Are Contractor roles becoming the norm?

It wasn’t so long ago that being a contractor employee was unusual and certainly not the norm. Today however things are very different with the demand for specialist skills growing and the remuneration of those niche skilled contractors rising accordingly. Skilled employees are increasingly becoming aware of the improved lifestyle choices, flexibility of work and greater rewards that working as a contractor bring, and many are making the decision to move into this sector. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation are reporting that over the next 4 to 12 months half of employers are planning to increase their contractor workforce. The Venn Group are reporting a 25% increase in contractor numbers in first quarter of 2014 with the Public Sector contractor rate increasing by 44%.
The placing of contractors is becoming an increasing part of the work of a recruitment agency. The agencies have to be aware of the legislation surrounding this activity in order to protect themselves from any tax or NIC liabilities. Recent legislation has been passed as an amendment to the Finance Bill regarding what is called False Self-Employment. Agencies must understand and ensure compliance with this legislation. There are also responsibilities as regards the use of offshore intermediaries that have to be understood and complied with.
So it looks like the use of contractors is on the increase and becoming the norm. With the huge increase in IT & BI vacancies anticipated in the UK over the next 2 years, and the increasing shortfall in skilled people it seems that it’s a good time to be a contractor.