Contractor doctor keeps solving problems

Contractor Doctor Wins: Banner Month for Our Advice!

• Helped to get pay rise for a renewal
• Advice got pay bumped up to what was promised
• Got PAYE deductions straightened out as contractor was being hit up twice

Write to Contractor Doctor When You Have A Problem

When you have a problem in your contracting, send your question to our Contractor Doctor column. It's free, and we've been doing really well with solving problems like getting contractors paid more and helping them deal with pushy agents or clients. All we ask is that you let us write an article about your problem so that other contractors can profit from your experience.

Help With Renewal

Kay, an IT contractor, had signed a contract with a below-market rate when she started on a client site. She was doing a great job there though, so when the client asked her to renew, she asked the agency to raise the rate. But the agency wasn't going for it, since it wanted to keep its margin as high as possible.

What could Kay do? She was ready to terminate a contract she really liked because of the agent. She sought help from Contractor Doctor, and we advised her to speak to the client and to get the client to intervene with the agency. The client really liked her work and didn't want to lose her because of a squabble with the agency. The client helped her to get the pay rise she sought. Win number one for Contractor Doctor! [Read more]

Getting Pay Bumped Up

IT contractor Geraldine also had problems getting the rate she deserved from the agency. This time the agency wanted to cut her rate of pay in a renewal because the client had agreed to a small reduction in her work time. As Contractor Doctor explained, the agency had no right to change her rate on this basis because the agency was billing for the same amount as it had before the renewal.

This time Contractor Doctor suggested a more aggressive strategy: if the agency wouldn't budge on the rate cut, Geraldine should quit the agency and to go to work directly for the client. She would have the right to do this because the proposed rate change made it impossible for the agency to enforce restrictive covenants in her contract.

Geraldine put her proposal to the agency as we advised, and she got her rate increase. Contractor Doctor win number two! [Read more]

Taking Payroll Deductions Twice

Colin, another IT contractor, was getting stitched up by an agency in yet another way. The agency was taking PAYE, and National Insurance contributions out of his fee--this is entirely normal for agencies or umbrellas can't be expected to pay these for you.

But in Colin's case, the deductions were being made twice--once in the overall margin by the agency, and then again in an itemised fee! Contractor Doctor explained to Colin how to put an end to this--the process of taking these deductions should be entirely transparent-- and he succeeded in getting the double deductions back to the single level they are supposed to stay at. Win number three!! [Read more about contractors margins and taxes]

We Can't Always Win, But We Can Set You Straight

Contractor Doctor has done a great deal more over the years, doing everything from finding the right authority in Belgium to get a contractor paid to showing how to keep agencies from sending out your CV without asking.

We can't always win, but we will set you on the right track to getting what you deserve.

Good luck with your contracting!

Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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