State of the Market

[edison]

Hardly had a sniff of anything worth going for in the last three months but suddenly five roles have appeared this week (contract, perm and FTC) and I've applied for one contract and one perm role.

Some of the stuff I do is a bit niche, so for me at least, I can see some small green shoots of recovery. But not getting too excited yet.

[GJABS]

I'm not laughing at that, it's that you equate everyone to your own circumstance.

I've had a thought about what I said. I think I was mistaken, actually. While it is true that there are some contractors who make £400/day, I now accept I was wrong probably, and that there will be some, and possibly many, who make a lot more. More power to their elbow- we need to celebrate and support this.

[willendure]

The way I see it, going from contract to perm is like...

"Hey, do you want to do this same job for half the money?"

"Hmm, ehh, let me think about that for a minute..."

"Oh come on, at least you get job security, you get to stay here forever!"

"Ahhh, I'd rather stick pins in my eyes!!"

[willendure]

Hybrid roles - for me this is the perfect arangement. 2 days in the office, see people, get meetings done face-to-face. 3 days wfh, peace and quiet to get on with it.

Inside IR35 - I am currently on 450 outside, recently looked at a 650 inside role, and I would actually be making less in that role! The difference is unbelievable. The only way I could do it (and I would do it), would be to take the inside role but divert the max 60K into my pension to lower the tax bill.

The way things are with the "irrational exuberence" around the Mag 7 tech stocks is so much like the dotcom era. Except the market right now feels like the dotcom crash, since in the UK at least there is no accompanying market buzz. What will things be like once the correction comes? I am saving every penny I can right now in fear of things getting even worse for a good few years.

[eek]

Unless you have travel costs you can’t be earning less on £650 inside than £450 outside.

[willendure]

Unless you have travel costs you can’t be earning less on £650 inside than £450 outside.

To give a rough idea you could try this calculator.

https://www.contractorcalculator.co....alculator.aspx

That gave monthly £5,365 outside @ 450 and £6,148 inside @ 650, or a difference of £782 better on the inside one.

In my personal calculation I was working on an assumption of £1000/month pension contribution, and about £600 in expenses, and maybe around £100 in umbrella fees approximately. That all seems to put me at abour £200/month better off on the outside @ 450 case. Seems pretty shocking given that the gross earnings/month would be about $4K higher.

[eek]

To give a rough idea you could try this calculator.

https://www.contractorcalculator.co....alculator.aspx

That gave monthly £5,365 outside @ 450 and £6,148 inside @ 650, or a difference of £782 better on the inside one.

In my personal calculation I was working on an assumption of £1000/month pension contribution, and about £600 in expenses, and maybe around £100 in umbrella fees approximately. That all seems to put me at abour £200/month better off on the outside @ 450 case. Seems pretty shocking given that the gross earnings/month would be about $4K higher.

remember I said without travel costs - as soon as an inside IR35 contract talks about actually visiting an office - the maths stops working unless the location is very nearby.

When this was implemented (heck back when expenses rules were changed for umbrellas back in 2016) I pointed out that the end result was people would only be able to take local contracts if the contract was inside.

other posters also pointed that out at the time as well

[SussexSeagull]

remember I said without travel costs - as soon as an inside IR35 contract talks about actually visiting an office - the maths stops working unless the location is very nearby.

When this was implemented (heck back when expenses rules were changed for umbrellas back in 2016) I pointed out that the end result was people would only be able to take local contracts if the contract was inside.

other posters also pointed that out at the time as well

I haven't had an Inside yet and obviously when I do - as sadly I am sure I will one day - it will depend on the daily rate but it has killed working away from home, although I could probably take a commute on the chin.

Problem with commuting by train is going in twice a week isn't much cheaper than going in five days a week.

[TheDude]

Manager has assured me he has renewed contract but not a word from agency.

Last day the 5th March and if contract expires I will loses all access permissions which were incredibly tedious to acquire.

[willendure]

In my personal calculation I was working on an assumption of £1000/month pension contribution, and about £600 in expenses, and maybe around £100 in umbrella fees approximately. That all seems to put me at abour £200/month better off on the outside @ 450 case. Seems pretty shocking given that the gross earnings/month would be about $4K higher.

In my case, I think it is actually Scottish income tax bands that are making the difference (practically socialism up here!). You don't get hit by the scottish income tax bands on dividends, only on PAYE. Higher rate in Scotland is 42% and kicks in about £6.6K lower.