State of the Market

[vwdan]

Not for long.

Is the small company exemption going?

[SueEllen]

Is the small company exemption going?

The government will remove this at some point as some larger companies will use it as a loophole.

[jamesbrown]

Is the small company exemption going?

Almost certainly. Probably not for 2-3 years, though. The only subset left with IR35 BAU will be contracts with overseas clients and no UK intermediary in the chain (other than the PSC), assuming they don't revert back to Off Payroll Mk I and try to get the overseas clients to do it ().

[bownyboy]

I just got renewed until the end of the year. I’m working via a small ‘boutique consultancy’. They held a meeting with all their consultants and asked us all to take a £25 a day cut to our day rate.

They were pretty open about the challenge of negotiating with their clients to continue working with them. They said they also took cut on their rates along with some of their PAYE staff.

I was pretty sanguine about it. I’m fortunate that I’m still on a pretty good day rate. Plus I enjoy the role and people I’m working with.

After December who knows. I may take a long extended break until the dust settles.


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[KentDogWalker]

just got my first call since upload,

i didn't budge on my rate, told them I'd rather not work and work for less than im used too

[sira]

just got my first call since upload,

i didn't budge on my rate, told them I'd rather not work and work for less than im used too

Bad move imo. This isn't a normal recession, and people are going to be on the bench way longer than a normal recession.

There are so many candidates, that companies are opting for the cheaper candidates. And the longer you're out of work, the harder it will be to get back in.

If there are two identical candidates, the client is going to opt for the one that has stayed in work for longer.

If you don't need or want any money, then fair play though. It's understandable.

[perplexed]

Bad move imo. This isn't a normal recession, and people are going to be on the bench way longer than a normal recession.

There are so many candidates, that companies are opting for the cheaper candidates. And the longer you're out of work, the harder it will be to get back in.

If there are two identical candidates, the client is going to opt for the one that has stayed in work for longer.

If you don't need or want any money, then fair play though. It's understandable.

The flip side is that accepting large drops in rate resets the market rate. When covid clears, clients aren't then going to then turn round and say "sorry the rate was lower, going forward we'll whack it back up". The view will be "well, you were happy to work at that rate then...".

Consultancies especially are more concerned about driving their own profits.

[vwdan]

Thought I'd got a pretty decent lead - solid solid rate, job description could have been written for my CV and only a couple of competitors. But, had the interview yesterday and it was the strangest experience.

Won't comment further yet, but not feeling hopeful.

If I don't get it, it'll also be the first time in 10+ years that I didn't get a job offer out of an interview (or, in one case, an offer of a second interview which I declined)

[PCTNN]

The flip side is that accepting large drops in rate resets the market rate. When covid clears, clients aren't then going to then turn round and say "sorry the rate was lower, going forward we'll whack it back up". The view will be "well, you were happy to work at that rate then...".

Consultancies especially are more concerned about driving their own profits.

Unfortunately, I think it's inevitable. We're all selfish, don't care about us contractors as a group, and the majority of us are willing to take lower rates even if they know they are driving the market rates down. And we do this in normal times, let alone nowadays...

[simes]

The flip side is that accepting large drops in rate resets the market rate. When covid clears, clients aren't then going to then turn round and say "sorry the rate was lower, going forward we'll whack it back up". The view will be "well, you were happy to work at that rate then...".

Consultancies especially are more concerned about driving their own profits.

While I fully understand the sentiment, unfortunately this statement is dependent on the Nation's contractors all feeling, and being able to relaxedly feel, the same way.

And since that ain't going to happen, one must accept a shift in market rates. I mean really, this idea is all baked right into the thread's title.