Much has been said about UK austerity measures and how it harms the economy, but freelancers and contract workers may benefit from it believe it or not!
While private sector firms are hiring temporary staff with highly specialised technical skills, the public sector's contractor hiring rate has slipped by nearly 15 per cent, according to a recent quarterly report from procurement firm Comensura.
After the recent revelations that a lot of Government contractors were avoiding tax by paying themselves through a personal service company, the Treasury has announced that all contractors earning more than £220 a day will have to pay the correct tax if they have been in a department for longer than 6 months.
Are more people in the UK turning to self-employment out of necessity rather than choice? This debate has been raging over the last few months and the news that self-employment has reached an all time high will no doubt start people talking again.
The latest Purchasing Managers Index from the Bank of Scotland was published at the beginning of the week and umbrella company contractors should be able to take heart from the results.