[CTJUG Forum] Re: Employment

[Renier Rhode]

Ok, my 2c worth...

In my experience the problem of contract/permanent is a fairly complex.

Up to a few years back if was much more profitable to be a contractor, than it is now. Tax reasons, for one, a lot of people I know managed to get very low tax directives which allowed them to buy expensive cars and make it tax deductable. 100% legal of course. Also since we work in a industry where often long hours are required, a contractor would simply bill for those hours, a permanent employee would be given the "choice" of overtime or time off. Time off was always strongly "encouraged". This also meant that contractors usually have much less objections to putting in long hours, since they know they are getting paid for it.

Also being a contractor gives you total flexibility on how you manage your finances, you can have your own retirement plan, you're not bound to the company medical aid and/or retirement plans.

Since it became more lucrative to be a contractor, a lot of people turned to contracting, and since the concept of training a contractor is quite ludicrous, given that you are hiring them EXACTLY for skills they allready possess, "trainee" type positions became fewer and further between.

Then there is the issue of "creative" CV's. People lied about their abilities, I know one or two people who unashamedly did so, and they cost the projects they worked on dearly. So employers became more sceptical about permanent employees, contractors are easier to keep in line, since you simply don't have to renew their contracts if they don't get along with the team or don't have the skill or abilities they claimed.

Then there is the issue of affirmative action. Contractors do not get counted on the official head counts given to the Dept. of Labour to determine employment equity targets. It enables companies to hire skilled white resources which they would otherwise not be able to consider for a position. A lot of companies operate like this, you get a one year contract which gets renewed every year, if you do your job well enough. I know of people who have been doing this for at least 7 years +.

And given that incompetent IT resources can cost companies millions and millions in failed projects, do you really blame them?

Just my observations...

Renier

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