should i leave a permanent job to take up a contract instead?

[bossykate]

eek - decision time. if it were a perm post i would jump at it. but am a little nervous at the thought of contracting. very grateful for any advice.

thanks in advance

[DominiConnor]

I've been a contractor as well as permie, and there's a few questions to work through.


1: How liquid is the market for your skills ?
By that I mean are you very specialist ?

2: How good are you at interviews ? A contractor will change positions far more often, so more important than for a permie.

3: How long can you do without any money at all ?
There will be periods between contracts.

[ScummyMummy]

I missed this too and have no wise words as I know nothing about contracting. But I think you've made the right decision and WOW on being headhunted! That is brilliant- you are a star. I think at the very least we can acknowledge that this company has superb taste and discernment and if there's lots more money and flexibility thrown in for good measure then it sounds like a no brainer. The new company loves you more, will pay you more and agrees to treat you better. Hurrah!

[earlgrey]

FWIW, I left my job before dds, went back to the same company (in a different job) on a contract. I managed to get a mortgage on the basis of that, which really amazed me. I think (now, remember I've been out of the workplace for nearly 10 years) that that's what a lot of companies are doing now.

[WideWebWitch]

And check out usual rates in case 70% more isn't enough and then ask for 90% more or whatever it turns out to be. You're in such a wonderful negotiating position! (but I know you know that, hope I'm not patronising you, don't mean to)

[WideWebWitch]

Bk, I missed this earlier in the week but fwiw I think you're right to go for it for the following reasons:

• You don't like your current job much
• There's no particular stablility in your current role
• cash
• it may go perm
• they are making flexible working noises

and the things I like/d about contracting as opposed to perm

• you're not usually as involved in the political toss: you're there to do a job well and get out
• therefore much more opp for a)speaking your mind and b) walking if they piss you off. They always know this and ime do their best not to piss you off!
• you can take the summer off should you so choose and if you can afford to (due to 70% increase etc) and you can negotiate start dates on this basis

Congratulations on being head hunted, how wonderful is that?

I think you should haggle HARD NOW though - ask for exactly the hours you want since a) you don't NEED to take it and they need you more than you need them and b) because they can only say n and c) It's always nice to take a 'fk off' job, i.e. one where you ask for such stupidly good pay and terms that if they agree you have to take it.

Just realised the above may be teaching grandmother to suck eggs, so do ignore as appropriate but congratulations no the offer, fantastic.

and you are employable so I would say a contract (esp in your milieu etc) is no less stable than a perm role so that bit wouldn't worry me. As a bit of a committment phobe I always liked the 'I could walk away at the drop of a hat-ness' of contracting but I know it's new to you.

Any chance that doing this for a few years could lead to dream job, i.e. not woh?

Anyway, in your position I'd go for it and I know you've already decided to but wanted to post to say I agree with you.

[bossykate]

thank you my love!

[bossykate]

i have i'm going to go for it.

ppp - thanks very much for that link.

thanks to all for your help and advice

[PetronellaPinkPants]

here theya re

[PetronellaPinkPants]

If you can get your contract outside IR35 then you would be better off setting up your own company if you don't need to take all the money out every month. Essentially you pay yourself a small salary say £10k, then you can take up to your higher rate tax band out in dividends which are deemed to be tax paid. So effectively you can take £3k a month out very tax efficiently. Any dividends above that amount get taxed at 25%. You also have corporation tax of course. Plus if you join the flat rate tax scheme you can get a benefit of 4% on your invoices. Anything you leave in can be taken out after two years and 75% of it will be tax free due to taper relief, plus you use your CGT allowance for the year so you get most of it tax free.

May I recommend SJD Accountancy who do solely this and are fantastic, for £85 a month they do it all for you

[bossykate]

hi everyone thanks for these new messages.

tribpot - excellent points. we have enough savings to cover a gap. i think there is little credit risk. i would use an umbrella company to begin with. i work in investment banking in IT. the market varies but is good atm - i have a good cv and am pretty employable.

batters - they have agreed to a 10am start and are making positive noises about flexible working. project management lends itself to flexible working anyway - if you do it right!

[tribpot]

A friend of mine is in a similar position right now, although her wish for contracting is more to do with being absolutely mortgaged to the hilt and the sole owner for her family (her dh is chronically ill like mine). Things to think about are:

• how will you survive financially til the first invoice gets paid?
• how will you survive financially if the first invoice doesn't get paid? (Disputes over invoices / payments can be depressingly common)
• are you aware of the tax implications of contracting in the UK? (Assuming you are in the UK) If this is your first contract I'd suggest an umbrella company might be useful as they can take up a lot of the burden in terms of tax, NI, invoicing, etc. - but at a cost. Mine were pretty good (based in Switzerland so not really relevant for here) but took a percentage of my earnings for the privilege.
• what will you do next? Is your job market fairly buoyant so that if you needed to go permie again at the end of this contract you could do?

Personally I would say go for it, esp as you've been headhunted. That's a positive sign and, particularly if there's another steady income in the household, it can be quite a lot of reward for not too much risk.

[Idreamofdaleks]

If it would be good for your CV and you fancy it then take a deep breath and go for it!

Work out what the difference would be on your take home pay, factor in unpaid sick/holidays/employers pension contributions/ other benefits and see how long a gap between jobs this would pay for

[bossykate]

.

[bossykate]

the job would be good for the CV. in terms of gaps - i just don't know - this would be my first contract, hence my nervousness. i feel confident that i would find other things - but whether there would be gaps i just don't know (would expect to save a lot to cover gaps).

[Idreamofdaleks]

would doing this job make you more employable than you are already? Are you likely to have gaps between contracts?

[bossykate]

thank you for these further comments

batters, i have been headhunted!

it has all come from a clear blue sky.

in purely cash terms the increase amounts to 70% more than permie. do you think it should be double? a friend of mine said you should be aiming for double what you would get as a perm...

[Idreamofdaleks]

Are you being offered twice as much?

[PetronellaPinkPants]

You can get all those things yourself as a contractor

try www.contractorfinancials.co.uk

They do products specifically for contractors

[bossykate]

life assurance...

[bossykate]

i would be able to get another job i'm pretty sure. i don't think my job security is that good in the job i have now...

the issues are things like:

• pension
• sick pay
• holiday pay
• health insurance
• training etc.