The IT market is shifting. Over the past few months, here at Mexa Solutions, we’ve seen a sharp rise in contract hiring across both end users and IT Service Providers, MSPs, and consultancies.
Why? Cost, flexibility, speed, and specialist expertise. Companies want to scale fast, bring in the right skills, and stay agile, and contracting is the perfect solution.
This blog focuses on everything contracting, including the trends, the value, and the pitfalls to avoid, so whether you’re hiring or looking for your next contract role, you’ll know exactly how to get it right.
Market Trends & Highlights
The IT contracting landscape in the UK is evolving at a rapid pace. Companies are increasingly leaning on contractors to deliver projects quickly, without the financial or administrative burden of permanent hires. This shift is driven by the need for speed, cost-efficiency, and access to specialised expertise that permanent teams may not always provide.
Rising Demand for Contractors
Businesses are under pressure to complete projects faster, respond to short-term spikes in workload, and implement technology upgrades efficiently. Contractors offer the flexibility to bring in the right skills at the right time, ensuring projects stay on track without committing to long-term headcount costs.
Hot Skill Areas
Certain sectors are experiencing particularly high demand for contract talent:
- Infrastructure Engineering: From network upgrades to server deployments, contractors are essential for maintaining and scaling IT infrastructure.
- Cloud (Azure/AWS): Organisations increasingly migrate workloads to the cloud, requiring specialist cloud engineers for deployment, optimisation, and security.
- Modern Workplace Solutions: With hybrid work models here to stay, contractors skilled in collaboration tools, endpoint management, and workplace productivity solutions are in demand.
- Data & Analytics: Data migration, governance, and advanced analytics projects rely heavily on skilled contractors to deliver insights quickly.
- Project & Programme Management: Experienced contractors can manage complex initiatives efficiently, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Blended Workforces Become Standard
The concept of a purely permanent workforce is fading. Many organisations now operate a blended workforce model, combining permanent employees for continuity and contractors for specialised, short-term needs. This approach allows businesses to scale teams up or down depending on project requirements, reduce recruitment lead times, and optimise employment costs.
What Value Do IT Contractors Bring
IT contractors have experience of working in lots of different organisations, with different technologies and handling lots of complex problems. They are used to being dropped into a project or an environment and being able to quickly adapt and deliver. You don’t always have this expertise in-house.
Bringing in skilled temporary staff delivers measurable benefits to businesses, helping teams operate efficiently and respond to changing demands.
Flexibility
Businesses can scale teams up or down depending on project requirements without long-term financial commitments. Short contracted staff allow organisations to respond dynamically to fluctuations in workload, ensuring resources match the current needs precisely.
Expertise
They provide access to specialist skills that may not exist within your internal workforce. Whether it’s advanced cloud architecture, data migration, cybersecurity, or project management, these experts bring deep, niche knowledge. Their experience across multiple organisations often introduces best practices and innovative approaches that permanent teams may not have encountered.
Speed
One of the biggest advantages is how quickly new talent can be deployed. Unlike permanent hires, who may take weeks or even months to recruit, temporary IT professionals can start immediately, often on very short notice. This is critical for projects with tight deadlines, urgent system upgrades, or unexpected gaps in permanent teams.
Results
Contractors are outcome-focused. Engaged to deliver specific projects or objectives, they provide high accountability and clear deliverables. Whether filling a short vacancy or completing a complex project on schedule, they help maintain momentum without adding permanent overheads.
Cost-Effectiveness
For shorter assignments, hiring temporary experts can often be more cost-efficient than recruiting full-time staff. Companies save on long-term salary obligations, benefits such as holiday pay and pensions, and other employment-related costs. Investing in the right skills exactly when needed ensures resources are used efficiently.
For project-driven businesses, these professionals aren’t just stopgaps. They can be the difference between meeting deadlines and missing them, enabling companies to maintain momentum, deliver critical initiatives, and achieve strategic goals efficiently. Leveraging short-term expertise strategically enhances agility, productivity, and overall performance.
Make Sure You Are Compliant
Hiring temporary IT professionals without fully considering IR35 and related legislation can be risky. Misclassification or poor compliance processes may result in significant financial penalties, unexpected tax liabilities, and reputational damage. Understanding the rules and implementing the right procedures is essential for both employers and contractors.
Avoid Blanket “Inside IR35” Assessments
Automatically assuming that all engagements fall inside IR35 is not a sensible decision. It might remove the risk of potential misclassification of IR35 on contract assignments, but the end result is that the contractor is taxed differently from being outside IR35 and usually earning significantly less. Contractors know this and, where the assignments should generally fall outside IR35, they naturally want to gravitate to these outside IR35 contractors. This is the case even more so when they know the client hasn’t taken care in properly determining the IR35 status, it’s a potential early warning sign of things to come in the contract.
Therefore, a blanket inside IR35 assessment means that you’re losing out on top talent, those who will decline these opportunities to look in favour or roles that have been correctly assessed.
And when you want a contractor to deliver an important piece of work for you, you’ll want to ensure that you’re getting the best contractor available.
