The National Loan Guarantee Scheme may be just the thing to help small businesses access cheaper finance and create more opportunities for umbrella company contractors.

This government initiative will help businesses with a turnover of less than £50 million. Chancellor George Osborne says that banks would be guaranteed a total of £20 billion for unsecured borrowing. The hope is that this will encourage our financial institutions to pass cheaper lending options to their customers, thereby promoting business growth.

The coalition has promised to help SMEs get access to cheaper funding. Project Merlin failed to meet its targets for small business lending and the Chancellor is now relying on this new nationwide scheme to deliver on the government’s promise.

He explained that the UK has low interest rates because of its credible deficit reduction plan and the government now wants to make sure SMEs can benefit from these low rates.

If the NLGS helps small businesses to expand, umbrella company contractors could well benefit from an increased demand for their services. SMEs are still reluctant to hire permanent staff because of the continuing economic uncertainty in the Eurozone. However, they will need to take on more people if they intend to grow and freelancers with the right skills will be able to step in and help.

The FPB has welcomed the Scheme. Phil McCabe said we badly need to see a change in bank/business relationships in this country, whereby lending decisions are made on a local basis by bank managers who actually know their customers.

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Umbrella company contractors who work in the construction sector may be pleased to learn that new opportunities will shortly be available at Center Parcs’ new site at Woburn Forest.

The construction phase of the Woburn Forest development will create around 1,200 jobs and freelancers in the Bedford area should be able to take advantage of some of the available opportunities.

Funding was recently agreed for the new site, which will be situated near Millbrook, and construction of the facilities is now able to commence. The project is scheduled for completion by Spring 2014, so over the next couple of years, there could be some lucrative contracts on offer.

Martin Dalby, the chief executive of Center Parcs, said he was delighted that the project was now moving ahead. The company is very grateful to Central Bedfordshire Council for all of its support and Center Parcs will be hosting a meeting shortly to keep the local community up-to-date with the construction timetable.

The Center Parcs development will include 625 forest lodges, a retail centre, a swimming pool and other related buildings.

Contractors in the construction industry have been having a hard time recently as turbulent economic conditions have wreaked havoc on the industry. A lot of building projects have been put on ice or abandoned completely over the last couple of years, so this news from Center Parcs should bring fresh hope to the beleaguered construction community, and particularly to contractors in and around Bedfordshire.

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Umbrella company contractors who work in administrative roles could benefit from the decision of one of the UK’s leading building societies.

The Leeds Building Society has decided to outsource its admin work because there is too much of it to handle in-house. The Society has now begun a pilot scheme to farm out the work to qualified professionals.

UK companies are increasingly looking to streamline and one way of doing this is to outsource some of the work. Becky Hewitt, the head of HR and the Leeds Building Society, said the company was eager to pass the administrative burden to the experts. Outsourcing is the right choice for the Society as it frees up internal resources to concentrate on other priorities.

There are a lot of benefits to be gained from outsourcing including finding financial improvements, making efficiency gains and helping companies survive the current economic problems and emerging more positively.

The Leeds pilot scheme intends to outsource a number of roles including admin and communications work and full regulatory reporting. Suitably skilled contractors will be able to benefit and freelancers could gain some lucrative contracts. At the same time, outsourcing companies may look to recruit new staff to cope with the increased demand.

More companies outsourcing their work is obviously good news for the contracting community, but what do employees feel about it? HMRC staff have held industrial action over proposals to bring in outside contractors to man their call centres. Will employees in other organisations feel threatened by outside labour and do the same?

Umbrella company contractors might be interested to learn that SJD Accountancy has recently launched two new iPhone apps.

The accountancy firm has seen a massive increase in the number of freelancers, limited company contractors and SMEs who want to avail of their services since 2009. Companies still need to complete projects, and IT systems continue to need upgrading and the UK business community is relying more and more on the UK’s flexible workforce to make sure they do not slip behind.

The first SJD iPhone App is called the Limited Company or PAYE Umbrella Company Checker and it allows consultants, contractors, freelancers and interims to understand the best method of working for their particular circumstances. They will be able to evaluate whether working through an Umbrella Company is preferable to trading through their own Limited Company.

The other iPhone App is the Contractor Tax Calculator. SJD says this is a very simple to use calculator that enables contractors to work out how much tax they should be paying on any given daily rate. The App allows contractors to put in differing contract lengths and billable hours, and they can even use it to book a free consultation meeting with a contractor accountant.

As unemployment in the UK continues to rise, an increasing number of people could decide to turn to contracting to make ends meet. New contractors may find it difficult to know where to look to obtain helpful information, so SJD has to be applauded for creating these Apps. We will probably see an increasing number of accountancy firms following suit!

