The IT industry is a staple port of call for many contracting professionals at present, and there are good reasons for that. Demand is high – especially in the lead up to Christmas – and rates are typically very good indeed. If anything, the only recently pinpointed problem has been a lack of individuals with sufficient skill to cater to the existing needs of the country, so the recent situation has been almost universally hailed as positive. However, rumours are now circulating about a drop in rates, so what exactly is going on?

Growing IT Rates Predicted…

In the main, you tend to come across articles that predict robust IT pay rates in the near future, and if anything growth is usually the predicted pattern. Contractor UK reported such an observation just less than one month ago, with 96% of the surveyed contractors forecasting a very bright future in this respect. An even higher percentage expected their skills to be in greater demand in 2015 than they already were in 2014, and these sorts of calculated guesses don’t become irrelevant overnight. So why all the talk about dropping rates?

…Falling IT Rates in Banks

Early this month, another story on Contractor UK arose concerning a certain number of IT professionals who have experienced a reduction in rates over recent weeks. Famous banking service UBS issued an ultimatum to many contractors in its employ, saying, quite simply, ‘take it or leave’. Refusing the cut rates could easily lead to the termination of a contract in this situation, and apparently this is the third time this year that a bank has required IT contractors to retain the same workload for less money.

Financially Efficient Contracting

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Obviously, such circumstances are far from ideal, but it must be said that – for most of the IT contracting workforce, at least – this isn’t the norm. However, it’s definitely worth remembering that you can never count upon rates remaining the same, and so it’s highly recommended that you are going about your contracting career in the most financially efficient way possible. That’s something that the team here at ICS can help you with, and you can take a look at our contractor calculator to see just how much money our proven services could be saving you.

If you’d like to find out more about how our specialist contractor accountants could be helping you today, please contact us on 0800 195 3750 or email webenquiry@icsuk.com. We’ve been working with IT contractors since 2002, providing a range of services tailored to meet your financial needs.