Contract Work

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Styles

Styles

Soldato
Joined
16 Mar 2005
Posts
2,889
Location
UK
Hi,

So I had an email off a job site and I've noticed that a lot of the work is contract based. I'm a CCNP qualified network engineer so naturally these are Network Engineer based positions.

My question is, how do contract jobs work? I'm assuming you're technically self employed so expenses, tax returns etc are all completed by yourself? Are you paid the same as you would be in a 'normal' job. My question really is, what is different and what are things that are worth looking out for?

Cheers
 
It basically means your only employed for a fixed period of time. Like for example if you have a 6 month contract then you'll be employed for 6 months, at which point they can either let you go or renew your contract.

It ultimately means that if/when they terminate your contract they wont have to pay you any redundancy money.
 
Im not a contractor myself, however our department does employ a few. They get paid an hourly rate which is 2 or 3 times that of an employee. However, they do have to sort their own tax etc and most of them use an accountant for this. They do appear to be a lot better off than employee's at our place but they dont have the same job security as contracts are renewed every 3, 6 or 12 months depending on the situation. Hope this helps a little;)
 
Unless you're self-employed, I think most companies will sort your tax and national insurance for you. (?)

Well that's the case for me, I just pay the 20% and claim it back at the end of a tax year.
 
Depends how you're contracting.

If you're contracting through a service provider they will manage all the PAYE tax requirements and you won't have to do much.

If you're contracting in a self-employed capacity, then yes, you will issue invoices etc and have to register as self-employed and complete tax returns for your income.

In addition, as a contractor you'll be paid a daily/hourly rate, and yes, this will be more than a permanent employee. However, you will not get paid for holiday and you won't get any benefits that a permanent employee might get.
 
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