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Contractors and freelancers may have been wondering where to turn for advice after the government funded Business Link advice network closed down.

Actually, a large number of private sector support initiatives have been launched recently and now StartUp Britain has produced an online calendar listing 600 events that will be beneficial to entrepreneurs and other small business owners.

Business minister, Mark Prisk, said one of the aims of the calendar was to give budding entrepreneurs the confidence to go it alone. People need to know where they can turn for support and advice and the calendar shows that help could be right on the doorstep.

The government wants this year to be the year of enterprise and will be providing more opportunities for new start-ups and existing small businesses that want to grow, Prisk continued.

Despite the government’s enthusiasm for self-employment, recent research from Aviva has discovered that around 25% of small business owners are thinking about packing it in and returning to salaried employment.

A third of the respondents to Aviva’s survey said they no longer have the same level of enthusiasm that they had when they first launched their own business. Furthermore, more than 25% said they no longer enjoyed being a business owner.

50% of the surveyed entrepreneurs said they were now drawing less money out of their business than they were 2 years ago. Restaurant owners in particular have been hit hard, with 73% witnessing a decrease in the amount they could take from the business.

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Some umbrella company contractors have been getting anxious in case HMRC uses the newly proposed GAAR to hound them.

It was recently revealed that the Chancellor might include a general anti-avoidance rule in the next budget. Contractors have expressed concerns that this could be added to IR35 as a way of policing their employment status. However, a number of experts believe these fears to be unfounded.

CIOT director John Whiting said he did not think contractors needed to be concerned about that a GAAR will have an affect on their employment status unless they have set up an artificial structure.

He went on to say that the March budget is likely to include a GAAR but it is unlikely that this would target contractors working through a company or that it would be used to police employment status.

Paul Mason from Abbey Tax, the IR35 compliance company, said the majority of freelancers and PAYE umbrella contractors working through limited companies would not be affected by a GAAR, unless they work through an offshore-trust arrangement.

The general anti-avoidance was proposed after Graham Aaronson QC conducted an extensive study. The aim of the rule is to deter contrived schemes that use an artificial structure. John Whiting believes that contractors working through a company are highly unlikely to be affected by it. Policing of employment status is already covered by numerous rules including IR35 and MSC, he added.

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Freelancers who search online marketplaces for contracts may be interested to learn that Elance has just secured funding worth £10.3 million to aid its growth plans.

The global work platform is expecting more businesses to take advantage of the cloud to increase their contingent workforces.

Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and New Enterpise Associates have been joined by the Stripes Group to provide the capital for expansion.

Elance’s chief executive, Fabio Rosati, said there is a clear structural shift away from the traditional 9-5 office based employment model.  Contractors can now choose to work online with several clients and organisations are making it part of their core business strategy to hire online teams. He went on to say that the new investment will help Elance keep abreast of demand and continue to be innovative in its approach to work.

Since 2010, Elance has seen an increase of more than 120% in the number of professionals working through its platform. Furthermore, the company’s European Online Employment Report for 2011 showed the freelance market in the UK is booming with 55% more businesses hiring online.

The UK comes in at number one amongst the European countries hiring online workers, and in the third quarter of last year, it was third worldwide. In the European league table, Germany comes in second place, followed by Switzerland and Holland.

Businesses in London hire the largest amount of contractors through Elance, but the popularity of the site is also growing rapidly in Birmingham, Reading and Edinburgh.

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IT umbrella company contractors could be set to benefit from HP’s decision to share more contracting opportunities with smaller UK businesses.

Hewlett Packard, the largest government IT contractor, has said it will increase significantly the number of small sub-contracting firms it uses by the end of next year. This could lead to an increase in demand for individual contractors, as more opportunities become available in the coming months.

HP intends to increase the number of SME subcontractors it works with to 15% within the next two years. The company already works with 600 small businesses and it intends to add a further 150 firms to that list. This will create job opportunities for IT contractors and freelancers who want to work within small groups.

Nick Wilson, the managing director of HP UK, said that a lot of the company’s current spending will be redirected as it moves towards providing significant support to the small and medium sized sector in Britain.

This move by HP could be of huge importance to the IT industry. Small businesses will have more opportunities and even those who do not obtain a lucrative contract from HP may still benefit as firms reassess their workload and clientele. Furthermore, the increase in opportunities in the small business sector will undoubtedly lead to more contracting positions that IT freelancers can take advantage of.

HP’s news is one of the first positive signs that things could be about to improve for the UK’s IT contracting community. We are starting to see green shoots at last!

