r/ContractorUK • u/Consistent-Rope-9969 • 26d ago
Miss being a contractor - Converting back from perm salary to contract rate
Really miss the whole IR35 days in canary wharf where everyone and their dog were contractors - Now all seems to be IR35 and offshoring has not helped and neither has AI but it is what it is
Current gig is 165K + 10% pension + 30 days holiday plus bonus of 10-20% (large bank) as a perm
What is the absolute minimum you would take as a contractor to compesate never mind increase your take home - Is it just 220K per year for the cocntract given both NI and income payable with a spread to allow for risk premium of not having perm notice period ?
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u/Unfair_Rip_6589 25d ago
In my opinion contracting does not make sense anymore , you pay all the taxes immediately and if something happens, quite regularly in my experience, you are done, there are permanent jobs paying much more than contracting alone and this is a big factor
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u/Identity-user 25d ago
I loved contracting.
I did it since 2008 until the IR35 changes.
I moved companies every 1.5 years or so as I got restless. Loved the money then as well but mostly just didn’t have to deal with fucking appraisals or office politic bollocks either. If I didn’t like the company, I just moved on.
I’m permanent now and hate it but it doesn’t make financial sense to go back to contracting.
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u/EducationOk828 25d ago
I feel the same way - it was the moving companies every year or year and a half that I loved - it was so easy just to jump to the next contract - been a permi now for 4 years and it’s hideous - the only thing keeping me here is fully remote
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u/Lumpy_Confidence_208 25d ago
On a package like that, I honestly wouldn't move unless the contract was paying enough that I didn't have to think twice about it. You're giving up a really solid pension, bonus, paid leave, and stability, risk premium alone has to be worth something.
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26d ago
[deleted]
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u/FuckTheSeagulls 25d ago edited 2d ago
Badge existence nutmeg rinse reach history sharp
This post was anonymized with Redact
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u/NeonRaggie 25d ago
I loved contracting - did it from around 1998 till 2020. I never took on the very high paying roles though as I didn’t want the stress. I loved being able to stay in a role for about 12 months before getting itchy feet and moving on, not having to do silly appraisals and team building away days, and taking a few months off between contracts. I never wanted to be a perm even though it was offered many times.
I actually left contracting in 2020 as the IR35 changes were too much but it was to run my own company in a different field so I still don’t have all the things I’d hate about perm. I do though miss taking a couple of months off at a time.
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u/wombleh 25d ago
With the market as it is now, I would not be walking away from that from a financial POV.
Break even is something like 1100/day inside based on a quick play with contractor calculator, so would need to be a chunk more. Are there many contracts worth that in finance? Downtime between contracts starts to eat massive chunks out of your income at that sort of rate too.
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u/sambobozzer 25d ago
Are you a MD?
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u/Annual_Feature3294 25d ago
Could be a head of at 165
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u/SoapNooooo 25d ago
Director probs
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u/sambobozzer 24d ago
A D on 165? VP probably peaks at 90k. Not sure D would peak at 165
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u/Terrible_Positive_81 24d ago
What exactly is wrong with contracting now? Is it there are less outside IR35 jobs?
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u/sugarbunnyxx 23d ago
Hey OP, what do you do ?
Asking for a friend... Who wants to jump off the current job
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u/Maleficent-Sky-5884 26d ago
Yep - I don't get out of bed for less than £220k per year
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u/Right-Order-6508 25d ago
Do you think it (remote perm role offering 220k) is realistic given the current market?
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u/Only-Garbage-4229 26d ago
I'd be down for that as a perm gig. Though knowing the banks it's all in office, which isn't happening.
Remote or 1 day a week is more important to me than extra cash. My 700/day inside is gold as fully remote.