Barclays IT Contractor Rate Cut
Discussion
Metroarea said:
Seems as if they have gone the way of most of the other Banks - 10% IT contractor rate cuts announced.
Either you are in a time warp or this is the second cut in 2 monthshttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/09/barcap_cut...
NoelWatson said:
Either you are in a time warp or this is the second cut in 2 months
Quite. I heard about it first hand about 2 months ago, as you say. Edit: Which was a shame, because at the time I was trying to hustle for some work there, and the PM told me that not only were they not taking on any new contractors, they were in the process of cutting all their existing contractors rates by 10%.
Edited by JonRB on Thursday 24th July 16:18
Welcome to the real world!
I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
NoelWatson said:
Metroarea said:
Seems as if they have gone the way of most of the other Banks - 10% IT contractor rate cuts announced.
Either you are in a time warp or this is the second cut in 2 monthshttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/09/barcap_cut...
The link you posted relates to Barclays Capital. This is Barlcays Retail. We had a call 2 hours ago.
crossle said:
Welcome to the real world!
I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
Ah, and with a relationship like that, no doubt you'll all be out the door again come "hard times"?I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
tigger1 said:
crossle said:
Welcome to the real world!
I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
Ah, and with a relationship like that, no doubt you'll all be out the door again come "hard times"?I'm and Oil and Gas contractor and when the oil price was down to $10/barrell back in 1999, our rates were being cut on a monthly basis, or we were offered the door...
Most people were on half money or zero for a long time.
Now they can't find enough of us to fill the demand. Revenge time, and how!
But each time we have a downturn, people leave the industry and not all of them come back when things pick up. The oil companies only want people with experience, and rely on contractors rather than paying and training sufficient graduates & school leavers. So we're making hay while the sun shines, knowing full well that nothing lasts forever.
UpTheIron said:
Which bit of Barclays? It's news to me...been offered (and declined) an extension at my usual rate, no word of cuts around here!
I'll take my foot out my mouth now. Just had my pimp on the phone to confirm that I wasn't going to renew, and that the fact I would be looking at a 10% cut from 1st Sept would probably only reinforce my decision!Metroarea said:
NoelWatson said:
Metroarea said:
Seems as if they have gone the way of most of the other Banks - 10% IT contractor rate cuts announced.
Either you are in a time warp or this is the second cut in 2 monthshttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/09/barcap_cut...
The link you posted relates to Barclays Capital. This is Barlcays Retail. We had a call 2 hours ago.
We had HBOS do it 2 weeks ago too.
I heard that there's a certain RPO - naming no names - who have called all of the major banks together and told them they will go in and act as an on-site RPO solution for them all at a low margin, and that they could save them a load of cash by enforcing a 10% rate cut across the board for IT contractors. They tied them all in by suggesting that they should all do it or contractors would just jump ship to other banks. The following week they sent letters to all the agencys that supplied into the Banks via their RPO solution telling them that their supplier margins were being cut to 3%, like it or lump it.
Ironically Barclays are managed by Spring and HBOS by Hays so they are obviously just jumping on the bandwagon but it definitely looks like it is happening across the board now.
I heard that there's a certain RPO - naming no names - who have called all of the major banks together and told them they will go in and act as an on-site RPO solution for them all at a low margin, and that they could save them a load of cash by enforcing a 10% rate cut across the board for IT contractors. They tied them all in by suggesting that they should all do it or contractors would just jump ship to other banks. The following week they sent letters to all the agencys that supplied into the Banks via their RPO solution telling them that their supplier margins were being cut to 3%, like it or lump it.
Ironically Barclays are managed by Spring and HBOS by Hays so they are obviously just jumping on the bandwagon but it definitely looks like it is happening across the board now.
Dupont666 said:
HSBC didnt do the exact same, just turned round and said contractor must tak 5 weeks unpaid leave, so the same as a 10% cut so to speak.
Not the same at all is it? No such thing as "unpaid leave" for a contractor...I'd take 5 weeks off (to do as I please) rather than working the full 52 weeks for the same money...
dtmpower said:
When we are saying contractors in this thread what sort of rates are we talking?
Depends what they are doing and which sector. For IT junior support roles it can be as low as £10 per hour. Business analyst types tend get anywherre from £350-£600 per day. Developers £350-£550 per day depending on development platform and experience. No doubt there are people earning less in those roles and people earning more. The highest I have ever heard of was £2800 a day but thats going back a few years and the contracts were of very short duration (1-3 months) and very few people around with the required skill set. dtmpower said:
When we are saying contractors in this thread what sort of rates are we talking?
The guys I have directly affected are in the range of £450-650 per day. It seems to be that clients have decided contractors have had it good for long enough now and they arent going to sit back and let rates be driven up more and more - I know a number of people who were £350 a day contractors a year ago and are now trying to demand £550+. In all honesty they arent worth that amount, and when you consider that someone like Barclays will probably have a very good number of contractors earning more than their I.T Director it puts it in perspective a bit, regardless of the perceived risks associated with contracting!
Metroarea said:
regardless of the perceived risks associated with contracting!
I'd say the risks are far more than perceived. Sure, the headline figures look impressive, but once you take into account the fact that all down time for whatever reason (illness, bank holidays, holidays, periods of being out of contract) are unpaid it's somewhat less rosy. And that's before you think about all the taxes - corporation tax, employee's NI, employer's NI, PAYE, etc.And then there's the uncertainty of whether or not you really are outside IR35 and could be hit by a massive retrospective tax bill and possible fine if HMR&C decides you are not (and can prove it at a hearing).
But, yes, you probably are better off contracting, but not by the vast amount that some people seem to think.
Edited by JonRB on Friday 25th July 09:23
Metroarea said:
...someone like Barclays will probably have a very good number of contractors earning more than their I.T Director it puts it in perspective a bit...
Very few, if any will come anywhere close.Some may have a day rate that when multiplied by 200 comes close to some of the more senior managements basic salary, but to think that all of that end up in the contractors pocket is plain daft, and even if it did, the bonus, benefits, stock, pension that you get as a permie is not to be sniffed at.
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