News : Contractor market expected to grow
Despite the general economic gloom with sovereign debt crisis, government cuts, tax rises, banking problems, inflation etc, the consultancy market is holding up quite well.
The demand for consultants has generally held up quite well over since the overspending years came to an abrupt stop in 2008, initially with the banking crisis and then the crisis of public and private debt.
Optimists consider that the next decade will continue to be good times for the contracting market in general as client companies make greater efforts to become more efficient with their operations and this will impact on all businesses, large and small, all over the world.
There is a general reluctance by companies to recruit and engage new staff, after laying off staff during the recession years whilst retaining as many key staff as possible, as they start to look for growth they are naturally nervous about adding to their payroll.
Permanent staff adds far more than a base salary to the cost base of a company. In addition to the basic salary, there is employers’ national insurance, pension costs, sick pay, holiday pay, maternity and paternity pay etc. Permanent staff also add risk for employers as they will have to comply with greater health and safety legislation, together with legal risks such as redundancy and tribunals, it is hardly surprising that the use of contractors is expected to increase over the coming decade.
Working as a permanent employee is always portrayed as the safer bet and certainly there are many people for whom contracting is not a suitable career path.
Most contractors tend to rely on support and help from the many sources of help that is available. Contractor accountants such as Nixon Williams provide full assistance and guidance to their clients and indeed much information is freely available on their website.
As an example, Nixon Williams publish guides such as a Limited Company Guide which is written in clear and easy to understand language that will help new contractors through the procedures of starting their own contracting business.
