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If you’ve worked in tech or finance, you know the drill. There’s always a ‘go-to’ person who gets the big projects, leads the meetings, and, often enough, earns the promotions. But if you look around, how often is that person a woman? And when women are being promoted or being…
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As Recruiters for the Investment Management and Wealth Management sectors, partnering with internal recruitment teams is crucial for success. Let's dive into how internal recruiters and agency specialists can work together to achieve outstanding results. Internal recruiters possess invaluable insights into their company's culture, values, and immediate goals. They know…
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In the fast-paced world of technology job adverts, deciphering the essence of a role can feel like untangling a web of jargon and buzzwords! For IT freelancers in particular, who are typically on the hunt for their next assignment as often as every three months, mastering the skill of dissecting…
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We grabbed our popcorn and pulled up a comfy seat, but today's budget announcement felt more like a party-political broadcast than a fiscal statement! And as we predicted in January (unless we missed it) a big fat ZERO on IR35. VAT Victory: From 85k to 90k First up, the VAT…
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Forget curveballs, it’s these standard IT contractor interview questions you’ll likely slip on We all know that tricky IT contractor interview questions exist only to trip us up but more often than not, it’s standard questions at your ‘B2B meeting’ as a contractor you’ll slip on. So in no particular order, writes Natalie…
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Congratulations on receiving that job offer in Asset or Wealth Management! But what if the offer falls short of expectations? Fear not! At Bowers Partnership, we understand the nuances of this delicate dance. In this guide, we'll explore the art of handling offers that are lower than the job was…
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It was an amazing experience to visit Barrett Town Primary School and SOS Children's Village in Montego Bay, Jamaica, through Pack for a Purpose, an organisation that aims to positively impact communities around the world by assisting travellers who want to make meaningful contributions to the destinations they visit. All…
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A boutique hiring firm placing contractors solely in FS says it’s hard not to notice on London’s Square Mile the virtual replacing the physical, which it confirmed is buoying rates. 'City firms scrambling for high-quality IT project folk’ “We’ve seen an ongoing scramble for high-quality IT project folk, ever since…
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Are you looking for your next big career move in Investment Management and Wealth Management? Don't worry, we've got your back. Here are five tips to help you land your dream job (without losing your mind!): Show off your skills: Make sure your CV highlights your unique skills and experience.…
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Which IT contractors will be very in-demand in 2023? Cloud Data Engineers, Visualisation Developers, Data Analysts, and all things Azure. For these four, I’m already seeing rate inflation, says financial services tech recruiter Natalie Bowers, who predicts the quartet to be ‘hot’ for contractors in 2023. And while not all…
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Demand for IT contractors came a hair’s breadth away from falling flat in November 2022 -- at just 50.3, its lowest index score for two years. The REC, which keeps the index, had to reissue the sort of alerts it sent a month ago, saying ‘business/candidate caution is increasing’ but…
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Agents are supportive too but, like the advisories, mainly because the UK needs “stability” (which Mr Sunak vowed yesterday), following the turmoil of the Liz Truss-led government. “Despite describing Rishi’s last Budget as drier than a bone, I for one am relieved that the awful Truss-mess has been concluded as…
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Even in its significant chaos of late, the government surely must have woken up by now to the legacy of the IR35 off-payroll reforms -- because the 2021 framework has simply not gone to plan, writes James Poyser, chief executive of inniAccounts and founder of off-payroll.org. In political focus groups…
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Even our office pooch Lady has got dog biscuits that aren’t as dry as Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement 2022. But perhaps us recruitment bosses and everyone else should have expected that this statement from the chancellor, rather than future statements nearer to when the country goes to the polls, was always going…
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Internal recruiters and direct-hirers on LinkedIn jobs should be your last resort if you’re serious about landing a freelance role! Don’t forget, direct-hiring clients and their internal recruiters don’t source work for freelancers for a living, like we do. Often, your CV as a freelance candidate probably won’t ever get looked at,…
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1. Sort IR35 status early and probe if it’s not right Establish IR35 status for new contracts on a VERY EARLY DOORS basis. So do this before any sort of rate negotiation takes place with the agent. Once you’ve agreed the rate, it’s almost set in stone with the end-client.…
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A last-gasp in hiring before 2021 ends boosted IT contractors in November, arresting a three-month decline in growth. In fact, demand for freelance tech skills notched up to 79.0 last month, up from 77.9 in October, 77.5 in September, and 78.6 in August. In the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s Report…
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The pandemic will preoccupy the chancellor at Autumn Budget 2021, making even the best thing he could do for UK contractors – regulate umbrella companies – an outside bet. Sounding this consensus last night, experts said the second best outcome of Rishi Sunak’s package on Wednesday would be an acknowledgement…
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As even first-timer contractors tend to know (and first-timers can be more receptive than veterans actually in this regard), a little ‘constructive criticism’ of how they operate as a temporary job-seeker can go a long way to upping their game, writes Natalie Bowers, founder of niche contractor agency Bowers Partnership. And given us agents are…
