IT contractors with business intelligence and mobile skills most in demand
IT contractors who have skills in business intelligence and analytics and mobile solutions will be most in demand during the coming 12 months. This is according to a survey of IT directors and chief technology officers by recruiter Robert Half, which shows that application development, risk and security and virtualisation are the other top skills required. Robert Half Technology managing director Phil Sheridan notes: “Chief information officers (CIOs) are likely to need to use a mixture of contract and permanent IT professionals in order to meet the demands of the business going forward.” More...
Oil and gas contractor prospects boosted by UK skills shortages
UK oil and gas contractor rates continued to rise during 2013. They did so despite a global slowdown in rate and salary increases of 0.85%, against a fall of 1% internationally. Skills shortages sustained the rate increases, as Hays oil and gas director Ed Allnutt explains: “Salaries in the UK have held up well in a tough climate, but with such an improvement in employers’ outlook and more positive sentiment, we are expecting 2014 to provide plenty of opportunities for professionals.” More...
Contractor demand growth slows in Scotland, but skills shortages drive up rates
Contractor demand growth in Scotland slowed during January 2014, but demand across all core contracting disciplines was maintained and skills shortages put upwards pressure on rates. “The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs increased rapidly, while vacancies rose sharply across all sectors,” observed Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae. Rates increased for the eleventh consecutive month, driven by falling contractor availability and, albeit slower, increasing demand. More...
Contractor numbers reach record levels, to reach 14.5% of the UK’s workforce
Contractor numbers increased by 172,000 over the quarter to February 2014 to reach a record 4.37 million. Analysis by PCG shows that self-employed contractors and freelancers now account for 14.5% of the UK’s workforce. PCG’s economic policy adviser Georgios Nikolaidis believes that this increase is a result of structural changes to the UK workforce and not down to the recession: “This latest sharp increase in self-employment is more proof that the way we work is changing. The rise in those choosing to go into business on their own account is now outstripping the growth in traditional employment at a rate of almost three to one.” More...
London-based marketing contractors see rates jump by 45%
Marketing contractors working in London experienced rate rises of up to 45% during 2013, and recruiter Robert Walters predicts the trend will continue this year. Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith writes in Marketing magazine that the recruiter’s most recent salary survey finds that “the investment management, retail banking, technology and professional services sectors saw a renewed focus on growing their marketing functions”. According to Robert Walters’ marketing director Tim Gilbert: “To deliver on business objectives, employers must be prepared to match market rates or offer unique workplace challenges to secure the high quality staff they need.” More...
Contractors may be caught by false self-employment rules, warns tax body
Contractors may be caught by new false self-employment legislation that goes “too far”. This is the stark warning from the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), which says that “loose definitions could mean it catches some of the genuinely self-employed too”. The tax body is concerned that the definitions of supervision, direction and control as currently drafted could extend to quite genuine self-employment scenarios. “We think that more clarity is needed in order to ensure that the legislation distinguishes between the genuinely self-employed…and those in false self-employment,” says Colin Ben-Nathan, chairman of the CIOT sub-committee for employment taxes.” More...
IT contractors will enjoy more roles from cloud computing, not fewer
IT contractors should not feel threatened by the downsizing risks of cloud computing. That’s the verdict of HCL Technologies’ chief technologist Kaylan Kumar, writing in Computer Weekly. Kumar believes that although disruptive, the cloud will generate more jobs than it makes redundant, just with different skills needs. Infrastructure roles may disappear to be replaced by positions demanding the “technical and business skills to provide valuable insights into cloud-based business solutions”. More...
Contractors need certainty over Scotland’s post-referendum business plans, says PCG
Contractors urgently need the Scottish Government to clarify its post-referendum plans for businesses in the event of a ‘yes’ vote, now that UK Chancellor George Osborne has ruled out currency sharing. “It is crucial that the Scottish Government clarifies what an independent Scotland – with or without the pound – would mean for businesses,” says PCG director of policy and public affairs Simon McVicker. “There are over 150,000 freelancers and almost 300,000 self-employed people operating in Scotland who need to know the consequences of independence.” More...
Contractors to benefit from inclusive IR35 fee protection
Contractors will benefit from a new IR35 fee protection services from contractor accountant ClearSky. Contractors on the service provider’s top-end tariffs will have the costs of dealing with HMRC correspondence and meetings included in their monthly fee. Those on the Essential and Freedom packages may pay £15 plus VAT each month. The service has been launched in response to HMRC’s increase in new IR35 investigations to 250 each year. More...
Contractor businesses seeking to innovate and grow invited to HMRC workshops
Contractors who want to grow their contracting businesses in the technology space are invited to a series of workshops being run by HMRC on tax credits. There are tax incentives, grants and “other support” provided by the government for small tech firms, including support from European Union funds. “The UK has the largest creative sector per head in the world,” explains Carol Lunney, HMRC assistant director for business tax. “These workshops are designed to ensure our high-tech SMEs get the help they need to help them invest in research and development and innovation.” More...