Contractor Frequently asked questions

At the end of every week (or work placement if less than a week) you must submit a timesheet showing all the hours worked in that placement. This must be approved and signed by the branch manager. The timesheet then must be with Autotech Recruit before 9 am on Monday morning. If the timesheet is received on time, and there are no problems with it, then you will be paid on the Friday of the same week.

Please note that upon registration with Autotech Recruit, you will be asked how you wish your wages to be paid. There are three options:

• Via your limited company
• As a sole trader
• Via an umbrella payment company

Autotech Recruit welcomes the registration of contractors that are trading as a limited company. We will require copies of all of your limited company documents and you will be required to complete a self-bill agreement annually. We will charge you £1.50 a day for the Damage & Benefits Fund, but otherwise, we will pay the full amount you earn directly into your business bank account.

If you choose to work as a sole trader, we will require you to register with the Guild, which acts as an intermediary between yourself and us. They will charge you a weekly fee of approx. £21.50, but otherwise you will receive the full amount you have earned into your personal bank account.

Limited company contractors and sole traders are required to provide us with evidence of public liability insurance (this policy will normally cost you around £200 per annum).

Limited company contractors and sole traders may be able to claim expenses against your business costs. You should seek the advice of an accountant to confirm what you can claim as business expenses.

You can opt to be paid via an umbrella company. You submit your timesheet to us as normal and the umbrella company will arrange everything else, including your insurance.  You will be paid by the umbrella company weekly and they will charge you a weekly fee that includes our Damage & Benefits Fund.

Please note that as a limited company or sole trader, you can expect to take home 75-80% of your pay on a contract, compared to 60-65% via an umbrella company. If you are solely a vehicle technician with no MOT tester license and intend to work full-time hours, you may find working as a limited company or sole trader more beneficial. Ask for more details upon registration and we can support your journey in establishing a limited company if required.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept candidates with a history of MOT testing penalty points.

Autotech Recruit will happily take on contractors to do only odd-days or weekend work even if you are in full-time employment.

Some of our contractors work for us only during their annual leave (if it is allowed by their main employer's policy).

All contract work is flexible allowing you to choose the days you work and accept only the contracts you fancy.

You will be asked for your availability on a regular basis by your Autotech Recruit consultant and to update it on our Contractor Portal. If there are periods of time when you cannot work, then let Autotech Recruit be aware of this at the earliest opportunity.

If a contract assignment is offered and you cannot commit, you need to make Autotech Recruit aware of this. Being unavailable for a contract will not affect the allocation of future work.

If you are contracted to work in a vehicle technician then your own tools will be required.

View the type of toolboxes that our contractors use.

Umbrella companies generally no longer allow expenses. If you are a sole trader or limited company contractor, you can discuss what expenses you can claim with your accountant.