Contracting.. Does it give you more time off?

[413x]

My main aim is to have more time off work. Even at sacrifice of salary. And I don't know the best way to go about it.

Basically I'm sick of having just 26 days holiday + bank holidays.

I would stay at my job if I could buy holiday. I would absolutely buy it.


But with the state of the economy.. Does that lend to there being more or less contract jobs?


I would only get day rates 1.5x ish my current salary by the looks of it. Which isn't great. But I can't see any other way to get more time back. Unless I can find a unicorn job with loads of days off. Or buy and sell.


In these conditions, would it be crazy to make the jump?

FYI. I have no like or dislike of my job. It's just a job to me.

 

[413x]

Nothing wrong with the plan, but doing it now is madness, the job market is 100x worse than you imagine.

Its frustrating as this is the first time in my life I'm ready with a financial buffer and skills etc

And if I don't do it next year it's going to be a challenge with mortgage renewal as that's due in 2027.

This damn economy.

On flip side I don't think my job is particularly safe anyway. And I am looking for new perm positions with better perks

 

[413x]

Not from what I've observed. The contractors that I've worked with have been very anxious about being replaced, and are very wary of giving any impression that they can be replaced.

On paper they can take more time off, but they tend not to.

And in some cases, the company is paying contractors because they just want a problem solved and aren't that interested in the human aspect - so if a contractor keeps asking for time off it's reducing their value to the company.

Admittedly this is all what I've seen in banks, it may be different in other sectors.

I was assuming to take time off between contracts more than during.
But yeah I'm aware of the state of the UK economy.

 

[413x]

Nah they take less time off in general as they don’t get paid when they’re off. I love being on projects with contractors because you know they’ll be in all over Christmas etc as it’s too expensive for them to take the time off.

Most people would like to work less, but contracting isn’t the way to go about it. Obviously you’re free to have as much time off as you like between contracts but then you’re eating into the money you’ve saved whilst working.

If you want more time to yourself, the best way is to invest so you have a passive income to keep you going (lots of money invested in stocks etc that pay dividends, buying houses to rent out etc). I’m in the same boat and that’s what I plan to start doing this year.

But that's not really going to happen without something like inheritance.
I'm getting older and the time I want is valuable now.

With no kids I'm really trying to figure out if the default "work, mortgage, retire" life is even for me.

I guess I'm just trying to find a way to have more time per year to do things I enjoy. Kind of sick of the 9-5 tedium and looking forward to the limited time off I get.

 

[413x]

Welcome to the New Years “**** working all the time” blues

Maybe it's just better if I can find a place to work you can buy holiday

I could easily afford another month off at this salary and all it would impact is my saving.

That would give me 45 days holiday (if company allowed it) and I'd be satisfied.

 

[413x]

If you have a skillset that's in demand and that aligns well with distinct deliverables then its possible to pick and choose your contracts and have extended time out in between. You make sure you're making enough on your day rate/fixed fees to cover the periods you choose to not work, as well as a buffer for the times you are available but out of contract. You will need to be comfortable saying no to contracts that don't fit your plans to protect your time out.

If you see any risk to your market becoming oversaturated or obsolete, the likely outcome is you will just work solidly and feel obliged to take contracts whenever you can to ensure you have enough buffer in case it all goes south.

Can you ask your current employer about flexible working arrangements? They are obliged to consider it in a reasonable manner.

I do think there is risk in over saturation. Mid term I an actually concerned my job is AI vulnerable. I've thought about bailing on IT completely due to what seems like a real threat of automation and having constant stress to keep ahead of it.

I could ask. But to be honest I don't think theyd oblige. Company has been taken over and even carrying holiday over was made "in exceptional circumstances".

 

[413x]

Might be worth looking at public sector. In NHS for example, leave entitlement increases over time to 33 days per year. Many people do condensed hours, so 37.5 hours over 4 days. Would allow for regular long weekend trips esp if day off is flexible (Friday and Monday off). Moving to part time is also much more accepted. No experience of tech roles specifically within the NHS though.

Yeah I have thought about this. Condensed hours would help for sure. If could do 4 day weeks (I would) you'd also only need 4 days of holiday per week off.
Fridays off would be a godsend really. Would make UK camping trips much more feasible

 

[413x]

I'd say you would be crazy. The contracting market is pretty dead at the moment. Many are switching back to permanent if anything. 1.5x is definitely not good either, especially inside IR35. I used to aim for 3x even outside IR35 but that's not really do-able these days. Contract rates have stagnated
If you really want more time off then you will have to take other risks with going contracting. So, 100% you can have as much time off between contracts as you want but if the market is bad especially you'll spend much of that time off applying for other contracts. You may end up not working for much longer than expected and earning a lot less than your job if unable to line work up for when you want it, especially with the additional fees/NI taken into consideration too.

Also, some companies may want you to work the entire contract without time off, only taking a break before starting an extension if they were to offer one. THis is rare but but can happen if the work is urgent.

Have you tried negotiating with your employer? I know someone who takes 6 months off every 2 years to go travelling . Traded his annual pay rise for it although not sure if still does given inflation has been so high over recent years.

Yeah the day rate for my work isn't great. Especially when you consider no holiday pay, no sick leave, no pension match etc etc.
I guess I was wondering if it would pick up if companies need to lay people off due to economic decline. But I guess then those people are then competing for same contracts.

