CONTRACT/INTERIM STAFF
			As a direct result of slow economic conditions both in the UK and overseas, some companies are placing a freeze on hiring or even downsizing their permanent staff in an effort to reduce overhead costs. This subsequently leads to recruiting workers on fixed-term contracts, which gives the companies the flexibility to hire according to their needs and to meet peak demands by supplementing their staff with interim or contract workers as the workload dictates. The Inland Revenue has complicated the issue with the introduction of IR35, so companies choose to use specialized agencies to find these interim managers. Contract and interim workers make up one of the fastest-growing segments of the job market. Employers appoint staffing agencies to fill these positions on their behalf when they experience a short-term or unexpected increase in workload. The employment contracts may be for a specific term (for example, three months), or ongoing on a weekly basis until the specific project or task has been completed. Contract workers are paid a higher remuneration than permanent employees, but they do not get annual bonuses or may not have pension rights or holiday benefits [depending on the term of the contract]. Most contract staff find their optimisation level is around 65% [i.e. 35% of their time is “between” assignments]. Weekly or monthly rates from CPL therefore reflect this aspect and the normal calculation is “Rate for job/65 X 100”. Initially, this may seem high, but you must bear in mind that a direct employee is subject to 12.8% Employers National Insurance contributions, holiday [normally a minimum of 4 weeks] paid sick leave and possibly other benefits such as pension contributions and health insurance. Take an employee on £30,000 salary, 5 weeks holiday and 5% company pension contribution – your true costs are: £30,000 / 0.9 [5 weeks holiday as a %age of the year] + £3840 ERNICS + £1500 pension contribution = £38,673. The same interim manager would equate to an annual cost of £46,154. As you only intend hiring when a specific task needs completing short-term the figures are very favourable and are normally costed as part of the project rather than as an ongoing overhead. Recruiters say that the uncertainty in the economy is the main reason for the rise in contract employment, as companies are unsure about long-term, permanent staffing needs. CPL has many candidates who are “between jobs” and are prepared to consider contract work as interim fill-in. Often, they find they enjoy the different assignments and locations so much that they decide to follow this route rather than find a full-time role. All the people that we offer to clients are self-employed and therefore responsible for their own tax and national insurance contributions. Based on our Terms & Conditions for Contract Staff we negotiate an acceptable rate with you and then place the contractor under a CPL contract. We handle all the administration and submit time sheets to you on a weekly basis. Terms & Conditions for Contract/Interim staff          Submit an Assignment NEXT>>