State of the Market

[BritishLad88]

You have only been out since November, £250 a day is getting snapped up by guys out since last March

And clients are getting hundreds of people taking £250 a day - so why would you pay £500 that was last years rate and gone for good

Take £250 now till dust settles


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I concur! If you desperately need money then take the £250 now or find a half decent perm role for the time being. On the bench you get nothing so at least if you take anything you at least get some income coming in.

Besides, nothing say you can’t quit your perm role after a few months! Especially in the IT sector, permies job hopping is a lot common these days ...

[BritishLad88]

Software eats itself

Thats a good point actually. Companies even more likely to offshore now with IR35. Govt prob didnt think of that. The bean counters spreadsheets of projected tax income increases will be out the window.

It’s a possibility but but I don’t think it would be that many though. Clients would likely only consider offshore if they can’t get contractors to switch to umbrellas.

And by what I’ve seen In the market so far, a lot of contractors are already switching/have switched over. So for clients it’s not an issue for them as they not loosing out on any resources

[cosmic]

I concur! If you desperately need money then take the £250 now or find a half decent perm role for the time being. On the bench you get nothing so at least if you take anything you at least get some income coming in.

Besides, nothing say you can’t quit your perm role after a few months! Especially in the IT sector, permies job hopping is a lot common these days ...

Issue is these roles are 250 inside ir35. No was is that feesable.

I'm in cloud computing (azure and 365) I program using c#, JavaScript, reactJS. Background is in SharePoint since 2003.

Most roles are around dynamics 365 which is quite healthy but don't have the skill. Thinking to go perm into dynamics then contract again so I would have full 365 and azure.

Market is flooded with cheap labour

[Peoplesoft bloke]

There’s no direct analogy in the U.S. The closest analogy would be FTCs (of employment).

Is that true though? I thought 1099 contractors would be comparable.

One thing that makes contracting less attractive in the US is health insurance costs - from what I have seen, the 1099 gigs are often taken with a hope to get into permanent employment.

Also, some states are having a go at curtailing the gig economy.

[hairymouse]

Issue is these roles are 250 inside ir35. No was is that feesable.

I'm in cloud computing (azure and 365) I program using c#, JavaScript, reactJS. Background is in SharePoint since 2003.

Most roles are around dynamics 365 which is quite healthy but don't have the skill. Thinking to go perm into dynamics then contract again so I would have full 365 and azure.

Market is flooded with cheap labour

What's the difference between Dynamics 365 and 365? Just curious.

I'd have thought that Azure, C# and JavaScript are very hot skills right now. I see tons of ads for those every day, so many that I thought getting certified in Azure would be my ticket off the bench. Am I completely mistaken?

[tsmith]

What's the difference between Dynamics 365 and 365? Just curious.

I'd have thought that Azure, C# and JavaScript are very hot skills right now. I see tons of ads for those every day, so many that I thought getting certified in Azure would be my ticket off the bench. Am I completely mistaken?

all skills are suffering from supply/demand imbalances. certifications dont mean jack. apart from occasional box ticking exercise.

i would say 'azure' will be a challenge to be marketed as a skill on its own - unless youre just an azure infrastructure person. as a .net developer you'll be expected to know azure to a decent level in more and more roles as on premise dies off.

[GhostofTarbera]

Market is flooded with cheap labour

Boris cutting the Indian IT worker cap by £5K + visas for everyone that basically wants one will undercut the £250 people, £10 an hour will be good for big business and Tory doners


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[jamesbrown]

Is that true though? I thought 1099 contractors would be comparable.

One thing that makes contracting less attractive in the US is health insurance costs - from what I have seen, the 1099 gigs are often taken with a hope to get into permanent employment.

Also, some states are having a go at curtailing the gig economy.

1099 is just an IRS income tax return form, so that doesn't mean much to me. To clarify, there are avenues to earn income in the US without employment, but there is nothing analogous to the massive scale and broad scope of the UK contracting scene in the US. There are several historical reasons for this, one being the different labour markets (much easier to hire/fire in the US than the UK), another being the strict definition of what constitutes an independent contractor in the US (previously the "twenty factor test" - now see https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15a.pdf - plus a bunch of state-specific tests that can be even tougher), another being the absence of large differences in taxation that you see in the UK (at least until recent years). There are probably others too.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

1099 is just an IRS income tax return form, so that doesn't mean much to me. To clarify, there are avenues to earn income in the US without employment, but there is nothing analogous to the massive scale and broad scope of the UK contracting scene in the US. There are several historical reasons for this, one being the different labour markets (much easier to hire/fire in the US than the UK), another being the strict definition of what constitutes an independent contractor in the US (previously the "twenty factor test" - now see https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15a.pdf - plus a bunch of state-specific tests that can be even tougher), another being the absence of large differences in taxation that you see in the UK (at least until recent years). There are probably others too.

Expertise appreciated - I know my knowledge is sketchy in places but I wasn't just imagining the 1099 thing -

"What is a 1099 employee? They are self-employed workers, also called independent contractors. Form 1099 reports the income that independent contractors receive throughout the year to the IRS for tax purposes. This form replaces the need for a W-2 and indicates that they are not an employee, no employer is responsible for paying FICA taxes or withholding income tax, and the independent contractor is responsible for paying Self-Employment Taxes."

What Is a 1099 Employee and Should You Hire Them? | Employers Resource

1099 Employee: Everything You Need to Know | UpCounsel

[AndrewK]

I now 100% that people are using corporations (i think inc) same as we use Ltd in uk.
And it is not any different to other roles. Same cost saving as in UK. However, not every employer is keen to take contractors, but you can find such roles.

Expertise appreciated - I know my knowledge is sketchy in places but I wasn't just imagining the 1099 thing -

"What is a 1099 employee? They are self-employed workers, also called independent contractors. Form 1099 reports the income that independent contractors receive throughout the year to the IRS for tax purposes. This form replaces the need for a W-2 and indicates that they are not an employee, no employer is responsible for paying FICA taxes or withholding income tax, and the independent contractor is responsible for paying Self-Employment Taxes."

What Is a 1099 Employee and Should You Hire Them? | Employers Resource

1099 Employee: Everything You Need to Know | UpCounsel