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Leaving a permanent job to become an independent contractor is not an easy decision to make. Our career choices are driven by different lifestyles – but with mortgages to be paid and young families to feed, the majority of us wouldn’t jeopardize the security that full time employment gives us. The good news is that becoming an MOT tester or vehicle technician contractor doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your permanent job. There are different options allowing you to earn extra money utilising your skills as a contractor whenever it suits you: just on certain days, weekends or during the time off from your full-time job. Here, we’d like to show you a case study of a real-life contractor, who has registered with Autotech Recruit to top up his monthly income.
Candidate’s background
Robin is 32 years old with a young family and was initially looking for weekend work to earn some extra money to pay for days out with his loved ones. He initially called Autotech Recruit after seeing our advert for temporary Vehicle Technicians whilst reading MOT Testing magazine during a break of his full time job at a local garage, learning that working as a contractor could earn him a minimum of £110 a day.
He spoke to a member of our resourcing team to gain an understanding of how Autotech Recruit worked and what we could offer him in terms of weekend temporary work. Once we explained that he could work whichever days he wanted to, providing the work was available, he was happy to register with us and partake in an informal telephone interview.
The interview went through the process of gathering Robin’s personal details, including: his name, address, contact number, email, next of kin, etc. We discussed the skill-set relating to his technical background, his current and previous employment, job titles, length of employment and responsibilities whilst in his current job.
Robin was purely looking into doing vehicle technician work on Saturdays whilst he was still working his Monday to Friday full time job and we explained this was definitely something we could offer. Robin had done various temporary jobs in the past and was aware of the way it worked, but our resourcing team still took the time to explain how working as a contractor at Autotech Recruit works, just in case there were any differences.
The phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes ending with a welcome email being sent out to Robin requesting a copy of his driver’s licence, passport and any relevant qualification certificates proving his technical skills. We also emailed him all relevant information, such as the link to our website, the payment company website and our contractor and registration handbooks.
Thoughts and concerns
Can I work only on Saturdays?
Robin works full time in a permanent position at a garage local to him and asked if he would be able to work temporarily for us. We explained that it is definitely possible as long as his contracting work does not affect his full time job – which being at the weekends, he agreed that it wouldn’t.
We explained that he could typically earn a minimum of £110 a day as a contractor. Robin’s initial worry was that working only Saturdays would be a problem for Autotech Recruit, but we assured him that we have plenty of temporary vehicle technician and MOT tester positions that cover Saturday work only, and occasionally even Sunday assignments. If weekends are the only days of the week which he wishes to contract for us, then that is absolutely fine. We also explained that if he had any holiday from his full time permanent job, he could always contract for us during this time, on various days, as long as he let us know upfront which days he would be available for work.
How do I get paid?
Robin asked if we could pay him directly into his bank account for any work carried out. Our resourcing team explained that he could only be paid directly by Autotech Recruit, if he was registered as a limited company, has a business bank account and had relevant insurances in place. An invoice could then be submitted to our accounts department and we could process a payment directly.
In Robin’s case, he was not registered as a limited company, therefore would need to sign with an umbrella payment company for us to be able to pay him for work completed. We talked him through the process of registering with his preferred umbrella company and the services they offer.
Next steps
Submitting a CV
We asked Robin to put together a CV for us to be able to see all of his previous employment and advised that he use the Autotech Recruit CV tips video from our website, to put one together for us. Once completed, he scanned in copies of his driver’s licence, passport and certificates and replied to the welcome email he was sent. The resourcing team then proceeded to check each document was clear, fully compliant and in date.
Once all documents were confirmed as sufficient, Robin was sent an email thanking him for sending them through and to advise him that now these had been received, the umbrella company of his choice will be calling him shortly to register him with them.
Registering with umbrella company
Once the umbrella company had called Robin and fully registered him, then the resourcing team were made aware and Robin was classed as fully registered with Autotech Recruit, meaning he could start work as soon as possible.
Robin’s details were then passed over to the regional consultant who will be his contact going forward. The consultant proceeded to give him a call, firstly to introduce himself and then offer Robin work for the coming weekend and understand if he had any holiday planned from his full time permanent job in which he wished to complete any contracting work.
Outcome
Robin has now been working Saturdays as a temporary vehicle technician for a few months. He is able to enjoy time with his family, treating them to days out which was not possible before on his standard income after all the bills were paid. Robin is called upon by his consultant when Saturday work arises, or if another contractor can complete a Monday to Friday placement and cannot cover the Saturday.