It turns out that they’re not just a nation of sheep-shaggers: Scotland is positively the place to be if you’re an umbrella contractor, it seems!
Life north of the border is often satirised as barely a step above the Dark Ages, but it’s time to change our outlook on Scotland – especially since it’s become one of the best places to seek work as an umbrella company contractor or freelance worker. What’s the evidence that Scotland is the place? Well, how about new figures that reported there being some 128,000 temporary workers in March of this year – and that these figures have gone up by 10,000 from June of 2011, is that enough evidence for you?
The driving force behind all the sudden love for umbrella workers is likely due to the fact that firms are still looking to get work done but are reticent to hire on permanent employees. Companies have tightened their belts in order to better survive the economic doldrums the UK is navigating, and choosing interim workers over traditional employees positives saves shedloads of cash on payroll costs.
It’s much more cost effective to simply hire on a contractor on a per-project basis than it is to take on a new permanent employee – someone that might end up needing extensive training before he or she begins to be productive, mind you – and this is exactly what businesses are doing. There’s not even any corner-cutting involved here, especially since the majority of freelancers and contractors are highly skilled and qualified individuals that are already highly competent in their chosen fields.
Honestly I’m not surprised in the least; while high street banking executives keep saying that our economy is getting better and we’re recovering from the recession brought upon us by the credit crisis, permanent jobs are a bit thin on the ground. It simply makes sense to change to working temporary projects instead so at least you can keep paying the mortgage and putting petrol in the tank. Oh, and buying food – that’s always nice too, isn’t it? Malnutrition is a bit overrated, if you ask me.
I’m not saying that you’re going to be living high on the hog if you’re a contractor or a freelance worker, but you’ll at least be able to afford the important things in life a little easier – like a pint down at the local pub every once and a while. Sure, you might not think a nice lager on a Friday evening might not be a ‘necessity,’ but I assure you life is much better afterwards.
