Have contractors noticed that their hourly rate has been decreasing over the past 12 months?
According to one umbrella company, average rates have dropped by £0.73 an hour, from £33.12 to £32.39 over the last year. Whilst a drop of 73p an hour does not sound like a lot, it actually works out as £1,287 over the course of a year. Furthermore, this is the second consecutive year when rates have fallen.
Although the government is keen to put an end to gender discrimination when it comes to pay, that gap is actually amongst contractors. The average male contractor gets £33.09 an hour while his female counterpart only receives £30.56. When calculated on an annual basis, male contractors are getting a whopping £4,459 more than females.
IT contractors may think the above figures rather on the low side, but they are representative of the contracting community as a whole.
Contractor rates have been impacted by turbulent economic conditions in the Eurozone and banks and other financial institutions have slashed contractor rates in response.
But before contractors start screaming that they’re hard done by, the average salary for a permanent employee is £26,244; for a contractor the average is £57,087 and for an IT contractor that figure will be even higher.
Once the economy gets back on course, will start to climb up again. In the meantime, contractors should make sure they are claiming all the legitimate business expenses they are entitled to in order to maximise their take home pay.
© 2012 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: Rainbow.Drop by Jonny Jelinek