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If you hadn’t noticed, there’s quite a lot of frustration in the agency contractor space at present, and unfortunately, whether you’re a contractor or an agent, the feeling seems increasingly mutual! Let me break the mould by empathising with candidates and saying, from the point of view of a contractor, I can…
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Six million jobs in the UK have been made “anywhere jobs” by covid-19 and home-working coming together, with no subsector more vulnerable to its roles going abroad than niche IT. In fact, ‘Computer Programming, Consultancy & Related’ has the biggest industry share of such jobs — 561,400, all of which can now…
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The housing market has fared unexpectedly well since the first coronavirus lockdown ended. But today, contractors and other individuals looking to buy property face three factors that threaten an extended run of confident home-purchasing, writes John Yerou, chief executive of Freelancer Financials. These threats are -- the stamp duty holiday…
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It didn’t pan out quite as it was forecast by my fellow agents, mainly due to the unforeseen introduction of ‘Tier 4’ covid restrictions, but the bounce back in temporary billings which staffing firms expected in early December more than came to pass for us and our contractors, writes Natalie…
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A second national lockdown being imposed in England this Thursday due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is receiving a very mixed response from the contractor sector. Supporters say that the four-week shutdown announced by Boris Johnson on Saturday and due to run from November 5th to December 2nd, could be…
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As a contractor recruiter, I’ve worked through every market crisis going since 2000, but this ongoing one caused by the pandemic of covid-19 in the UK has been very different, writes Natalie Bowers, co-founder of niche financial staffing agency Bowers Partnership. Contracts? They went through the floor The rub is…
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The government has been told to end “significant financial hardship” for 710,000 limited companies, inflicted by it barring their dividends from its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Although calls for the CJRS to cover the main way in which limited company directors pay themselves have been heard before, this time they…
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The largest ever crash in UK demand for IT contractors hit in the four weeks of April 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic and measures to contain it brought the country to a standstill. Showing the most severe contraction in its 22-year history, Report on Jobs scores demand last month for…
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We are still very much in business during the Covid-19 outbreak, and while we are working from home we are still operational on a full-time basis (although a number of our staff have been furloughed). We continue to recruit, as well as living up to our commitment to pay on…
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Employer National Insurance. The Apprenticeship Levy. And even the Status Determination Statement. Just three on a long list of IR35 reform-related costs passed on in recent weeks from engagers to limited company contractors, forcing a hefty chunk of such PSCs to eye permanent jobs. There’s extra tax from inside IR35…
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The government has sensationally delayed private sector IR35 reform by a life-changing 12 months, after pressure by peers – and the coronavirus – made not deferring the off-payroll rules unjustifiable. Steve Barclay, the chief secretary to the Treasury said: “I can also announce this evening, madam deputy speaker, that the…
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With the government fightback against Coronavirus significantly stepping up yesterday, ContractorUK has invited us to outline what we’re doing as a contractor recruitment agency; what we’re doing to help keep contractors safe and what end-users are doing too, writes Natalie Bowers, managing director of Bowers Partnership. The new government measures…
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The taxman says there has been no negative reaction to letters he sent to engagers warning about the off-payroll rules making them liable for IR35 from April 6th. In an unusual disclosure, HMRC used the latest IR35 Forum meeting (for which minutes are available) to say an initial batch of…
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AS PART OF A REVIEW INTO CHANGES TO THE OPERATION OF THE OFF-PAYROLL WORKING RULES (IR35), HMRC HAS MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO GIVE BUSINESS MORE TIME TO PREPARE. Changes to the operation of the off-payroll working rules will only apply to payments made for services provided on or after 6…
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With 2020 and the arrival of controversial private sector IR35 reform in April nearly upon us, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months which have got us to where we are now, writes Seb Maley, CEO of Qdos Contractor. When focusing on IR35 in…
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Following the glitziest contracting awards ceremony last night that contractor industry veterans say they have ever attended, ContractorUK is delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural Contracting Awards 2019. But first, and before revealing the ‘best of the best’ contractor service providers in 17 categories, thanks go to an…
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Every individual MP is being asked to oppose next year’s changes to IR35, in a mass letter-writing campaign backed by ContractorUK and ten other supporters of contractors. Italicised below, the letter urges MPs to take three actions, including asking their party’s leader to pledge in their manifesto, “should there be…
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Most PSC contractors know by now that from April 6th next year, they will lose the right to set their own IR35 status -- that is unless they work with a ‘small’ company in the private sector, writes Seb Maley, chief executive of Qdos. Much like in the public sector…
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A sense of panic among contractors’ private sector engagers, compounded by fears HMRC isn’t doing enough and so can’t be relied upon, has set in -- 230 days until IR35 reform bites. “As the enforcement deadline creeps closer, cracks in the business community's preparedness for the change are starting to…
