Fixed Term Contracts - what lunatics work on these ?

[JohnM]

Seen loads more FTC gigs appearing on job boards. Come on guys, who is doing these ?

You get all the bad things about contracting ie no job securty, short term gig etc and all the bad things about permie ie low PAYE salaries

Why would anyone work on a FTC ? I think they have got a cheek advertising these roles and they should be avoided like the plague, who is accepting these roles because you need to stop

We all think IR35 is bad, imagine a world where nearly all the gigs are FTC

[eek]

Seen loads more FTC gigs appearing on job boards. Come on guys, who is doing these ?

You get all the bad things about contracting ie no job securty, short term gig etc and all the bad things about permie ie low PAYE salaries

Why would anyone work on a FTC ? I think they have got a cheek advertising these roles and they should be avoided like the plague, who is accepting these roles because you need to stop

We all think IR35 is bad, imagine a world where nearly all the gigs are FTC

Some time needs must.

But one consequence of treating contractors as if they were employees is that you may need to pay people the same rate as employees and the consequence of that may be that the client gets someone good, it may be that the client gets someone who is no good at all.

[PCTNN]

OP, how much do you think you know about FTCs?

Judging by your post, you know less than you think.

[ladymuck]

People take on FTCs because they have bills to pay.

I don't think the level of security is quite what you imagine, it's similar to permie - it's essentially a perm role that isn't perpetual, the clue being "fixed term". The benefits you get are the same as a permie, except where it would be impractical to supply the same to someone that's only doing the job for a short period.

[Fraidycat]

They could be useful short term to pick up some experience in a skill you don't have.

And you can screw them back: if they need someone on a 12 month FTC, do it for six months or less, get the experience you need and then quit (with correct notice of course ) and find a real contract for triple the pay.

[JohnM]

OP, how much do you think you know about FTCs?

Judging by your post, you know less than you think.

Its a fair point, I don't know a lot I just see them as perm salaries for fixed length contracts

Why would you not just do a perm job instead ?

[JohnM]

People take on FTCs because they have bills to pay.

I don't think the level of security is quite what you imagine, it's similar to permie - it's essentially a perm role that isn't perpetual, the clue being "fixed term". The benefits you get are the same as a permie, except where it would be impractical to supply the same to someone that's only doing the job for a short period.

Look at .net for example there are about 200 perm jobs vs 1 FTC job on somewhere like total hobs so why would anyone take on a FTC gig ?

This is what I dont understand, why don't you go perm instead ?

[NotAllThere]

Why would you not just do a perm job instead ?

Because there isn't one available.

[JohnM]

They could be useful short term to pick up some experience in a skill you don't have.

And you can screw them back, if they need someone on a 12 month FTC, do it for six months or less, get the experience you need and then quit (with correct notice of course ) and find a real contract

you could do exactly the same with any perm job so why do a FTC ?

Its madness IMO and its encouraging employers to have the cheek to try and recruit more people in this way

I look at these as the developer equivalent of zero hour contracts, very dangerous to our industry, much more dangerous that IR35 where you can still earn a decent day rate

Asking developers to do 6/12 month FTC on £40,000 a year is a p*ss take, especally experienced guys who have previously contracted. Go perm for god sake, don't allow these FTC's to gain traction within the industry

[JohnM]

Because there isn't one available.

there are about 200 perm jobs for every 1 FTC normally, this is an argument I don't understand