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Contractor Guides

Contractors: How to Handle Non-Compete Clauses

Our friends at Lexoo have put together a great piece on non-compete clauses and how best to deal with them.…

Contractor Guides

Getting accredited: the benefits of professional memberships

Trust is a remarkable thing, especially in the world of contracting. If a client trusts you and the quality of…

Contractors

Compliance a vital factor as the number of contractors continues to rise

New figures released have indicated that the number of individuals entering the contractor and freelancer community has dramatically increased over…

Contractors

Bridging the gap: the role of freelancers and contractors in solving the UK's skills shortage

It has been well reported that the UK is the midst of a significant, and potentially disastrous, skills shortage. News…

Contracting Life

Exploring the boom in self employment

There has been a healthy increase in total employment figures over the last 5 years, giving us all hope in…

Contractor Guides

Health and Safety in the Oil and Gas Industry

It’s no secret that the petroleum industry is exposed to certain, very specific risks. If you’re a freelancer in the…

Contracting Life

The funniest excuses for late tax returns

For the last few years HMRC has revealed its top ‘oddest’ excuses they receive for the submission of late tax…

Contractors

A brief history of IR35

We’ve written about IR35 before; the tax and National Insurance legislation that affects freelance contractors operating as limited companies. Aimed…

Contracting Life

Five ways to kick freelancing stress to the curb

We’ve spent the last few weeks exploring what it means to be a freelancer on our blog. We’ve looked at…

Contractor Guides

Tax and the modern freelancer

You’ve established yourself as a freelance contractor; you’ve networked, you’ve set up your home office, and you’ve completed your first…

Contracting Life

5 Questions to help you decide if freelancing is for you

What could be better than a career as a freelancer? Choosing your own hours, not having a boss to answer…

Contracting Life

Four Things Every Contractor Knows To Be True

Life as an engineering contractor comes with its ups and downs. For every stretch away from your family there is…

Contracting Life

Five Dangerous Places to Work In The Oil and Gas Industry

Without a doubt, the oil and gas industry is one of the most important and lucrative industries in the world.…

Contracting Life

If an engineer ruled the world?

Humans. We’re logical creatures, aren’t we? Think of how far we have advanced past our closest relatives in the animal…

Contracting Life

Five Of The Best LinkedIn Groups For Engineering Contractors

LinkedIn is an indispensable tool for any professional, giving you the ability to introduce your CV and career goals to…

Contracting Life

Fracking Opponents - Justified or Misinformed?

David Cameron has recently announced his support of Fracking in the UK, yet there are still many protests taking place…

Contracting Life

False Self-Employment Legislation For Recruiters

We’ve already looked at the new legislation regarding false self-employment and how it could affect contractors but we thought we’d…

Contractors

False Self-Employment Legislation For Contractors

The Finance Bill 2014 has now been published, setting in motion the changes to tax law which were announced in…

Contracting Life

Advice for money management as a freelancer or contractor

Many freelancers and contractors face a certain level of uncertainty surrounding their finances.  Variations in what and when you get…

Contracting Life

Skills shortages around the world

We keep hearing about the worsening crisis of skills shortages in the UK, especially in the Oil and Gas and…

Contractor Guides

Books And Magazines For Contractors

What do you read? Fiction, history, biographies? I doubt many of us would have “Business Guides” or “Self Improvement” titles…

Contracting Life

Top Ten Freelancing Misconceptions

Making the decision to begin freelancing is definitely not one to be taken lightly. However, there are certainly a lot of…

Contractor Guides

Marketing For Contractors On A Limited Budget

We know that marketing for contractors can be tough if you’re trying to pull together interest on your own. This…

Contractor Guides

August Contractor News Round Up

Your monthly round-up of August’s top contractor news. Small and Medium enterprise interest in freelancers is growing. The appeal of…

Contractor Guides

How Can Contractors Avoid Late Payment?

You probably know the feeling. You have a meeting with a client; learn their work goals, complete the work and…

Contracting Life

How Can Contractors Benefit From Running A Blog?

Having a blog is a great way to keep your clients and the world at large updated on what you’re…

Contractor Guides

Clients You Should Avoid As A Contractor

As a contractor you probably want to jump at every work opportunity that comes your way, though realistically you should probably…

Contracting Life

Top Tips For Securing Your Contractor Mortgage

Getting a mortgage can be slightly trickier for contractors than for permanent employees, so having a good contractor mortgage lender…

Contracting Life

How To Retain Clients As A Contractor

You’ve found the perfect client. You enjoy the work, you communicate well, and they’re reliable payers. Your existing customers could…

Contractors

May Contractor News Round Up

Your monthly round-up of May’s top contractor news. There are so many information sites for Freelancers and Contractors (see our…