Today I stumbled upon my teams budget for this year. contained within was a breakdown off all staff and their relative pay. Not only was I the lowest paid, but I have also found out that a colleague (with less experience) is taking home 40% more than me.

Granted the colleague is a contractor, but does this seem a fair amount? I enjoy the work I do, but can’t help but feel that I am being taken advantage of just now.

Granted the colleague is a contractor

they’re underpaid.

Must be great knowing you have a job to go to next week….they may not.

Contractor? That means he’s…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Kum8OUTuk[/video]

Is she better looking than you ?

our one technical contractor is on approx. 300 to 400% more than the normal members of his team, doing the same job.

If you”re unhappy with your job security, holiday pay, health pay, pension and whatever other perks you get please feel free to resign in protest.
The job market it so strong at present you’ll be fine.

Job security doesn’t come into the equation in this instance. My colleague has been employed for the last 2 years with the knowledge his role is secure for a minimum of 24 months further.

Sounds like you’re the lucky one. I’d expect a contractor to be on at least double if they’re any good and have negotiated a sensible rate.

contracted rate != take home pay

That is just the cost to your organisation. Their contracting company will be taking a slice of that too.

(and somebody left a document accessible that has everyone’s salary showing ?? Sackable offence – or at least a written warning for them – and you didn’t have to look at it when you realised what it was)

(and somebody left a document accessible that has everyone’s salary showing ?? Sackable offence – or at least a written warning for them – and you didn’t have to look at it when you realised what it was)

this

Contractors will nearly always be paid a higher rate than an ordinary employee. As for other colleagues you will often find that staying long term with a company your salary will not reflect the current going rate. Newer recruits will often be paid a higher rate than long term staff. Just depends on job market at the time of joining. Signs just now are that it is becoming a candidates market so if you are not happy look for a move or try to renegotiate (good luck with that – rarely successful).

This is why the best people contract.

contracted rate != take home pay

This, if he has his own limited company the rate you are seeing is what his company charges. Assuming it’s exclusive of VAT, he still has to pay 20% corporation tax off that before he gets to money that he can potentially pay himself. Then he has to pay his own pension and benefits that are built in for you. As a contractor you’d expect him to be making more than you are, and it doesn’t sound like he’s getting as much more as I’d have expected.

Equivilent contractors take home pay for my role circa £400/day.

I don’t get anywhere near this but I do get, holidays paid, a company car, sick pay, bonus, healthcare, pension and better career advancement opportunities.

Mercenaries don’t get this!

His agent probably takes 10-15% of what your company pays remember.

Granted the colleague is a contractor

You’re overpaid.

Perhaps he is 40% better than you.

wwaswas – Member
Granted the colleague is a contractor

they’re underpaid.

Massively underpaid if it’s only 40%, you need at least 60% more than an employee even to get out of bed these days for a contract.

HTH

Feel free to join in the Contractor set, it’s a growing market for short term contingent workers who get booted out with max 2yrs sucessive employment by one firm.

HTH too.

taking home 40% more

If he really is ‘taking home’ about 40% more that you he’s doing well…
But for a contractor, not massively….
I looked at the figures once, and I reckon I needed the gross figure to be almost double to get the same take home pay after all the ‘hidden’ bits are taken into account i.e.

holidays paid, a company car, sick pay, bonus, healthcare, pension

as well as NI, paying for my own training, paying for an accountant etc etc

Yes it seems fair. If you think the grass is greener then quit and go contracting.

Massively underpaid if it’s only 40%, you need at least 60% more than an employee even to get out of bed these days for a contract.

This is about right IME.

Ok so I’m not getting that bad deal ,that’s good to know. It just feels a big difference when you see the gross figure in a spreadsheet.

*Stomps out burning torch, put’s the safety corks back on the points of my pitchfork and returns back to my spreadsheet*

Oh, don’t feel that you can’t still form a posse and lynch him, since when did that have to be reasonable or logical?

I reckon that once the government have finished stigmatising those on benefits, they’ll be after contractors next – easy target isn’t it – +40% and the rest pay for doing the same job and getting tax breaks, etc.

Stomps out burning torch, put’s the safety corks back on the points of my pitchfork and returns back to my spreadsheet*

When accountants go bad……!

IR35 alert.

IR35 alert

Indeed.

As the employment rules relax you find more and more companies rely on Contingent (Contractors) more and more, to the point that companies are liking the idea of leeping core regulatory staff onboard and making contingent all others.

It’s a growing market.

It’s been around for many years and expect it to be around form many many more years to come.

Don’t put your pitchforks away just yet, plenty to have a go at yet!

As others have said 40% more doesn’t seem much; when I contracted I was on ~ 150% more than I was as a permanent employee.

Downside was no pension, no paid time off and not a lot of job security and I was de-skilling as I wasn’t doing work I was interested in as it was mostly firefighting and troubleshooting rather than development work.

I’m contracting at the moment and my take home is nearly double what the permanent staff get paid. The recruitment company charge another 40% more again over what I ever see!

Yeah it’s not enough – 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays + sick pay + pension + whatever other benefits there are. Back in 2000 my contract daily rate was 3x my then salary/52/5. Now I’m more experienced and contract rates aren’t so good I’m on a tad under 2x.

IR35 alert.

Not if he either invoices other companies for work and/or has more than one income-earning in their company.

I bet they don’t though 🙂

and you didn’t have to look at it when you realised what it was

Almost everyone would

Only on STW can you say something like the OP and then get flamed for reading and also called names for being overpaid.

So they get paid more than you?

Did your mummy tell you everything in life is fair?

myself and two colleagues were once disciplined for discussing our salaries, after a heads up from a friend in HR that i was been short changed i raised the give me more money argument for three years with my local director and was told i was in the top eighth of my pay scale.. then one christmas someone in HR.. wrote to all the staff that were been short changed and a month later i got a nice fat pay cheque and left the following week..

It’s written into some employment contracts that salary discussions can lead to disciplinary procedures and possible dismissal.

The whole ‘look / don’t look’ thing is interesting isn’t it.

I have been in a position for the last six years to ‘look’ if I wanted to. I haven’t, purely because I know that what I would discover would most probably wind me up.

This is the way of things. Sometimes it is better not to know and just be happy with what you have.

+ a million for all the people who are saying that a contractor ‘only’ on 40% more than the lowest paid team member really hasn’t done their negotiating very well.

In contractor (but more especially consultant) situations, the more money the company pays, the better the work they think they are getting. Plus the flexibility to get rid at a moments notice!

Only thing someone’s salary tells you is how good they are at negotiating remuneration for their services.

Don’t buy the “only the best contract” line. I’ve seen some pretty shocking ones. They get moved on quickly.

There are a lot of half wits contracting – a few people we’ve laid off (for being useless) now contact…..