Permanent Employment vs Contract Work - what's best for me?

Permanent employment vs Contract staffing – what's best? We take a look at what these types of work mean for you, as well as the pros and cons that each one may bring.

Firstly - what's what?

A permanent role means that you will be employed by another person or business. You will have an employment agreement and set tasks and duties that you’re expected to carry out. You will receive a regular and continual payment in the form of a salary or hourly wage. You have employment rights and are eligible for the legal requirements of holiday and sick pay. Permanent roles can be both full-time which is usually 35+ hours a week or part-time which will be fewer hours. Your expected working hours will be laid out in your contract.

A Contract role means that you will provide your services directly to an outside organisation, you are not employed. As a contractor you will usually be hired for a set amount of time or until a specific project is completed. You will be expected to work independently for an established hourly or daily rate.

The kind of employment best suited for you is a very individual choice based on your kind of lifestyle, your preferences and your requirements. We take a look at the pros and cons of permanent employment vs contract work.

Permanent Employment

Pros:

- As your working hours will be set, your schedule will be very predictable longer term so you can plan around this.

- Your role is much more stable due to the employment rights that cover permanent roles.

- Your salary isn’t the only remuneration, as you receive paid holiday, certain sick pay and your employer is required to contribute to your pension pot.

Cons:

- One of the biggest cons of permanent employment is that it will mean your day-to-day life is pretty much set, and there can be little flexibility for adjusting this schedule.

- While you get paid holiday, you tend to be limited to a set amount of days off so there is less freedom.

Contract

Pros:

- The financial rewards are usually much higher to reflect the on-demand nature of the work. This means you will likely take home more than the equivalent permanent employee.

- Flexibility is a large draw for many, as you can pick projects that fit around your life. You can take as much time off as you like between roles.

- Many contractors enjoy the freedom that not being tied down to a role brings - this means they get to meet a variety of different people, grow their network and choose projects that they actually want to work on.

Cons:

- Due to the nature of contracting work,  you may have to travel further to get to where the jobs are based.

- There is also a big lack of job security, with no guarantee that you will consistently find work which can lead to downtime between jobs where you have no income - this might mean you need to be more flexible with the kind of work you’re willing to do and plan for this downtime while you are working.

- Contracting requires you to work through an umbrella company or as a limited company, so there is some admin involved on your behalf. Legislation surrounding this can often change, for example with the upcoming IR35 tax changes, so it's important to speak to a professional who understands this. Remember your Dutton Recruitment Consultant can also offer guidance on this as well.

So now you have a better idea of what kind of work is best suited to you, take a look at our jobs page - https://www.duttonrecruitment.com/jobs.