A Sad “IR35” Day

[ChimpMaster]

Most of my contractor pals will be doing the same. Multiply that £ 60k by a few thousand and it starts to make a difference.

I know of no proper established contractor that would be forced into a permie role.

I am planning to do the same too - there is no point working under constant stress and attack from our own government. Their policies have fried my brain.

it beggars belief that the government can't see the huge drop in tax revenue that will hit next year. Then again, they did this with Stamp Duty and tinkered heavily with the property market, and are now seeing that tax take drop significantly.

Everyone knows that HMRC are, frankly, stupid, and couldn't put together a coherent and consistent policy to save their lives.

[BR14]

Most of my contractor pals will be doing the same. Multiply that £ 60k by a few thousand and it starts to make a difference.

I know of no proper established contractor that would be forced into a permie role.

[Paralytic]

Most of my contractor pals will be doing the same. Multiply that £ 60k by a few thousand and it starts to make a difference.

I know of no proper established contractor that would be forced into a permie role.

Can I change that to "most of my contractor pals want to do the same". Its not a buyers market just now and there's no sign that will change prior to next April.

But even if they do, I'm sure HMRC believe the amount of tax lost through people who go elsewhere will be easily swamped by the increase in tax revenues from those that go umbrella/perm.

[oliverson]

Its all very good you sticking to your guns and saying that, but many others will be doing the same and there's only so many jobs in that world outside the UK.

The taxman doesn't care about the loss of tax from any one individual - its the numbers game for them.

Most of my contractor pals will be doing the same. Multiply that £ 60k by a few thousand and it starts to make a difference.

I know of no proper established contractor that would be forced into a permie role.

[Paralytic]

Very wrong. I for one won't put up with it. If the clients and agents think they can squeeze me from a consultant to doing a permie job earning a fraction of the income then it is they who are not in their right minds. There's a world outside the UK you know? That's £ 60k of tax per annum plus 'investment' in the economy lost.

Its all very good you sticking to your guns and saying that, but many others will be doing the same and there's only so many jobs in that world outside the UK.

The taxman doesn't care about the loss of tax from any one individual - its the numbers game for them.

[oliverson]

Not sure I entirely agree with this view.

People all still need to pay their mortgages, feed their families etc. Contractors are very unlikely to walk out on principle without anything to move on to. There will be nothing to move on to because the forecast glut of unfilled roles relies on lots of contractors leaving their current clients but I really don't see that happening en masse, because nobody in their right mind with bills to pay will give up paid work without something else lined up. So it's a vicious circle: people won't leave because there are very few roles, large numbers of roles won't become available because people aren't leaving.

Sorry to sound negative, I'd be very happy to be proved wrong.

Very wrong. I for one won't put up with it. If the clients and agents think they can squeeze me from a consultant to doing a permie job earning a fraction of the income then it is they who are not in their right minds. There's a world outside the UK you know? That's £ 60k of tax per annum plus 'investment' in the economy lost.

[Amanensia]

nobody in their right mind with bills to pay will give up paid work without something else lined up

If you spot my mind, please send it on home, I miss it...

[Snooky]

3. If you are willing to accept brolly or perm roles, come Feb a bunch of clients like Barclays, etc, are going to be frantically trying to replace a bunch of people who just walked. There's going to be a lot of upheaval but there will certainly be roles available.

4. My guess is by the summer there are going to be outside roles starting to pop up again because clients will need people.

Not sure I entirely agree with this view.

People all still need to pay their mortgages, feed their families etc. Contractors are very unlikely to walk out on principle without anything to move on to. There will be nothing to move on to because the forecast glut of unfilled roles relies on lots of contractors leaving their current clients but I really don't see that happening en masse, because nobody in their right mind with bills to pay will give up paid work without something else lined up. So it's a vicious circle: people won't leave because there are very few roles, large numbers of roles won't become available because people aren't leaving.

Sorry to sound negative, I'd be very happy to be proved wrong.

[ProjectPimp]

Speaking as a fellow current LBG contractor, this is also my approach. They've asked if I'll stay on current terms until end Feb, but I'm going to bail at end Dec. I feel pretty bad for the project team I'm working with, as they are up against big regulatory deadlines, but at the end of the day it's the bank that's put them in this situation, not me.

I am taking exactly this approach. I've been offered an extension until 31st March, which I have declined as I think this screams "she's inside so she has to go!". I will bail in December and hope I find something else, either permie or brolly, next year.

It's scary how little LBG understand about the situation. The manager who gave me The Chat was asking me what the new legislation is...

[Amanensia]

I’m happy to take Brolly for now, just not at a client I’ve worked for a while at.

Speaking as a fellow current LBG contractor, this is also my approach. They've asked if I'll stay on current terms until end Feb, but I'm going to bail at end Dec. I feel pretty bad for the project team I'm working with, as they are up against big regulatory deadlines, but at the end of the day it's the bank that's put them in this situation, not me.

I did think quite hard about accepting an umbrella role for a while - apart from anything else it's an interesting project and excellent from a CV point of view - but decided it's just a bit of an unnecessary risk. I'd rather be out the door well in advance of the changes. This is probably over-cautious of me, but if I have to go umbrella for a while, it'll be elsewhere, and by leaving in Dec I'm available to jump into the shoes of people who bail elsewhere in Q1.