Contracting is becoming increasingly popular for candidates and employers alike, affording many benefits to both parties. It allows flexibility while working, you can be your own boss, take longer holidays and generally get higher pay. The potential downsides include lower job security and a responsibility upon the contractor to personally keep up to date on all new laws and regulations. If you have ever considered becoming a contractor, here are some of the reasons why it is becoming more popular. Contracting can offer a lot of variety, a valuable insight into companies and industries, financial rewards, career progression and flexibility for candidates. It also offers many benefits to employers in terms of access to skills, lower costs, and demand-related flexibility.
Contracting
Reasons To Contract
Why Contract? – For Candidates
- BETTER PAY – contracting hourly and daily rates are often significantly more compared the average hourly or daily rate for permanent roles.
- BE YOUR OWN BOSS – as a contractor you are often not tied-in to the same structures and requirements as permanent staff, and the relationship between the contractor and employee is more akin to a client – service provider relationship as opposed to boss – employee scenario.
- JOB VARIETY – contractors generally get more opportunity to work across a greater diversity of roles, projects and companies.
- NETWORK BUILDING – the number of different people and working situations contractors get exposed to help increase their overall contact ratio and can be greatly beneficial in network building.
- LONGER HOLIDAYS – not being tied to regulated staff holidays means that contractors have a lot more flexibility to work as and when they like, and accordingly take more and longer holidays should they wish to.
Why Contract? – For Employers
- ACCESS TO SPECIALIST SKILLS – with the diversity of different technical skills in the market today, it is often better for an employer to hire a specialist contractor for a single or group of projects.
- COVERING MATERNITY LEAVE – with greater leave accommodation given to new parents these days, contracting is an effective way to cover maternity leave.
- EXTRA COVER FOR FLUCTUATING DEMAND – contractors can be hired on an as-needed basis to cover busy periods when incumbent staff resources are insufficient to cover requirements.
- REDUCE COSTS – for an employer, committing to a full-time hire can be a costly exercise, and despite a contractor’s hourly or daily rate often being higher on a pro-rated basis, the overall financial outlay is generally significantly less.
- INTERNAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER – being specialists, contractors can often pass on their unique knowledge of a certain technology or working methodology to the permanent team, enhancing and broadening their skills.