IT contractor information

Contracting is not for everyone and it is a good idea to take time to research and consider whether this is a good route for you. We very briefly detail below the benefits and disadvantages of contracting as we see them.

We are happy to discuss contracting in greater detail and certainly it is a good idea for you to seek advice from your peer group if you have friends or colleagues who are working as IT contractors.

Benefits
Remuneration is typically higher than an equivalent permanent post.

Disadvantages
Typically you will only receive remuneration for actual work carried out and as such you will not receive payment for periods of illness or holiday*

You may have to travel further afield to secure an appropriate assignment or even consider staying away during the week, if you do not live in London or close to large cities.

*The exception would be where you are working directly for a Recruitment Business on their PAYE scheme. In this instance you would receive holiday pay.

For consultants delivering services via a limited company or umbrella company we pay as cleared funds (via BACS) within 14 days of receipt of invoice and timesheet(s). Typically cleared funds will be present in target accounts on the Friday before the 14 day period.

We pay on a weekly frequency where the end client organisation accepts weekly invoicing from us. We pay on a monthly frequency where the end client organisation demands monthly invoices from us.

For individuals contracting with us on PAYE, we pay monthly at the end of each month (for that month's work).

Deerfoot IT was established as a dedicated IT Recruiter in 1997. Our head office is based just north of Southampton (junction 2 M27), we have a London City office situated behind the Lloyds building right in the heart of the financial district and a facility in Wilmslow to deliver services to the northern counties. Deerfoot IT has made sensible profits every year since formation and enjoyed 90% growth in 2008. The business is run prudently with a modest organic, sustainable growth policy.

If you have secured a contract assignment offer directly but would prefer to have an agency facilitating the assignment we can help. For a modest margin fee we can sort all contractual issues, ensure you are paid promptly and gently assist with any sensitive rate negotiations at the extension milestone. Furthermore if your end client is new to us (i.e. we have had no prior business relationship) and we go on to secure further placements you would benefit on any initial placements we make as per our referrals reward programme.

The contracts we offer reflect the true nature of the assignment, the task at hand and day to day working relationships between the parties involved. For true consultancy assignments where clearly the scope of the work falls outside IR35 guidelines, you will find our contracts supportive.

If you are a seasoned contractor you will probably have a good idea of what fee your work commands based on the historical fees you have achieved, awareness of fee levels from your peer group and perhaps your assessment of where the market is in terms of supply/demand at any particular time. IT recruitment agencies too will have a good idea of market rates at any given instance, given their on-going close involvement in the market.

Most agencies are going to want to know your fee expectations before they represent you for a particular assignment. A good start would be to turn this question around and ask the agency what the end client are willing to pay. Sometimes the end client will not have set a budget or they simply do not know themselves what a particular role / skiils mix demands. However many end clients will have communicated a budget figure to the agency.

Ascertain what margin fee the Agency will be applying. Knowing this will hopefully allow you to confidently convey an accurate fee expectation to them. The margin fee an agency applies should not be too high, but recognize that the agency needs to make a profit margin and that a good Agency adds value.

In a client-led market such as 2010, where competition for assignments is greater, it is perhaps prudent to show some flexibility on fee expectations.