Firms looking to grow and meet their production targets have come to rely upon contract workers as a way to do so while controlling costs, it’s been reported.
An increasing number of firms have shifted their staffing focus away from permanent workers and instead towards freelancers, contractors, and umbrella company workers in an effort to be more cost-conscious in the still-rocky economic landscape, says the Association of Professional Staffing Companies. Recently conducted research by APSCo also discovered that one of the biggest markets for umbrella service contractors and other freelancers has been the financial services sector, as contract workers are being used in droves to help with the workloads of banks and building societies.
The research indicated that legal firms are also using interim workers more and more, according to APSCo chief executive, Ann Smith. This trend is likely to continue until more stability returns to the UK economy, said Ms Smith, as firms lack the confidence needed to offer workers permanent positions in a poor economy and instead focus on using temporary workers on a per-project basis.
However, there is hope that permanent workers won’t be left out in the cold for much longer. GDP figures are slightly on the rise, said the chief executive, which led her to hope that this will lead to higher employer confidence levels for professional service firms in the UK and lead to the knock-on effect of a greater number of permanent workers being hired once more.
