Whether they work as a freelancer or as part of an umbrella service company, the number of Brits comfortable with interim work dwarfs the rest of Europe.
A new survey from FPS found that around 1.56 million individuals within our workforce – around four per cent – work as contractors in the UK. This isn’t because permanent workers are more expensive to use than freelancers, the report pointed out – instead it’s the flexibility they have in filling crucial gaps in an employer’s workforce when it comes to specific skills and experience.
The report found that interim workers had high confidence in their chosen methods of working, with 6 out of every 10 indicating that they have no doubts that they will continue freelancing for the foreseeable future. Even more contract workers – 68 per cent in fact – said that they made the move into freelancing due to the benefits of having a flexible lifestyle and not being tied down to a particular firm or schedule.
However, the sector isn’t without those who were driven to the choice to become a freelancer out of a lack of viable options. Around one out of every three reported that they had no choice, with economic pressures and a dearth of permanent jobs forcing their hand into seeking temporary employment contracts instead.
Agency working arrangements are one of the biggest ways contractors find work, with the survey finding that 42 per cent use organisations such as recruitment agencies and umbrella companies. Networking through family and friends came in second with the number of freelancers finding work at 30 per cent, and a remaining 27 per cent used newspaper adverts to find work.
