The meaning of the term contractor has changed

[SimonMac]

And going back to the OP, he has some point, there are people who are calling themselves contractors but are just bods (for example 2/3rd line support/button pressing test monkeys etc.) who are just temps keeping a seat warm as ClinetCo can't/won't here a permie.

However there are people on here who are as the OP say's conultants, who bring something in that Client need, and are paid handsomley for their knowledge.

[DimPrawn]

Lets all sing the CUK song.

[DimPrawn]

The market sorta responded by making most contracts 1 month subject to extension.

But you're right, I can't work from home at my current gig due to tulipty past contractors taking advantage of it. So I must drive 1hr there and 1hr back to sit on my own in a noisy open plan office of 200+ people and work without talking to anyone drinking crap instant coffee.

This happened at one of the clients I was working at. I think the tipping point was one guy working from home, but home was a villa in Spain. That would have been okay, but he liked to tell everyone in the office how he gets to lie in a sun lounger by his pool whilst being paid £450 pd by the company.

[tractor]

....

This happened at one of the clients I was working at. I think the tipping point was one guy working from home, but home was a villa in Spain. That would have been okay, but he liked to tell everyone in the office how he gets to lie in a sun lounger by his pool whilst being paid £450 pd by the company.

^ Exactly this. There always have been and always will be too many who do this. Perhaps this should be the IR35 differentiator that HMRC have so miserably failed to find in all these years of scrabbling around trying.

The problem was exacerbated significantly in 2000 when the world did not explode as expected, and 100,000 half literate tulipters could claim that spending two years looking for 2 digit years in millions of lines of mainframe code was the equivalent of development/project experience.

[PurpleGorilla]

1hr there and 1hr back to sit on my own in a noisy open plan office of 200+ people and work without talking to anyone drinking crap instant coffee.

Sounds like the office I'm working out of at the moment lol!

[Dallas]

Most of the big banks are moving towards the ~80% desk occupancy model to reduce building costs.

Hot desking and 'home' working is increasing. As long as the work is done and the trust is there who cares, my mate has a nice sea view from his flat in the med. but his wifi is top notch, he doesnt brag about it and he is committed so who cares.

[DimPrawn]

Most of the big banks are moving towards the ~80% desk occupancy model to reduce building costs.

Hot desking and 'home' working is increasing. As long as the work is done and the trust is there who cares, my mate has a nice sea view from his flat in the med. but his wifi is top notch, he doesnt brag about it and he is committed so who cares.

That's how it should work, but there's always some tw@t boasting about rates and pretending to work from home with a big gob that ruins it. Usually some dick that's just left permiedom.

[MicrosoftBob]

This happened at one of the clients I was working at. I think the tipping point was one guy working from home, but home was a villa in Spain. That would have been okay, but he liked to tell everyone in the office how he gets to lie in a sun lounger by his pool whilst being paid £450 pd by the company.

Did they have a liking for port scratchings by any chance ?

[OwlHoot]

OK, so back on topic.

The commonly accepted (loaded) meaning of the term Contractor, has changed in the last 10 years.

It used to imply a high level operator at the very top of their game, earning a lot of cash.

These days it is merely a temp. The skill level and day rate are often very average. The employer has the upper hand these days, with regard to contracting.

The earnings may have declined over the last 20 years or so. But has the temp v consultant mix changed much? Not in my experience.

[minestrone]

That's how it should work, but there's always some tw@t boasting about rates and pretending to work from home with a big gob that ruins it. Usually some dick that's just left permiedom.

Aye, it got changed at a place I used to work at when someone missed a support call, his reason was that "he fell asleep watching the TV". I mean why would you say that?