FAQs

How many Contract Opportunities will I receive each day?

We usually discover between 40 and 60 direct client IT contracts every day, although some days we discover more and the daily record stands at 93 contracts! The daily digest contains the last 50 roles (maximum) discovered, although every role is available to be viewed on the database.  As we publish all the opportunities we find on the web, we cannot guarantee a particular number of contracts available. The database usually contains over 700 opportunities found over the last few weeks, although some desirable contract roles are likely to fill very quickly, resulting in some of the less recent opportunities showing as expired.

How many Contract Opportunities will there be with my skillset?

As the total number of opportunities is usually between 40 and 60 direct client IT contracts every day, most general skill sets (eg Business Analyst, Project Manager, Applications Developer) will be featured daily, however more specialist skill sets may only be featured as and when there is demand from companies. We regret we are unable to respond to individual enquiries asking us to run queries looking back into recent history, as the quantity and quality of roles discovered in the future may bear no resemblance to roles discovered in the recent past. In order to gain an appreciation of the types and quantity of roles we are currently discovering, we publish c10-20% of contracts to our twitter feed. For the convenience of those not on twitter, our feed is also published here. To gain a full appreciation of the roles we discover, you would need to subscribe.

What sort of organisations hire contractors without going through an agency?

Companies hiring contract staff direct vary from large multi-nationals with in-house or outsourced HR/recruitment functions to exciting start-ups requiring specific expertise, and everyone in-between, including government departments and household-name corporates! Consultancies and Software Providers also look to build relationships with contractors (associates) that they can call on repeatedly to help them with expertise.

Small companies (as defined by the Companies Acts) do not have the responsibility of determining the IR35 status of contractors they hire unlike medium & larger companies, so contracts with these companies are now more highly sought-after with contractors. Contract Spy often features direct contract opportunities with smaller companies that are often difficult to find for contractors conducting their own searches, as they are often only advertised on the company's own website and the smaller job boards.

Are all the contracts you discover Outside IR35? 

As mentioned above, under existing legislation smaller companies are not obliged to carry out an IR35 assessment of the role, so those roles will not carry any IR35 determination and it remains up to the contractor to determine their own IR35 status. Larger companies and the public sector are obliged to make an IR35 assessment, so those roles may carry either an inside IR35 or outside IR35 determination, depending on the result of the hirer’s assessment. If your main interest is to discover purely Outside IR35 contracts, then please consider our sister site Outside Spy, which does exactly that!

Where do you find your contracts from?

We monitor end clients sites and job boards for direct contract opportunities, adding opportunities to our database in real time, and  publishing the 50 latest opportunities in one daily email digest. Employers can also now register with us directly and advertise contract opportunities for free. We are not limited by any client relationships and publish every opportunity that we find to be a genuine day rate contract or hourly rate freelance opportunity. We make no claim to be a source of hidden or secret vacancies as we know that there is no such thing.

If your contracts are mainly found from the web, why do I need Contract Spy?

We monitor some 1900 end client sites and 70 job boards to bring you the most complete non-agency IT contracts available. Sorting out genuine day rate contracts from fixed-term employment contracts and successfully spotting end-client roles among a sea of agency postings can be very frustrating and time-consuming for the individual contractor, even on a single job board. The days are long-gone when all it took to secure a contract  was a quick search on Jobserve.

Are you a Job Board?

No! We are an aggregator of direct-client IT contracts that are published elsewhere on the web, providing links to Job boards and end-client sites, so that our members are aware of companies recruiting contractors directly,  can easily find direct contracts with their skill set and if so desired apply direct to the client. (depending on the platform the role is advertised on, registration may be required). Unlike Job Boards and other contractor platforms, there is no  requirement to upload a profile or CV to Contract Spy and you remain in complete control of your direct contract hunting activities at all times.

Do you offer other Contractor Services?

Yes! We established Outside Spy in January 2020 to help IT Contractors successfully navigate the introduction of the "Off-Payroll" legislation in the private sector (implemented April 2021). Outside Spy discovers all contracts advertised as being Outside IR35, enabling contractors to keep contracting via their limited companies, with all the flexibility and tax advantages that entails.  For full details and to join, visit OutsideSpy.co.uk 

Can I stop my subscription at any time?

Yes! If you subscribed via PayPal simply login to your PayPal account and cancel your subscription. If you subscribed via GoCardless (Direct Debit) simply contact your bank and cancel the Direct Debit. Alternatively, you can contact us and we will cancel the subscription on your behalf. We will continue to send you any digests, and you will continue to have access to the database, for any time that you have already paid for in advance. Then, if you have found our service useful, please subscribe again when you are at that stage of your contracting cycle.