In a poor employment market contractors go first. - "Don't worry", said the BT boss, Ian Livingston: "Most job losses will come from contractors and third parties." Guardian 15/11/08 - However, it's easier to leave if you don't like the job, you can more or less walk away.

You don't get trained by the employer, and you have to jump through hoops. - You will see people you work alongside disappear for weeks on courses while your skills go out of date. The only answer is to spend time between contracts at up to £1500 per week (probably double what you earn) on the same courses to remain employable.

Getting messed around by agencies. The shorter the notice to do something, the more likely it is that someone somewhere has messed up. - --> Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part <--

If you take a day off you don't get paid, and you can't work a day in lieu beyond the contract to make up for it. - However, if the contract is paid in "man-days" then it may be possible to negotiate with the client, days off to be added to the end of the contract so that income is not lost.

Being willing to work anywhere in the UK doesn't work in practice - If you increase your rate to cover accommodation and travelling you are less likely to get the contract. In practice this means being restricted to a commutable radius from home. If you agree to work away your net income will be reduced by the cost of the accommodation. - Working away from home is ok for short periods but soon becomes undesirable. This is why many employers only want local contractors. Local knowledge takes time which one doesn't have when taking on a contract at short notice in a new area. The shorter the contract the higher the rate needs to be to compensate for the start up costs.

Agencies fly kites on Jobserve - the client just wants to find out how many CVs will come in for a given advertised rate and set of skills so they can set the rate. - The answer is to try to get long contracts so you don't have to play the agency games.

One can be put forward for a role several weeks ahead of the supposed start date, hear nothing for a long time, and then be contacted by the agency on the Friday before the Monday start asking if you can start Monday. By which time with luck you'll be working elsewhere. - Some agencies regard contractors as "hamsters on a wheel" and treat them poorly.

Some agencies won't pay you on time - In this particular case it was because the agency claimed the client hadn't paid them. I argued that their contract was with me not with the client and therefore their first duty was to pay me irrespective of whether they had been paid by the client. - After a few years you get to know the good agencies, stick with them.

You may be unpaid for up to ten working days if the Christmas break of the organisation is a long one, and you are not on the holiday cover roster, - This gets easier as time goes by because you will have built up a rainy day fund to cover voids.

Piece work doesn't pay - click for details