We’ve recently seen a resurgence in the use of temporary and interim staff over the past few months. Since 2020, a variety of high-profile factors have affected the interim workforce including Brexit, IR35 legislation change, and COVID. With increased costs and decreasing revenue in most sectors, partnered with a blanket in scope determination for interims many companies let their temporary workforce go as, at the time, their cost outweighed their value.
However, in the run-up to Christmas with most companies now planning for growth, interim options are being utilised more due to their flexibility. Our clients are making them an integral part of their 2022 strategy. Here’s why;
A flexible short to medium term strategy
Companies streamlined their workforce throughout 2020 and 2021. As such, most are currently being used at their capacity. With growth strategies being planned out, many companies don’t know whether they can justify adding further permanent heads. An interim is a perfect short to medium-term strategy to have someone in the position to evaluate whether or not a permanent head is justified whilst ensuring productivity isn’t lost.
An expert external perspective
Professional contractors are highly experienced individuals who have a variety of experiences in a number of different environments. This experience can be incredibly beneficial for companies by providing new ideas that are tried and tested elsewhere and can be implemented with better efficiency. They can also provide feedback for strategies that they’ve already seen and provide a more balanced view.
An instant solution
Recruitment campaigns can take some time. At a senior level, in particular, notice periods are almost always 3 months with 3 stage interview processes taking 2-3 weeks as standard, it can take almost 4 months to get someone on board assuming a smooth process. Skilled candidates are in short supply and companies are focussing more on retention with counter offers a common response to a resignation. With the speed that the market is currently moving, that time is too valuable to lose. An interim can be onboarded in as little as 1 day and gives you the opportunity to assess whether they would be suitable for a permanent role as well as covering the gap during a recruitment process.
Savant is a specialist in the interim field across finance, executive and technology. We network with and recruit for interims up to and including c-suite and board level with expert knowledge on IR35 and an easily auditable process fully compliant with HMRC processes. We operate a fully transparent model so that you can understand the costs involved.
This is a worked example for a PAYE temp at a salary equivalent of £60,000 being paid on an hourly rate;
Pay Rate - £30.77
Statutory Holiday Pay (12.07%) - £3.71
Employers NI (13.8%) - £4.76
Apprenticeship Levy (0.5%) - £0.17
Pension (3%) - £1.03
Operational/Processing Costs - £6.65
Savant Margin - £7.00
Total Cost to Client - £54.10 per hour (plus VAT)
I’d be happy to speak to you about an interim strategy within the finance space and can put you in touch with a specialist consultant if you want an insight into the technology or executive space. Interims are an important part of business growth and an excellent tool to fight against the shortage of skilled labour in many fields.
