General Election – will it benefit contractors?
The main news for contractors this week is the long awaited announcement, which came as a surprise to no one, that the next General Election will be held on Thursday 6th May 2010. ContractorCalculator will cover the 2010 Election from the contractor’s perspective and will be publishing interviews with key candidates from each of the major political parties. At present, no party is committed to entirely contractor-friendly policies, but we’ll be trawling the manifestos as soon as they’re published to keep you informed. More…
New 50p tax rate hits contractors and ‘will be bad for Public Finance’
Contractors earning over £150,000 per year will already know to their cost that the new 50p tax band came into force at the start of the new tax year this week. According to the Institute of Directors (IoD), the tax will ‘impact on entrepreneurial aspiration, business confidence and foreign direct investment, greatly reducing the attractiveness of doing business in the UK’, and is ‘likely to raise little or no tax in the short-term, and lead to lower overall tax revenues in the medium to long term.’ More…
SPA rebrands as FCSA with new code of conduct
Contractors now have an additional measure of service provider compliance, as the former Service Providers Association (SPA) has rebranded to become the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA). A key element of the rebrand has been the online publication of the FCSA’s code of conduct, which, according to FCSA Chairman Stuart Davis, shows that FCSA members Parasol, Giant and Brookson are serious about compliance. More…
Increased demand, and higher rates, for IT and engineering contractors
This week’s Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) KPMG Report on Jobs shows that agency billings for contractors rose at the fastest pace for thirty-four months and rates have edged upwards. ‘High end’ IT and engineering contractors have been in particular demand, says REC’s Kevin Green “A rise in both temporary and contract work at the sharpest rate for nearly three years shows how they continue to provide vital flexibility for UK businesses,” he comments. “.…high-end sectors, such as IT and engineering, continue to show strong growth.” More…
BCC cautious on UK economy and contractors’ prospects
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey for the first quarter of 2010 reports that ‘the UK upturn is still on course but the recovery is weak’. On the surface, contractor prospects are good, as the services sector shows the greatest confidence and growth. However, investment in plant and machinery continue in a negative trend that could threaten manufacturing and engineering productivity, and the long-term prospects of contractors in those sectors. More…
UK economy to outpace G7 peers, says OECD forecast
The economic picture for contractors is set to improve, as, in contrast to the BCC’s survey above, the latest forecast from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows the UK pulling ahead of other major industrialised economies, with growth set to reach 3.1% in the second quarter of 2010. However, the OECD notes that, ‘Despite some encouraging signs on activity, the fragility of the recovery, a frail labour market and possible headwinds coming from financial markets underscore the need for caution’. More…
Construction contractors see first growth in two years
Fortunes for contractors working in the UK construction sector may be improving, as the CIPS/Markit UK Construction PMI shows UK construction expanding for the first time in two years. House building and commercial work rose fastest, but the bad news for engineers is the fall in civil engineering activity. There is still a way to go before contractors see full recovery, as CIPS CEO David Noble highlights: “…weakened confidence about future business performance suggests that the construction industry still has some concerns about the stability of the recovery.” More…
Published: Friday, April 09, 2010
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