The Desk
Business
Contract rates, company news and the business of IT freelancing.
138 ARTICLES
2001–2026
DESK / BUSINESS
2001–2026
DESK / BUSINESS
2026
- 8 JUL 2026Temporary and Contract Hiring Leads the UK Labour Market RecoveryTemporary billings grew at the fastest rate since April 2023 as employers used flexible workers to advance shorter projects without committing to…READ →
- 6 MAY 2026Umbrella Only Hiring Is Driving IT Contractors Away, Survey FindsA survey of 730 contractors and freelancers found that umbrella working was effectively compulsory in many agency engagements, despite widespread…READ →
- 6 APR 2026Umbrella Tax Liability Rules Put Agencies on the Hook for Unpaid PAYENew joint and several liability rules allowed HMRC to recover umbrella company payroll shortfalls from recruitment agencies or end clients, changing…READ →
2025
- 16 DEC 2025HMRC writes to 864,000 traders as digital tax deadline moves inside four monthsLong the reform that never quite arrived, Making Tax Digital hardened into a firm obligation in December 2025 as HMRC began writing to the people it…READ →
- 26 NOV 2025Budget Dividend Tax Increase Deals Another Blow to Limited Company ContractorsThe Autumn Budget has raised the ordinary and upper dividend tax rates by two percentage points, directly reducing the income retained by contractors…READ →
- 10 OCT 2025Contract market cools again in September as employers freeze hiring before the BudgetTemporary billings fell faster than the month before and candidate numbers surged, as the latest KPMG and REC Report on Jobs found firms holding back…READ →
- 17 SEP 2025Umbrella Company Tax Risk Moves Up the Contractor Supply ChainHMRC has explained how recruitment agencies and end clients will become responsible for unpaid employment taxes when umbrella companies fail to…READ →
- 5 AUG 2025Companies House Announces Mandatory Identity Checks for Contractor Company DirectorsMillions of company directors and controlling shareholders will have to verify their identities under a new Companies House regime that directly…READ →
- 21 JUL 2025Draft Finance Bill hands HMRC criminal powers over tax-avoidance promotersThe government's Legislation Day package aims squarely at the marketed schemes that have left thousands of contractors nursing unexpected tax bills…READ →
- 6 APR 2025Umbrella contractors bear the 15% employer NIC rise as the new tax year beginsThe 2025-26 tax year opened with a dearer minimum wage and a steeper National Insurance bill, and for umbrella-employed IT contractors the two…READ →
- 31 JAN 2025HMRC logs 11.5 million on-time tax returns but 1.1 million miss the 31 January deadlineA record online filing rate could not stop about 1.1 million taxpayers, contractors among them, missing the 31 January deadline and the penalties…READ →
2004
- 9 APR 2004Western work will return if East is overusedWestern demand for Indian IT workers shows little sign of easing.READ →
- 21 FEB 2004Next-Gen contractors to beat 'old IT'Contractors who re-invent themselves and accept equivalent rates of pay to their Indian outsourcing counterparts' will inherit the future of IT…READ →
- 24 JAN 2004How IT is shaping up in 2004With rising demand for IT workers, renewed interest in ambitious projects and stable hardware sales, the beginning of 2004 looks to be the tail end…READ →
- 7 JAN 2004Offshore outsourcing is turning on its mastersThe shift of well-paid technology jobs to India, China and other low-cost offshore centres is beginning to cause Western companies public relations…READ →
2003
- 10 DEC 2003Counting the casualties of 'outsourcing creep'Twenty-eight companies have outsourced more than 50,000 jobs serving UK customers to India over the past two years, with many more lining up to cut…READ →
- 6 NOV 2003IT managers 'are excluded in business'IT professionals are being denied senior level positions as their skills are seen as too niche by senior management to warrant boardroom status, new…READ →
- 7 OCT 2003Middle Eastern appeal for 'resting' contractorsPlying your trade all over the world is a key attraction of IT contracting and one pocket of the planet worth keeping an eye on is the Middle East.READ →
- 11 SEP 2003Outsourcing crisis brewing, warns UK CEOOffshore development oversights made several years ago are now rising to the surface with potentially cataclysmic implications, one CEO warns.READ →
- 31 AUG 2003Ireland's bid to rescue beaten ICT BritsIT entrepreneurs whose companies have been raised to the ground by IR35, investigated for being independent and roped up by red tape are being…READ →
- 6 APR 2003Business execs call IT shotsBusiness chiefs are increasing their involvement in the IT decision-making process, confusing operations and crossing wires between departments…READ →
- 18 MAR 2003Cambridge is UK's highest paying IT regionCambridge has overtaken London to become the highest paying region in the UK for IT professionals, according to some analysts.READ →
- 13 MAR 2003World's largest IT gathering hopes to spark growthAbout six and a half thousand businesses from 69 countries gathered at the world's largest IT exhibition in Germany recently, hoping to reinvigorate…READ →
- 8 MAR 2003Freelance IT demand holding steadyDemand for contract and permanent IT workers held steady in February, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's Report on Jobs says.READ →