 

[413x]

Life is quite dull at the moment for various reasons, and I'm desperate to make some changes to improve things. It seems ridiculous to earn a decent wage, with low outgoings, but be trapped working more than you need to in terms of days per year.

 

[413x]

Just be wary of how they'd want to calculate holiday if you did this - if you had 20 days on a 5 day week contract, if you went condensed hours to a 4 day week, some will then want to amend your holiday to 16 days, if they're calculating by day/week rather than by hours - so you'd still only end up with 4 weeks worth of days off in that scenario.

(Made up figures to illustrate the point, before anyone wants to get pedantic about 5.6 week legal minimums )

(Edit - this could also be dependent on how your contract is set up, i.e. is it by days with fixed times or by hours per week etc.)

Really useful to know. Didn't even think of that.

 

[413x]

Historically contracting has always had its peaks and troughs but from what I'm hearing, this time feels different. Even some agents I trust have said the same. IR35 is partly to blame. Will it change someday? Probably,but I can't see it being anytime soon.
Over recent years there has been a movement to go into contracting to earn just a bit more than their permanent job was paying. Rather foolish I thought. This obviously hasn't helped rates either, with a supply of candidates happy to earn just a bit more than their permanent job was paying, not realising longer term their approach would likely be doomed to fail (will earn less due to gaps between contracts, be more stressed etc).

Recruitment consultants may try to sell it to you but some will happily put you on their books as another candidate they can throw at contract openings, and then when you leave your current employer, they'll be straight on the blower to offer to help them find your replacement, for a 20-25% commission of 1 year's salary of your replacement, naturally .

It is difficult.
I've been putting rates into calculators.
And it definitely doesn't stack up financially.
Ie if you want to earn more doing what I do, it's not really worth it when you consider the perks for FTE.

But it's a tad greyer for me where I am looking for more time off. And I don't care if it's erratic.

But I also see the day rates are, really, a little lower. And ir35 is a bit of a crippler.

If I take the average day rate I've seen for jobs around mine... I don't think I'd be much better off.


I was a tad disappointed by this I have to say as it really cuts my options to "getting more time off".

 

[413x]

What IT sector are you in @413x ?
I keep hearing the contract market is dead etc, but I know people in it on long term ones raking in high rates daily still. Depends what you do. One thing they tend not to do a lot though it take a load of time off. Typically the opposite.
I'm an employee and the benefit package overall is good, which is the main reason I stay. If I were to be made redundant I would consider contracting.

Business intelligence mainly.
I don't believe it's the best of sectors myself within IT.

Yeah for a good benefits package I'd def rather be perm. I have a friend who works in a place with unlimited holiday. But no job openings there unfortunately! I'm so envious.

 

[413x]

I don't think it would be a good move. Realistically you're not going to be able to take much time off work during a contract (unless you're amazing, they'll just bin you and find someone that puts more hours in), so you'd have to between contracts. Several potential problems with this:

- Doing back to back holidays may not be as enjoyable as spreading them out over there course of the year. I'd certainly rather do a holiday every 3 months, compared to 4 holidays in one hit, especially if they're 'active' trips like your kayaking.
- You're more restricted in terms of what time of year you can travel. E.g. You might struggle to avoid rainy/cold/hurricane seasons.
- Would you be able to switch off and enjoy the holiday, or will you spend your time away worrying about finding a contract soon enough when you get back?

I don't think the time off in chunks would be too bad.
I go on these high price adventure holidays as I only have that time.

If I had 3 months I could take a van and travel Europe for a bit or even the UK. That would be the plan. It wouldn't be intense week after week stuff.

So chunks of time off between contracts is not an issue.

 

[413x]

It’s one of those beautiful situations where you wish you weren’t working when you are, but when you aren’t working you’re panicking wishing you were*


*Unless retired etc



I would first figure out why you don’t want to be working. Is it you want more time? To do what with?


I’d get a good grasp of what it is you want first, then build a plan to get you to the place. One with defined timescales, achievable actions, specific and all the SMART stuff.

More time. And happy to sacrifice money for time. I don't really enjoy work. But I don't see a way of getting more time off work either.

I don't see another career that I can change to to "fix" the issues.

In an ideal world I'd simply do a job I had to work less days. However this does not seem to exist.

In distant hindsight I regret falling into IT. I've found that I much prefer "physical" based jobs. Practical ones. I struggle a lot now to absorb information. This is my fault for going with the flow too much from picking a course at uni. Through to my early 30s


But really.
-I want more time not tied to work.
-willing to sacrifice salary to get there.

 

[413x]

From what you’ve said elsewhere in the thread, what you’re trying to achieve isn’t going to be easily achievable unfortunately. Sounds like you just need a blummin’ good break, could you not ask for a sabbatical from work to do your van travels?

No, I don't think so. I've not had the easiest of times in this role and I'm more likely to be let go than given special treatment. To be honest. I don't think the company should have employed me with my skill set, I feel they did as they were desperate for it back when I was employed.

Overall. I feel my job is pushing me towards my weaknesses. And away from my strengths. Maybe as there's just not the work volume anymore of what I do.

 

[413x]

Can't you buy some holiday from work?

No. They wouldn't even allow carry over.
Its all changed since take over.

If I could buy 10 more days I'd be happy enough with compressed hours.

Even just Friday afternoon would basically give me another day a week off.