Contracting’s core engineering and IT sectors buck the trend of labour market decline
Contractor demand in the core contracting sectors of engineering and IT continues to increase, despite a slowdown in permanent hiring, according to two key UK labour market surveys. October’s Monster Employment Index shows online demand for IT contractors bouncing back after a fall in the previous month, and online demand for engineers has also increased. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs shows clients are still hiring contractors, with engineers and IT contractors occupying the second and fourth places respectively in the demand table league. More…
Contractors will lose work because of AWR, recruiters tell ARC
Contractors will lose work because of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), according to a new survey by the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC). Nearly 52% of ARC’s recruitment business members “believe that some or all of their clients are intending to decrease the size of their temporary workforce over the next year”. ARC chairman Adrian Marlowe believes an early review of the legislation by government is essential: “We need a system that supports agency workers and businesses alike, and these regulations are clearly not benefitting either. This is why we are calling for the Government to commit to an early review of the AWR.” More…
Financial IT contractor prospects worsened in October: Morgan McKinley
Prospects for financial IT contractors appear to have worsened, with the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor revealing flat jobs growth across the financial sector in October. Unconfirmed reports also reveal that major financial IT clients are again cutting contractor rates across the board. As finance is one of the largest consumers of IT contractor services, fewer jobs in the sector means fewer available contracts. The Eurozone crisis and forthcoming holiday season are likely to increase volatility in financial sector recruitment. More…
Contractors in the South East of England are the target of a new HMRC compliance campaign
Contractors trading in the South East of England are the target of a new compliance campaign by HMRC. The taxman “has identified that there is an increasing problem with some taxpayers not submitting their statutory returns across Corporation Tax, Income Tax, Self Assessment, PAYE and VAT”. A dedicated taskforce has been created, but HMRC has given no indication of its targeting criteria. More…
Oil and gas contractors have lost contracts as a direct result of the Chancellor’s ‘windfall tax’
Oil and gas contractors have lost contracts as a direct result of the Chancellor’s ‘windfall tax’ on energy companies in the 2011 Budget. The 15th Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce Oil & Gas Survey is the latest report on the UK’s oil & gas sector to highlight falling investment and confidence in the North Sea following the government’s tax-grab. “Our survey has shown that 50% of oil and gas operators felt it had negatively affected investment plans,” says Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Robert Collier. “It is ironic that reduced activity will reduce the amount of tax paid to the Treasury,” he adds. More…
Contractor accountant raises the bar for online bookkeeping and accountancy
Contractor accountant Brookson has launched its new online accountancy solution, Brookson Connect. Its functionality includes an expenses module that allows contractors to capture and upload receipts via their smartphones. “This is an impressive piece of software, clearly built from the ground up, with the screen designs driven by the needs of contractors, rather than accountants,” says ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. “I particularly liked the iPhone scanning of receipts, which then appear online straight away.” More…
Contractor prospects improve as firms cut business investment: CBI forecasts
Perhaps counter-intuitively, contractors may benefit from falling business confidence and slowing investment, because firms are choosing flexible workers as a low risk interim solution to their business needs. According to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest economic forecast, economic growth will be flat in the fourth quarter of 2011 and only 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012, resulting in low levels of corporate investment and a reluctance to hire permanent employees. The CBI is calling on the Chancellor to bring forward infrastructure projects that will create new contracts and opportunities for contractors. More…
UK manufacturing is still growing and offering new contracts, despite the Eurozone crisis
Contractors should continue to target clients in the manufacturing sector as production output increased again in September, the strongest rate for five months and the eighth consecutive month of growth. The latest EEF Blog highlights that the sector is performing well, despite the economic turbulence, and 2% growth is forecast for 2012. However, the EEF warns that the outlook looks challenging. This works in favour of contractors, as many firms choose flexible workers rather than permanent employees as a short term resourcing solution. More…