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HSE Passport, the firm that offers umbrella companies advice with Health and Safety legislation, is urging recruiters to make sure contractors receive health and safety training before they start a contract.

The company says that making sure contractors and freelancers are equipped with the necessary safety knowledge in advance prevents delays and saves money.

When it comes to safety, contractors with an HSE passport will be able to get straight down to work rather than spend endless hours undergoing in-house safety training courses. Passport training should also reduce the chance of accidents occurring in the workplace.

Guy Schrecker, the general manager at HSE Passport, pointed out that agency workers holding a recognised passport card confirming they are health and safety ready can accept placements straight away and there is no need for the employer to hold induction sessions. Health and safety passports are portable and can be taken from project to project. If recruitment agencies made a passport a mandatory requirement, clients would save valuable time and money.

Umbrella company contractors could find themselves having to undergo a HSE passport health and safety course in the coming months. While this might seem like something of a bind at the time, the long-term benefit is that they will be able to step into new contracts and commence work immediately.

David Cameron pledged recently to rid the UK of some of the pointless health and safety regulations that are blighting British businesses. In a lot of cases, health and safety is common sense and workers should be able to take responsibility for their actions. But, if holding an HSE Passport speeds up the process of getting into work, it has to be worth considering.

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Rathlin Energy will spend five weeks this year drilling to a depth of about one and a half miles in certain areas between Bishop Burton and Walkington; two villages to the west of Beverley.

Although some local residents objected to the plan, oil companies said it was important to establish whether the area contained any resources and they will be working around the clock throughout the five-week period to ensure they search as much of the region as possible.

David Montagu-Smith, the chairperson of Rathlin Energy UK, said these types of exploration ventures are an essential first stage if we are to discover whether we have natural resources hidden beneath our feet.

Because the drilling is just scheduled to run for a short time, Rathlin Energy is unlikely to hire full time staff and this could open up opportunities for freelancers and umbrella company contractors.

The oil and gas sector is a growing industry in the UK. Last year, about £7.5 billion was invested into oil and gas, and as with any growth industry, there are plenty of good opportunities on offer for talented, experienced contractors.

In addition to the Rathlin project, it is believed that a further £2 billion will be invested in searching for oil in the West of Shetland. Again this project is likely to create short-term positions for contractors this year.

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Freelancers in the public sector have had a roller coaster year so far and they will probably be relieved to learn that demand for IT contractors in the sector rose sharply in September.

Computer People recently released its latest figures showing that roles for IT contractors in the public sector increased by 4.3% in September; a reflection that critical projects are still going ahead despite the spending cuts.

The agency commented that although times are hard in the public sector, managers are more likely to use contractors because they can attribute the costs to project budgets, rather than fixed costs.

Sid Barnes, one of Computer People’s directors, said the permanent market has fared worse than the contract one over the past half-year and this could mean contractors are getting the work that would normally have gone to permanent employees.

An increasing number of public sector projects were re-instated and new ones approved. Hiring managers also received new budgets and were keen to snap up quality contractors. The demand for C #, .Net and Oracle contractors has been steadily increasing and although database developers saw rates decrease slightly in September, it is thought there is still money in the pot.

The agency also believes demand for IT contractors will increase further in the first quarter of next year as managers try to spend any left over budget before the year-end.

However, what will that mean when it comes to the second quarter? Barnes believes that spending will reflect both budget levels and managers’ confidence levels in the IT community as a whole.

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A new survey by international office space supplier, Regus, suggests that the UK’s SMEs are turning to contractors to help them through the uncertain economic times.

49% of SMEs that trade internationally say they intend to hire freelancers and 39% plan to hire people who will work remotely.

The research also discovered that overall business confidence has dropped by 20% since April. However, SMEs that trade overseas displayed 88% business confidence, compared to domestic firms who are only 79% confident.

Celia Donne, the regional director of Regus, said SMEs know they have to continue their investment in growth, and are turning to freelancers and remote workers as a way to boost their headcounts. 27% of employed people in the UK are now classed as flexible workers, demonstrating that the employment market has undergone a significant shift in recent years.

Another survey, this time from Simply Business, found that 27% of small firms intend to increase their headcount over the coming 12 months. Whilst this sounds like good news, the downside is that nearly three-quarters of SMEs are not intending to hire new staff next year, and in fact they could be planning to make redundancies.

Burdensome bureaucracy is putting a lot of companies off taking on new employees and government incentives have done little to encourage them. The National Insurance Holiday scheme fell flat and although the Chancellor has come up with measures to help young people into work, only time will tell whether they will be successful.

In the run up to Christmas, hiring will slow down as many companies look forward to the festive break. Hopefully, things will start to pick up again in the New Year.

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