| Well done for getting this out there. I contracted in the UK for over 30 years and will share my experiences as they’re different to yours in a few places. I’m also well versed in IR35. 1. Job security - you’re absolutely right. In my time I had 3 contracts that lasted longer than 6 years and I left 2 of them 2. Rates - you can earn north of £1000 a day with the right skills but there’s a big difference between inside and outside. Inside needs to be much higher to compensate for the additional tax. 3. Most contractors do 6 week to 6 month contracts - see above. And if you pitch your CV to me with a string of 6 month contracts I’ll assume you weren’t extended and look for reasons 4. All the stuff about choosing your hours, holidays, not being on call is not true. As a contractor your job is to fit in with the team and help them to deliver. If you’re swanning in at 10 when perms have to be in at 9 or going off in a long weekend when there’s a deadline looming you’ll be toast pretty quickly. 5. Mortgages - you usually just need 3 years accounts but some offer less but higher rates 6. Tax arrangements - don’t get sucked into schemes that offer you low single digit tax - HMRC will make your life hell. Stay above board and hire an accountant. 7. Insurance - I never had - complete waste of money. I know in some cases you may be forced to. |
yeah if you work for a bank and have some rare skill, plus knowledge of finance + expereince in the field.
The rest of us get 4-500£ / day, like the OP mentions