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Draft IR35 legislation for off-payroll working in the private sector has today been published in Finance Bill 2019/20, containing a vow to forge ahead with the reforms from next April. The promise will disappoint 10 contractor organisations who, on behalf of limited company contractors, called for the reforms to be…
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Two more financial firms have foisted a finite number of renewals on hundreds of limited company contractors, as part of their bid to “sidestep” IR35 reform, ContractorUK can reveal. Mirroring HSBC’s policy last month, M&G Investments and Morgan Stanley have each internally said that their operations will no longer engage…
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The taxman must go back to the drawing board with his ‘small’ engager exemption - the key question he fails to ask in his consultation on the corresponding off-payroll rules, experts say. He should also look at developing an online tool - to be used alongside CEST -- to help…
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HSBC will cease engaging limited company contractors from this September, saving itself the job of having to assess them under a new IR35 from April 2020, ContractorUK has learnt. The bank has told all PSC contractors at key units like HSBC Digital that after one further contract extension, they must…
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The lowest level of demand for technology expertise on a temporary basis in 31 months hit IT contractors in March 2019, mainly thanks to the Brexit crisis. Blaming the almost three-year low on the UK’s unknown fate with the EU, staffing body the REC scored IT contractor demand at 54.2,…
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Morgan Stanley has cut pay for IT contractors at both its global and UK operations. The New York-headquartered bank told affected IT contractors to lower their rates by 10 per cent or leave. It represents the first ‘take it or leave’ rate cut of 2019, following a spate of similar…
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There’s been some raised eyebrows of late when I’ve told contractors the truth - that it’s agencies who will carry the heavier obligations of the off-payroll rules for the private sector, and not clients, writes Natalie Bowers, co-founder of niche recruiters Bowers Partnership. It’s not because I’m privy to the…
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Callum Wade, one of our Recruitment Consultants, recently caught up with us to give his inputs and ideas about the London Market and also an insight into what the future may look like for Insurtech. What is the most interesting thing about the London Insurance Market? "The most interesting thing…
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Even us recruitment captains have noticed that contractors have spent much of the year firing broadsides at regulation, whether it’s the 2019 Loan Charge or IR35 reform, writes Natalie Bowers, co-founder of niche staffing consultancy Bowers Partnership. Before I dare to suggest that regulation is not always ‘a bad thing’…
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Source: Contractor UK 'Warnings that the UK’s status as an IT talent beacon will diminish due to Brexit were shrugged off yesterday as premature. In an update via its economist, indeed.com said Britain’s tech sector was “barely dented” by its looming EU exit, as 10% of the site’s IT job-hunters…
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Bryony Sexton, from Bowers Partnership, asked herself the question – “am I out of my mind”? She said “Skydiving has always been on my bucket list but I didn’t think I would ever have the guts to do it. I wanted to fundraise for Mind – the Mental Health Charity.…
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Although the word ‘scarcity’ and ‘shortage’ can have negative connotations in many walks of life, for a canny IT contractor these are the adjectives for market conditions sent from heaven, writes Natalie Bowers, co-founder of Bowers Partnership, a niche recruitment consultancy for the investment management sector. In the IT contractor…
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Oscar Lorimer, studying for a Level 2 Diploma in Business Administration, is the worthy winner of our latest Apprentice of the Month award. Oscar currently works for Bowers Partnership, a specialist recruitment agency in Crowborough who work predominantly with clients in the Insurance and Asset Management sectors. Oscar said: “I’d…
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We’re still only in single figures with how many days I’ve been back in the office since the extended festive holiday. But I’ve already lost count of how many times I’ve had to steer IT contractors away from making amateur mistakes in their New Year ‘job jump,’ writes Natalie Bowers,…
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Accountancy firm KPMG has imposed a period of enforced leave - a furlough -on its IT contractors. Commencing on December 16th and running until January 3rd 2017, the furlough will prevent temporary IT workers from charging for 12 or so days they would have ordinarily worked. Although the firm suggested…
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We are pleased to report that we have not seen any knee jerk reaction from our client base post Referendum. We have however been closely monitoring the news with regards to Asset Managers, Wealth Managers and the Challenger Banks, for clues as to which way these companies might behave over…
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No less than seven financial services organisations in about as many months. It all started within the first quarter with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, and in August they turned up at a leading insurer and at Britain’s biggest bank. So it's clear that IT contractors will be hoping that…
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Two of London’s most respected banks used the first quarter of 2016 to cut the pay of their IT contractors, with termination offered to those who refused, Contractor UK has learnt. Credit Suisse internally announced in February that IT contractors must charge 10% less to keep their contract with the…
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Contractor’s Questions: Although I haven’t seen sweeping pay cuts for a while, I’ve heard whispers of an impending rate reduction at my client’s London office where cost-saving has already begun. Is there anything I can do? Expert’s Answer: Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that we haven’t really seen these kind…
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