Reply to: First Contract Role - Tips and Guides

[PCTNN]

BTW Welcome to the ban club. You've earned your wings and are a proper poster now.

That's all I've ever wanted. It's a true Christmas miracle

[northernladuk]

Stuff

BTW Welcome to the ban club. You've earned your wings and are a proper poster now.

[northernladuk]

Welcome to the wonderful world of contracting!

Here’s a few thoughts, which don’t necessarily align with some of the advice above …

• Don’t let your ‘inside’ status get in the way of contractor thinking. You’ve chosen to be a contractor. You’re not an ‘employee’ in any meaningful sense (the ‘inside’ status allows you to be relaxed about being controlled on this engagement)
• Avoid all politics, office and otherwise
• Don’t be arrogant or aloof
• Build ‘social capital’. Find out who does what and identify helpful people who know how to get things done and blockers removed
• Don’t get sucked into the organisational culture or ‘go native’
• Identify the key client stakeholders, understand their needs, make sure that they know that you’re providing value add
• Know your scope and deliverables, agree and document anything beyond this. Think and act as a supplier, not a person.
• Become the ‘go to’ point of contact for your expertise; this could secure your next opportunity
• No surprises. If something is not going well, don’t cover it up
• Adhere to client’s policies (e.g. quality and change control)

And away from the working environment

• Learn about contracts, off-payroll rules, pensions, war chests, insurances ...
• Enhance your network; this is where future opportunities mostly come from

Very nice list.

[Protagoras]

Hello everyone,

I will start my first contractor role in the public sector in a few weeks. I want to know what it looks like working in the public sector in a contract role.

How is the relationship between the permanent staff and the contract staff like? What are the deliverables for contractors?

Any guide/leads are appreciated

Welcome to the wonderful world of contracting!

Here’s a few thoughts, which don’t necessarily align with some of the advice above …

• Don’t let your ‘inside’ status get in the way of contractor thinking. You’ve chosen to be a contractor. You’re not an ‘employee’ in any meaningful sense (the ‘inside’ status allows you to be relaxed about being controlled on this engagement)
• Avoid all politics, office and otherwise
• Don’t be arrogant or aloof
• Build ‘social capital’. Find out who does what and identify helpful people who know how to get things done and blockers removed
• Don’t get sucked into the organisational culture or ‘go native’
• Identify the key client stakeholders, understand their needs, make sure that they know that you’re providing value add
• Know your scope and deliverables, agree and document anything beyond this. Think and act as a supplier, not a person.
• Become the ‘go to’ point of contact for your expertise; this could secure your next opportunity
• No surprises. If something is not going well, don’t cover it up
• Adhere to client’s policies (e.g. quality and change control)

And away from the working environment

• Learn about contracts, off-payroll rules, pensions, war chests, insurances ...
• Enhance your network; this is where future opportunities mostly come from

[PCTNN]

"stash as much as you can away in the warchest"

Which is good advice but it's not as simple out of net IR35 income. Most talk of war chests are around parking pre-taxation income in a pension fund of some sort or leaving it in the company for later use when on the bench. I was thinking some advice around how to balance income against war chest when you are talking about post taxation income. I'm guessing the OP is not yet at a point where a pension fund is on their radar...

Yes, I see your point.

I was referring to post-taxation income given my previous point around having a net income higher than your permie counterpart. I don't know the OP's situation, but based on my experience contracts in the public sector allow you to do that despite being inside ir35 (for example in one of my most recent PS contracts I was making £600 a day inside ir35 when for the same position/seniority permies were making 42k a year).

[malvolio]

how what?

"stash as much as you can away in the warchest"

Which is good advice but it's not as simple out of net IR35 income. Most talk of war chests are around parking pre-taxation income in a pension fund of some sort or leaving it in the company for later use when on the bench. I was thinking some advice around how to balance income against war chest when you are talking about post taxation income. I'm guessing the OP is not yet at a point where a pension fund is on their radar...

[northernladuk]

how what?

I think he means the OP as perm will just take the cash and spend it like a perm. He doesn't understand the tax benefits from sticking it in a pension or where to save the extra for his warchest. Limited options with an inside gig but understanding how to manage the warchest is key. They also probably don't understand the fact this gig could easily evaporate before he's stepped foot on site and will have zero income until the next gig.

[PCTNN]

How, exactly...?

