Tax evading contractors face five years of ongoing HMRC scrutiny
Contractors who have deliberately evaded tax will find themselves subject to scrutiny from HMRC’s new Managing Deliberate Defaulters (MDD) programme. HMRC says the programme “will closely monitor the tax affairs of individuals and businesses who have deliberately evaded tax to ensure that they are complying with their tax obligations and have demonstrated a permanent change in their behaviour.” HMRC’s Steve Hickman warns contractors that: “If you are thinking about breaking the rules just remember, you could end up with HMRC on your back for five years.”
Contracting gender gap leaves female contractors out of pocket
Female contractors earn an average hourly rate of £32.91, while their male counterparts earn £34.41. In the course of a working year, this equates to £2,643 – a significant contracting pay gender gap. These figures come from umbrella company Parasol’s new Insight Index. The firm surveyed 9,000 umbrella company contractors, finding that finance contractors were the highest paid, averaging £53.74 per hour. Unsurprisingly, contractors working in the South East topped the regional hourly rate league. More…
Online IT contractor demand leads annual growth of job index
Online demand for IT contractors has increased by 34% year on year, the highest growth across all sectors in January’s Monster Employment Index (MEI). Overall, the index fell slightly from December, but online job demand has increased by 15% since January 2010. A January low is to be expected as companies return after the holiday season. More…
Scottish demand for contractors at the highest level since October 2007
Demand for contractors and temp workers shot up in December to reach the highest level since October 2007, according to January’s Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs. This was despite the impact of the bad weather. Demand for IT and computing workers continued to rise, but engineering and construction contractors experienced a slight fall, possibly due to the impact of the snow in December on infrastructure, civil engineering and construction projects.
Thousands of oil and gas contract assignments to be created
Oil and gas contractors are set to benefit from the creation of 10,000-15,000 new positions over the next five years, many of which will be contract roles. The figures come from a report by Oil & Gas UK. It shows investment in the UK’s oil and gas sector has risen by 60% over the last two years and is expected to continue. The oil and gas sector plays a huge role in the UK’s economy, and Oil & Gas UK chief executive Malcolm Webb says that last year the sector supported around 440,000 jobs.
Demand outstripping supply for IT contractors with specialist skills, with rates increasing as a result
Demand for IT contractors in specialist areas has increased day rates by as much as 50%, according to ReThink Recruitment. This could benefit contractors with existing skills or who are able to retrain rapidly to follow demand trends. According to director Michael Bennett, demand is far outstripping supply: “We have recently been placing candidates on Solvency II projects – a new regulatory requirement for insurers – on £900 a day, a pay rise of up to 50% in some cases.” Bennett continues: “We are anticipating demand for candidates with these, as well as other niche skills, including experience in multi-channel and e-commerce IT projects, to continue to accelerate throughout 2011.” More…
Contractors invited to comment on future of online recruitment standards
Contractors have until 31 May 2011 to offer their comments and feedback on the draft new British Standard on online recruitment. BS 877 Online Recruitment – Code of Practice is designed to codify “good practice for delivery of online recruitment and identifies the roles and responsibilities of those involved.” However, the draft standard excludes the use of social media and online networking in recruitment. More…