Businesses Remain Cautious, and Rightly So
Despite growing awareness, many organisations remain unsure about compliance requirements. The evolving legislation, combined with complex contracting arrangements, can create uncertainty. Taking a cautious approach is understandable, but fear of compliance should not prevent businesses from leveraging short-term expertise.
Partner With Experts
Working with a knowledgeable recruitment partner can help simplify the process. The right partner, like ourselves at Mexa Solutions, helps provides guidance on IR35 assessments, contract drafting, and payroll management, making compliance straightforward. This approach ensures that you can hire quickly without sacrificing legal obligations.
Confidence Through Proper Guidance
With expert support, businesses can engage temporary staff confidently while staying compliant with HMRC regulations. This reduces administrative burden, mitigates risk, and allows organisations to focus on project delivery rather than legal uncertainties.
The Hiring Process for IT Contracting
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is treating temporary professionals like permanent employees. Top talent is in high demand and can be snapped up within days, so speed and efficiency are essential.
Define the Need
Start by clearly outlining what the project requires. Identify the critical skills, deliverables, and timelines. This ensures you target the right professionals and avoid wasting time on unsuitable candidates. Clear definitions also help recruiters present the best matches quickly.
Act Fast
Time is of the essence. A streamlined process, ideally with a single interview stage, helps secure talent before competitors do. Quick decision-making demonstrates professionalism and respect for the candidate’s time, increasing the likelihood they accept your offer.
Onboard Quickly
Once a professional is hired, rapid onboarding is key. Provide access to systems, tools, and project documentation from day one, along with a clear understanding of expectations and context. Even though the role may be short-term, a smooth start ensures productivity and minimises downtime.
Results
When done correctly, the right hire can be contributing meaningful results within 48 hours. A fast, efficient hiring and onboarding process not only secures the best talent but also ensures projects remain on track and deadlines are met.
Benefits of Being a Contractor
Working on a contract basis offers a range of advantages that go beyond traditional employment. For IT professionals, the flexibility, exposure, and earning potential make contracting an increasingly attractive career path.
Experience a Wide Variety of Projects
One of the most valuable perks of contract work is the opportunity to rotate across multiple companies and projects. This variety exposes professionals to different industries, technologies, and team dynamics.
Whether it’s cloud migrations, infrastructure upgrades, or data analytics initiatives, contractors gain hands-on experience that broadens their expertise and strengthens their CV. This exposure also helps develop problem-solving skills and adaptability, making them highly sought-after in the marketplace.
Potential to Earn More
Contract roles often come with higher daily or hourly rates compared to permanent positions. This premium reflects the specialist skills contractors bring, the short-term nature of engagements, and the flexibility they offer.
By strategically selecting assignments, contractors can significantly increase their earnings potential, sometimes exceeding what they would earn as permanent employees. Using contractor calculators can help estimate take-home pay after tax, national insurance, and IR35 considerations, ensuring financial expectations are clear from the start.
Autonomy and Control
Contracting provides professionals with a level of autonomy rarely available in permanent roles. You have the freedom to choose the projects you want to work on, the clients you engage with, and your own schedule. This control over career trajectory allows individuals to focus on areas they are passionate about, build specialised expertise, and achieve a work-life balance that suits their lifestyle.
Fast-Track Career Growth
Contracting accelerates professional development. By working across different organisations, contractors acquire skills and knowledge faster than colleagues who remain in permanent roles. Exposure to a wide variety of projects, technologies, and team structures enhances problem-solving abilities, leadership potential, and industry insight.
Over time, this experience positions contractors as highly capable and versatile professionals, often opening doors to senior or advisory roles that may take years to achieve in a permanent capacity.
With this you may be able to find a way into becoming a contractor.
How Mexa Solutions Can Help
Finding the right IT contractors doesn’t have to be a headache. Mexa Solutions can source skilled professionals for your projects quickly, from cloud engineers and data specialists to project managers and technical support staff. We match the right talent to your needs so you can scale your team efficiently and meet deadlines with confidence.
We also make the process simple and compliant. From contracts and payments to IR35 guidance and HMRC reporting, we handle the administrative and legal details, so you can focus on delivering results. To explore how Mexa Solutions can help you find the right contractors, get in touch or email Bob Bath directly
Final Word
Contract hiring is more than just filling gaps. It gives your business the agility, expertise, and confidence to deliver projects on time and within budget.
If you’re considering bringing in contractors or want to explore how a blended workforce could benefit your business, get in touch with Mexa Solutions. You can email Bob Bath directly to start the conversation.
Questions About Payments, Contracts, and Contractor Setup
How are payments handled?
Mexa Solutions takes care of everything. We pay the contractor, umbrella company, or limited company directly and issue a single weekly invoice to you for the total charge.
What about setting up contracts?
Contractors are engaged via a B2B service through the recruitment business. Mexa Solutions provides a ready-to-use contract assignment, so everything is set up efficiently from the start.
HMRC Reporting
Another straightforward administrative task handled by your agency. Mexa Solutions submits quarterly reports to HMRC, ensuring full compliance with all relevant legislation and requirements.
This blog was written by Bob Bath, Director and Founder of Mexa Solutions.