Anyone Worried?

[simes]

I’m worried, it keeps me asleep at night and I’m hoping for some positive words.

Does it?

[The Tartan Cottage]

There will be no shortages of contracts, but everything will be inside IR35 and you will compete with converted perms and cheap workers flown in by big consultancies.

And I’m guessing that if I have to do the Mon-Fri stopover the rates aren’t going to be sufficient to compensate for the loss of expenses. Haven’t had to do that anyway for the last 6 years - all my roles have been commutable or WFH.

And yes, two of my previous clients no longer hire independent contractors - they’ve got Accenture/TCS in.

It really does seem like a perfect storm all this.

[ladymuck]

There still seems to be a decent number of roles popping up on the DOS framework, most of those are outside IR35. Depends on what you're looking for, of course.

[elsergiovolador]

There will be no shortages of contracts, but everything will be inside IR35 and you will compete with converted perms and cheap workers flown in by big consultancies.

[The Tartan Cottage]

My big concern is every contract I am on paper otherwise qualified for seems to require SC clearance, which suggests either public sector a private sector supplying the public sector. Last I checked they weren't even processing SCs so it is basically a closed shop.

Deeply concerning times.

My SC expired December last year (Because last role where it was active finished Dec 2018).

Since they’re unable to process new applications, I was just wondering if they’d amended the rules around this as they did with MOTs and granted an extra year’s idle time before it expired.

Wishful thinking, I guess....

Edit: From my own research, the answer appears to be no.

[northernladuk]

Drink alcohol, let’s you sleep better

Or a vigorous spanking of the monkey.

[GhostofTarbera]

About finding another contract?

I see there’s a bit of bravado on here and I don’t want to look like a wee fearty but my resources are finite. I can last a year and that’s it and judging on the market activity of the past 3 months I’m not going to find anything in that time.

I’m worried, it keeps me asleep at night and I’m hoping for some positive words.

Drink alcohol, let’s you sleep better


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[SussexSeagull]

My big concern is every contract I am on paper otherwise qualified for seems to require SC clearance, which suggests either public sector a private sector supplying the public sector. Last I checked they weren't even processing SCs so it is basically a closed shop.

Deeply concerning times.

[BlueSharp]

About finding another contract?

I see there’s a bit of bravado on here and I don’t want to look like a wee fearty but my resources are finite. I can last a year and that’s it and judging on the market activity of the past 3 months I’m not going to find anything in that time.

I’m worried, it keeps me asleep at night and I’m hoping for some positive words.

Times are tough, but so are you.

[vwdan]

My take is that people are still very much in "lockdown" mode - employers, and therefore businesses seem to be very low on motivation and are operating in "keep the lights on" mode. None of my permie mates who aren't furloughed seem to be doing a fat lot, and the ones who were have only just started going back in. Everybody, including companies, seem to be just existing right now and not much else.

My guess is that over the next month or two we'll see a fairly rapid return to near normal in those terms - not to say it's going to be pretty, but I don't think right here and right now is indicative of what's to come.

And while contractors are often the first out, we're also often the first in when it comes to spinning up new projects or picking up old ones.

If you had another 4 weeks warchest I'd worry, but I reckon most will have found something in the next 3 months.