Applicant Services

Contract

Overview
Most IT professionals are employed in either a Permanent or Contract capacity. In day-to-day terms this distinction can often be quite small, with Contractors and Permanent staff working alongside each other on the same projects performing essentially the same tasks.

However, in terms of life-style, there are some major differences which mean that whether you are better suited to Contract or Permanent, is primarily a question of how you choose to balance work and the rest of your life.

It may well be that the decision as to whether you pursue Contract or Permanent as an option may vary depending on what stage you are at the time in your career or life in general. For example, it's not uncommon for individuals who have been happy contracting in the early part of their working life, to look for the greater predictability of Permanent employment later on.

So, the decision Contract or Permanent is one which will depend, not just on your own personal lifestyle but also your circumstances at any one particular time.

To help you decide, we've summarised what we believe are the prime differences and Pros and cons of both.


Contract
Contractors are temporary workers who are employed by clients for specific periods of time, normally between 3 and 9 months. Most contractors work through recruitment agencies such as Global which means that the agency and the Contractor have a legally binding Contract between them as does the Agency and the ultimate client company. There is no reason in principle that a Contractor could not contract directly for the ultimate client, although in the UK, only a minority of contractors choose to work in this way as there are many benefits to working via a reputable agency, not least of which is the guarantee of being paid.

As a contractor you work for yourself and have the responsibilities associated with running a small business. You are paid only when you are in work and do not have the normal benefits associated with Permanent jobs such as paid holidays, sick pay andpensions. Contractor rates are generally higher (sometimes substantially) than the equivalent permanent salary. You cannot guarantee to be continuously on contract and your marketability depends not just on your skill-set but also on your flexibility.

Questions you should ask yourself:
How marketable are your skills?
- There are big differences in this respect between individuals and this will have a major bearing on how likely you are to be able to move 'seamlessly' between different contracts. As a general rule of thumb, if your skills are not in significant demand in the Permanent market, it's unlikely that they will be in high demand in the contract market.

Can you 'sell' yourself competently?
- Gaining employment on a lucrative contract is as much your job as the agency.

Are you flexible?
- Two examples, if you aren't prepared to travel a reasonable distance to work and/or occasionally work away from home, you are limiting the number of options available to you.

Do you have the support of your family?
- You may be expected to be away from home for several days.

Do you have the ability to 'hit the ground running'?
- Contractors are generally expected to be able to make an immediate contribution to a project and generally need to be above average in terms of their technical abilities.


Advantages/Disadvantages
Overall the key advantages to Contracting are firstly a greater degree of independence and self-determination particularly regarding the work / lifestyle mix. For example, a Contractor may decide to take a sabbatical and should be able to pick-up-the-pieces relatively easily on their return to the market, whereas a similar gap in a permanent persons CV may be viewed negatively.

Secondly, people choose to contract because, as a rule, they are financially better off (sometimes substantially) by choosing to do so. However, this is not as cut and dried as it may sound and it's generally accepted that the advent of the new IR35 regulations have had the effect of narrowing the gap financially between contractors and permanent staff. This said, it is still the norm for a contractor to be paid more than a permanent equivalent.