How to become an IT Contractor - Becoming an IT Contractor

Professional Passport has launched a comprehensive survey of contractors to help convey the concerns of those within the industry to key decision makers and Government departments.

You can access the Contractors' Opinion Poll (COP) here. Its creators hope that the results will enable contractors' collective voices to be heard above the din of commercial lobbying and vested interest - giving contractors a real opportunity to influence service provision and legislation.

Crawford Temple, Professional Passport's COO, told us:

"Professional Passport works with many Government Departments and is in a position to influence decisions and provide real workable solutions to the issues faced by contractors. We are continually hampered by the lack of hard fact evidence available on contractors and we are finding that new regulation is being introduced based on little more than perceptions and anecdotal evidence. The results from the survey will provide us with the tangible data we need to support contractors' views to Government and enable us to argue for less burdensome regulation."

Agency Workers Directive

Chatting to Contract Eye earlier today, Mr. Temple singled out the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) as an example of legislation which could pose a real threat to many contractors.

Although recent headlines have suggested that all limited company contractors were safe from the proposed new rules, Temple pointed out that only limited company contractors working outside the IR35 rules would be unaffected.

"There is clear evidence that the Government views the contracting market as a whole with no segmentation or differentiation between low paid vulnerable temporary workers (e.g. cockle pickers and agricultural workers) and those that most people consider to be professional contractors. In our experience professional contractors are certainly not seeking the protection this bill proposes. Without the evidence from the survey there is a real possibility that many professional contractors could become collateral damage of well intentioned but heavy-handed legislation."

The Agency Workers Directive has a consultation period that expires on 11th December 2009 so a short window of opportunity exists to influence thinking and protect the position of the professional contractor.

Professional Passport will be meeting with BIS to discuss the proposals and hopes the results from the survey will provide clear evidence to support the arguments.

To take part in the survey, simply click here