UK Recruitment Glossary
Contractor
In recruiter context
Different beast from an employee. No paid holiday, no sick pay, no notice protection, but typically 30-60% higher day rate to compensate. UK contractors operate either through their own limited company (outside IR35) or through an umbrella company (inside IR35). Day rate maths is rough: take the rate, multiply by 220 working days, subtract umbrella fees and tax. A £500/day inside-IR35 contract through an umbrella nets roughly the same take-home as a £75-80k permanent salary. The freedom is real; so is the lack of safety net.
Related terms
Retained Search
An executive recruitment model where the employer pays the search firm an upfront fee, regardless of…
Job Offer
A formal proposal of employment from an employer, usually issued verbally first then confirmed in wr…
ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
Software that hiring teams use to receive, store, filter, and rank job applications.
Networking
Building professional contacts who can refer you, advise you, or hire you in the future.