JP MOrgan to announce 15% rate cut

[Troll]

Of course contractor 'churn' is a good thing for us so we should walk - even if that means putting your personal finances at risk (playing adocate here as that was the very reason I said yes in 2003) - there were some who said 'no' in 2003 and were consequently spoken to 'off the record' and advised there would be no rate cut for them on condition of complete confidentiality - i.e. didn't blag to the other contractors.

Depends how crucial you are to the project being worked on or how much you enjoy calling their bluff I suppose

[TheBigYinJames]

No, be on a new contract at your old rate. If you can't find one, it's time to retrain/go permie or retire.
HTH

Or accept the reality of life... rates can go down as well as up.

[EternalOptimist]

Or accept the reality of life... rates can go down as well as up.

funny enough, my rate is the same now as it was ten years ago. If you apply inflation I have probably had a big cut in value, but then my expenses have fallen, so overall standard/quality of life has improved quite a bit.

[TheBigYinJames]

funny enough, my rate is the same now as it was ten years ago. If you apply inflation I have probably had a big cut in value, but then my expenses have fallen, so overall standard/quality of life has improved quite a bit.

My rates fluctuate, sometimes I'm up sometimes I'm down. That's life. Expecting to earn more and more with each passing year might be OK for certain very niche people (and permies seem to desire this too) but most of us out here ride the waves of the market, and that means sometimes you'll be earning less than you were before, sometimes more. Nothign wrong with it, and I resent the seafoodnugget's implication that you're all washed up just because you have to work for 10% less than last year.

[swamp]

Fair play to any contractor that walks. Just make sure you know what you're walking into, it's looking cold out there. Some contractors walked out indignation during the 2002/03 rate cuts having no real idea what the market was like. Some no doubt were OK, but others spent a rather long time on the bench.

Actually I think rate cuts are healthy for the contract market. They are simply the flip side of rate rises in a boom, and it demonstrates liquidity in the market (so to speak). Indeed smart companies may actually bring forward projects that they can now make a business case for, with plenty of cheap (and good) contractors available.

[moorfield]

Actually I think rate cuts are healthy for the contract market.

I agree. And it does tend to flush a lot of the rubbish away too.

I was at JPMorgan during 2001/2002 when they cut 10%. The place had got pretty fat by then with some unbelievably incompetent contractors around. Teams and teams of "testers" and "analysts" doing nothing more useful really than writing meaningless spreadsheets. Shudder.

[ChimpMaster]

It would probably making an interesting anti-IR35 pointer too if you took a rate-cut for performing the same contractual duties.

[AtW]

15% cut is better than 100%, there will sure be more cuts though as banks are bust - chances are the only bonus their execs will be getting for some years are for good cost controls.

[swamp]

That said, rate cuts should only be implemented at renewal time. It's a bit disingenuous to resort to serving notice on a contractor who refuses a rate cut as it goes against the spirit of the contract, and clients should not be surprised if contractors phone in sick for three weeks in order to escape their notice period.

[d000hg]

15% cut whatever rate you're on it's going to be sh**te once that's gone through.

That is hefty.

That's a pessimistic view. A 15% cut on a rate £500 leaves you on £425 which is hardly a bad rate, especially if you got £500 a year ago when things were relatively peachy.