Need to enter contracting world...

[tomtomagain]

That is something I am aware of...

So if you want to become a contractor why don't you simply become a contractor?

Look for contracts on Jobserve, land one, resign, work out your notice period and then start the contract at your first client.

OR

Resign, look for contracts on Jobserver, land one and then start the contract at your first client.

Don't think about it too much. Either you are prepared to take the risk to take the extra reward or you aren't.

[psychocandy]

What TOMTOM said...

Generally, employers are not going to say OK you can finish friday as a permie and start monday as a contractor just because you want to.

[psychocandy]

Slightly OT but the OP mentioned having to pay back training costs.

Is this legally enforceable? Surely its a companies decision to send you on training or not and a risk if you leave? Surely they cant hold you to ransom for years over training costs....

What if you were thinking of looking for another job but then current employer wants to send you on training course? What do you do?

[captainham]

Slightly OT but the OP mentioned having to pay back training costs.

Is this legally enforceable? Surely its a companies decision to send you on training or not and a risk if you leave? Surely they cant hold you to ransom for years over training costs....

What if you were thinking of looking for another job but then current employer wants to send you on training course? What do you do?

A lot of places may ask you to sign something before paying for training, such as "If you leave within 12 months of the training, you need to repay the costs". Depends on what OP has agreed, but he would have needed to have signed something to be affected by this though.

[tparnell]

How much do you earn now?

[northernladuk]

A lot of places may ask you to sign something before paying for training, such as "If you leave within 12 months of the training, you need to repay the costs". Depends on what OP has agreed, but he would have needed to have signed something to be affected by this though.

Indeed and the smaller companies are more likely to do this. I had to sign one when I was permie and started and Open University MA. Left within the 12 month cooling down period to go contracting and had to pay £3500 back to the company. In the greater scheme of things it didn't really matter, MA more than paid for itself and I made that money back in contracting the rest of the 12 months.

[psychocandy]

Never agreed with this crap.

If employer wants me to go on training then pay for it. If I leave before it suits them - hard luck its a risk you take.

What do you do if you're looking for another job and employer tries this? In effect, you'd have to own up that you're looking for another job.

[northernladuk]

Never agreed with this crap.

If employer wants me to go on training then pay for it. If I leave before it suits them - hard luck its a risk you take.

What do you do if you're looking for another job and employer tries this? In effect, you'd have to own up that you're looking for another job.

You don't seem very good at understanding employers do you......

[jmo21]

Never agreed with this crap.

If employer wants me to go on training then pay for it. If I leave before it suits them - hard luck its a risk you take.

What do you do if you're looking for another job and employer tries this? In effect, you'd have to own up that you're looking for another job.

It's an interesting point, and that would be a painful conversation.

I can see why a company wouldn't want to train you up only to watch you leave weeks later though.

[captainham]

Never agreed with this crap.

If employer wants me to go on training then pay for it. If I leave before it suits them - hard luck its a risk you take.

What do you do if you're looking for another job and employer tries this? In effect, you'd have to own up that you're looking for another job.

So if you owned your own small-but-expanding company, with staff on the payroll, you'd be happy to train up, say, an accountant so you can bring the books in-house, only to see them chuff off at the end of training and leave you out of pocket? I doubt it.

I'd still be peeved if I was a boss at a mega-co and this happened, but the small-co analogy is more apt I feel.