Help needed, new contractor

[zaf]

Can anyone please tell me from your experience, which umberrella company to join in UK? I used to do contracting about 4 years ago, not sure what has changed and which umberrella company is good to join.

Who provided good service with right pay.

Thanks in advance.

[Lucifer Box]

Get your own limited, unless you only expect to be contracting for a very short time. That way it's all up to you.

[zaf]

Get your own limited, unless you only expect to be contracting for a very short time. That way it's all up to you.

Thanks.

My contract is only for about 3 months to start with, not sure what will happen after that.

[malvolio]

Perhaps you ought to find out. Three months of anything is not worth the bother!

Not trying to be harsh or negative or critical, but if you haven't got at least an idea of where to be in three months, IT contracting is probably not the place to be in these rather harsher times; it's no longer a day-to-day sort of life.

But if you insist on doing it via an umbrella, people seem to speak fairly highly of Parasol.

[Lucifer Box]

Zaf, you should take notice of Malvolio. He speaks much sense and is rarely wrong. If your plan only extends 3 months into the future, be very, very careful. You need to consider what you want from contracting and, more so, how you are going to achieve it. If it is just 3 months and then back to permiedom, think carefully if it is worth it. A 3 month gig on a permie CV will need some explaining to your next employer.

[boredsenseless]

Zaf, you should take notice of Malvolio. He speaks much sense and is rarely wrong. If your plan only extends 3 months into the future, be very, very careful. You need to consider what you want from contracting and, more so, how you are going to achieve it. If it is just 3 months and then back to permiedom, think carefully if it is worth it. A 3 month gig on a permie CV will need some explaining to your next employer.

Good advice above, you should also consider that id you intend on going back to permie after contracting you need to work out how long it will be before you can pick up your next perm role, they always take longer than you'd think.

You may be better sitting tight where you are and spend your time looking for the next perm role at your current employers expense if your aim is to just dip your toe in and then jump back.

Whatever you decide good luck. If you go for contracting and you plan on getting another contract after this one (new or renewal) work towards the ltd company plan in time you'll wish you had if you don't.

You don't need to know where the next 3 months is coming from at the moment but you need to know if you want to still be contracting in 3 months. The fact you don't know where its coming from isn't an issue until 2 months in, but if you worry that you might not be able to get another contract then maybe your confidence in your ability isn't ready for contracting yet, and interviewers will pick up on it.

[jonhoops]

Giant are quite good.

Can anyone please tell me from your experience, which umberrella company to join in UK? I used to do contracting about 4 years ago, not sure what has changed and which umberrella company is good to join.

Who provided good service with right pay.

Thanks in advance.

[PerlOfWisdom]

Giant are quite good.

Some people I worked with were with Giant, and they were claiming £15 a day unreceipted for meals as they were away from home over 12 hours per day.
Giant have a dispensation, but I told them that that means nothing if they are invertigated (Giant would be safe though).

[Lucifer Box]

Some people I worked with were with Giant, and they were claiming £15 a day unreceipted for meals as they were away from home over 12 hours per day.
Giant have a dispensation, but I told them that that means nothing if they are invertigated (Giant would be safe though).

Indeed, the dispensation Giant has means that they don't need to show the receipts to HMCR. It in no way means you can claim expenses that you have not incurred nor in any way obviates your need to be able to show the receipts to HMCR when you are checked over. If you cannot produce receipts for your expenses, they will be disallowed, simple as that (oh, and you may be fined if HMCR considers it was a deliberate attempt to defraud the taxpayer).

[planetit]

Giant are quite good.

No they're not. Unless your definition of “quite good” includes cocking up most things they do, and never responding to your letters and phone calls.