And yes, I know the answer, but do you and, more importantly, the OP?

how what?

[northernladuk]

this, plus probably a twice as high net income compared to the permie guy sitting beside you doing exactly the same work. So, stash as much as you can away in the warchest in case of that swifter exit scenario.

OP probably doesn't understand this but if they are still reading. Your notice period means nothing. You can be canned on the day without another penny being paid. Reasons why can be found by searching the forums.

In Google search for something like notice period site:forums.contractoruk.com

You can search every thread evern in the forums and we've covered everything you'll ever need to know at this point so use the google search method extensively while you learn.

[malvolio]

this, plus probably a twice as high net income compared to the permie guy sitting beside you doing exactly the same work. So, stash as much as you can away in the warchest in case of that swifter exit scenario.

How, exactly...?

And yes, I know the answer, but do you and, more importantly, the OP?

[PCTNN]

then ignore all the amazing advice about being a contractor.
You're staff/employee/wage slave, with a possibly swifter exit if you p*SS someone off.

this, plus probably a twice as high net income compared to the permie guy sitting beside you doing exactly the same work. So, stash as much as you can away in the warchest in case of that swifter exit scenario.

[northernladuk]

Yea, being my first time taking a contract role, I am open to the inside IR35 options for now to take the learning curve. That being said, if there are jobs that they insist it has to be inside IR35, does one have the option to opt for outside IR35?

And this is where Mals advice about contracting being your job becomes the most imporant advice to you. Anyone can do tech stuff, not everyone can run a contracting business so you need to step up.. and very very fast. You should have at least understood what IR35 is at a very basic level as you are inside IR35. It's pretty clear you don't even know what that means. Surely you would have done a bit of basic reading up so you know. If you had you'd know, and I'm not being rude, how ridiculous that question is.

When it said the role is inside IR35 did you not wonder what that was and went to do a bit of reading. Even the most basic guide would have explained the differences and how they are applied.

You've got to get out of the perm thinking where everything is done for you and it's what you used to. Forget everything you know about employment. You are now a contractor. Totally and utterly different. You don't have an employer, it's not a job, you aren't paid by the client, you don't work for them. All that guff. Some points are a bit pedantic but very imporant. For example. You don't work for your client, you do work for them. Note I said client and not employer. Absolutely key to understand this or you'll never be a contractor. You will be via an umbrella so you actually have no contractual relationship with the client. You don't understand that statement, go find out quickly.

There are links for First Timer guides and IR35 guides to the right but the latter are likely to be woefully out of date. You'll just have to smash google but with some seismic changes in the last year there is a hell of a lot of info out there.

Go read them and then read them again. Yes you are inside so not that important but if you ever want to go outside you need to be prepared as you can quite easily blow your own status by not understanding what you are.

Not trying to be harsh as I know you are new but you really need to catch up quick. There are many true contractors out there that understand what they are and what they are doing but there are also a hell of a lot more perma-tractors that just tick boxes, act like perms and carry on ignorant of basics they should know. Don't be one of them. It won't help in the long run.

[hobnob]

Yea, being my first time taking a contract role, I am open to the inside IR35 options for now to take the learning curve.

That's totally fine. I've done inside IR35 contracts, and it can be a good opportunity to learn new skills.

That being said, if there are jobs that they insist it has to be inside IR35, does one have the option to opt for outside IR35?

You can choose to only take contracts which are outside IR35. However, for a given contract, it will be someone's responsibility to determine whether it's inside or outside; in most cases, that will be the client. In the cases where it's up to you (e.g. for a small business), you can't just say that it's outside; you have to assess the role. I recommend doing more reading about this, particularly the "Dragonfly" case.

[hugebrain]

Hello everyone,

I want to know what it looks like working in the public sector in a contract role.

Don’t stare out of the window in the morning, or you’ll have nothing to do all afternoon.

Don’t let on if you are not a communist.

Generally, don’t work too hard or you will show everyone else up.

[wisel]

then ignore all the amazing advice about being a contractor.
You're staff/employee/wage slave, with a possibly swifter exit if you p*SS someone off.

Or use it to push you to learn as much as you can about being one so you can escape IR35 at some point....

Yea, being my first time taking a contract role, I am open to the inside IR35 options for now to take the learning curve. That being said, if there are jobs that they insist it has to be inside IR35, does one have the option to opt for outside IR35?