to roll out smart energy meters across the UK. Computing magazine’s Sooraj Shah reports that contracts valued at £2.38 billion have been announced, with firms such as Capita, Telefonica, CGI and Arqiva as the chosen suppliers. More...
Contractors forecast to account for 24% of new hiring during second half of 2013
Contractors are predicted to account for 24% of all new hiring during the remainder of 2013, with recruitment sector hotspots being transport and communications, finance, insurance and real estate. The latest Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) also shows that large organisations with over 250 employees are more likely to hire contractors, where the percentage of new hires who are contractors increases to 30%. More...
Oil and gas contractor rates and demand to increase as a result of shale gas development
Oil and gas contractor pay rates and demand are forecast to increase as a result of shale oil and gas development, says recruiter Oil and Gas People. This can only be good for contractors with the right skills, but there are fears of a potential ‘boom and bust’, and also safety worries. Oil and Gas People CEO Kevin Forbes warns that the impact of shale gas development could be broad: “There is a risk that the push for shale gas could have consequences for the oil and gas industry as a whole, with an increase in demand for staff pushing up wages and reducing the pool of skilled oil and gas contractors still further.” More...
Umbrella company contractor service providers face investigation by HMRC RTI teams
Umbrella company contractor service providers may be facing investigation by HMRC over their operation of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Initiative (RTI), following the creation of a new RTI investigation team. According to the editorial team at Sage Payroll Software News, “a number of incidents have seen payroll managers and [HMRC] in dispute about how much PAYE an employee should be paying”. The Sage team notes that RTI was introduced to avoid precisely such discrepancies. HMRC has committed to investigate.
Australian repression of micro businesses may be leading to rising unemployment
Draconian tax rules applied to independent contractors in Australia may be leading to rising unemployment, believes the country’s national membership organisation for contractors and freelancers, the Independent Contractors Australia (ICA). “The proportion of small business people not taking on new workers in Australia has risen during 2013. If small business people are under pressure, employment really struggles,” warns ICA executive director Ken Phillips. More...
Umbrella company contractors face potential HMRC sanctions over payslips
Umbrella company contractors may be at risk of bills for back taxes, interest and penalties from HMRC because over half admit they don’t understand, and therefore wouldn’t notice errors, on their payslips. A survey by umbrella company Paraplus shows that 56.5% of contractors “admitted they don’t understand each aspect of their payslip”, which rose to 62% for the IT contracting sector. “Freelancers are directly responsible for the accurate recording of their financial data, such as expenses,” warns Paraplus managing director Phil McDonald. “Failing to pick up on PAYE errors can leave individuals vulnerable to the risk of scrutiny from HMRC – meaning potential legal and compliance issues in the future.” More...