Why do contractors need clearance before they can apply?
Contractors sometimes lose the opportunity to secure a government contract because the department in question demands that bidders already have security clearance.
Auto-enrolment pension scheme comes under fire
The auto-enrolment pension scheme will cost SMEs and umbrella companies an average of £2,550, but the true cost of administering it could be horrendous, warns the FSB.
Things not so good for house hunting umbrella contractors
Umbrella contractors should make sure they are not amongst the 43% of UK mortgage holders without life insurance cover.
The sky’s the limit for umbrella company contractors
News that the UK’s space industry grew during the recession should be welcomed by highly skilled technology contractors.
Things look to be improving for IT contractors
IT contractors might be interested to read that Gartner predicts enterprise IT spending looks as if it will grow next year.
Clegg gets tied in knots over excessive regulatory detail
The IoD is calling on the coalition to reduce the excessive burden of red tape that is bogging down UK enterprises and umbrella companies.
Umbrella company contractors should start preparing for Christmas
It seems that every year the start of Christmas gets ever earlier and UK SMEs that have not launched their festive offers could be lagging behind their competitors; at least that’s the suggestion from moneysupermaket.com.
Do foreign sports stars provide more value than scientists?
The government’s plan to impose an immigration cap on non European Union migrants is again causing concern amongst professional recruiters.
Demand for IT contractors well down on last year
Although the amount of new jobs is still rising, the increase in October was the weakest for 14 months.
Are new government measures enough to support SMEs?
Earlier this week Mark Prisk spoke to the Summit for Small Business and explained how the government intends to help the five million SMEs, which includes umbrella companies, in Britain grow now that the recession is behind us.
The public sector needs umbrella company contractors
The REC is worried that the public expenditure cuts announced in the CSR will lead to kneejerk cuts in staffing budgets.
Increased permanent recruitment is bad news for contractors
Increased confidence in the manufacturing sector could spell bad news for umbrella company contractors.
