Jobs in London

[Peter Corlett]

On 3 Mar 2011, at 20:10, marcos rebelo wrote:
> Every head-hunter from London proposed me long term contracts, in the rest of Europe they propose a most 1 year contracts. What is different in London, that takes the head-hunter to propose long term contracts?

They are offering "permanent" (or "permie") roles, as opposed to "contract".

A permanent role lasts until notice is given by either side (i.e. you quit or are fired). The notice period is normally a month. After a year, the employer can't just fire you for no reason, but you can still quit at any time without giving a reason. The employer deals with your tax and other annoying legal stuff.

Some employers offer roles that they call contracts but are really just time-limited permanent roles that need renewing. This seems to be mainly a way to avoid the employee protection kicking in after a year. Again, they deal with the tax and whatnot.

When Perlmongers talk about "contract roles" or "contractors", they're often discussing short-term work of anything from a day upwards, but a few months is fairly typical. This involves setting up and running a small business, so there's a lot more risk and paperwork, but it can prove quite lucrative if you're good.