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The main benefits of becoming a contractor include higher income and flexibility. However, many experienced MOT testers and vehicle technicians are hesitant to take the step into contracting. If you are one of them, this case study has been put together to answer your main concerns and outline the development of a candidate into a contractor. It takes you from the process of the new candidate registration with Autotech Recruit through to the actual contracting, whilst addressing any issues, concerns and feedback.
Candidate’s background
Roy is an experienced MOT tester approaching his retirement age. He lives in Suffolk with his wife and teenage son.
He had initially gone to our website after losing his job a week prior. After browsing through the information provided, he submitted his contact details and CV via the Register your details form available on our website. Within a few hours, Roy had received a phone call from a member of our resourcing team for an initial chat to see if we offered the services he required and to partake in an informal telephone interview.
Roy was welcomed to Autotech Recruit via our Resourcing Team and after giving him a bit of background on the company and information about what we could do for him, he was pleasantly surprised and agreed to register with us.
The informal telephone interview went through the following process:
– Personal details including name, address, contact number and email, next of kin etc.
– Current/previous employment, job titles, length of employment, responsibilities and reasons for leaving
– Skill set relating to MOT testing and Vehicle Technician job specs
Once all details were gathered our Resourcing Team understood that Roy had never done any contracting work before. We understood that this can be a change to what people are used to, so we explained how contracting works via Autotech Recruit from start to finish asking if he had any questions and that it was all clear.
We also explained to him how we work with the umbrella payment companies. Roy understood that we do not pay our contractors directly and that we pay via the umbrella company with them processing the payroll i.e. deducting tax and NI, deducting expenses and covering him with relevant insurances that are needed in the workplace. Roy was happy with this and we got his permission for the umbrella company to give him a call to register with them.
The phone call lasted roughly 30 minutes ending with a welcome email being sent out to Roy requesting a copy of his driver’s licence, passport and MOT Smart Card and also explained our hourly rates and the way we work in more detail. Also in the email, we Jehn received the links to our website and the payment company website as well as our contractor and registration handbooks.
Thoughts and concerns
Roy is over the age of 65 and brought it to our attention in the first instance, thinking that this would be a problem. We assured him that it most definitely wasn’t and that we have a varied age range of contractors. As long as he was willing to work, reliable, can be trusted and had relevant experience and qualifications, we could contract him out to our clients, regardless of age.
Roy has worked in a full time permanent job his entire life and was concerned about the change in his routine and lifestyle to adapt to contracting work. We assured him that the impact to his routine should be minimal based on the following points:
– Working hours whilst contracting are normally within standard working hours of 8am and 6pm similar to that of his previous permanent job.
– Each job has its own client and location and the location to travel to would be all agreed in advance over the phone with his consultant, so Roy will be made fully aware of where he will be working when agreeing to a contract.
– Any issue that may arise either whilst the contract is in place or before anything is agreed, Roy was made aware that his consultant is on the end of the phone at all times
Roy stated that his main reason for taking up contracting work was because he needed the flexibility with caring for his wife. We reassured him that contract work is flexible and he only had to work the days he agrees to. If unavailable, Roy would inform us as soon as possible and this will mean no work is offered to him for those days.
Roy was concerned that the way he left his previous job would hinder his chances of Autotech taking him on as a contractor. We assured him the resourcing team are here to extract that information and in most cases, there are genuine reasons why a candidate may have left their previous employment. As long as no crime/ offence was committed then there should not be an issue.
Next steps
Roy scanned in his documents and replied to the welcome email he was sent with all relevant copies. The resourcing team then proceeded to check each document was clear, fully compliant and in date.
Once all documents were confirmed as sufficient, Roy 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.
Once the umbrella company had called Roy and fully registered him, then the resourcing team were made aware and Roy was classed as fully registered with Autotech Recruit, meaning he could start work as soon as possible.
Roys details were then passed over to the consultant who will be his constant contact going forward who proceeded to give him a call, firstly to introduce themselves and then offer Roy work for the coming week. The consultant also wanted to understand Roy’s availability and they discussed he would rather work 4 days out of the week, which was absolutely fine.
Outcome
Roy was completely happy with the service he received from Autotech Recruit from beginning to end. He eased himself into contract work with MOT testing contracts that were close to home, but has now decided to stay over in hotels if needed for work slightly further away. He doesn’t mind the travelling, knowing he will get paid more the further he travels.
Roy was upfront and honest with us from the beginning which really helps our registration process meaning we get no surprises or let downs in the future. We were fully aware at all times of Roy’s concerns and always dealt with them in the best way possible.
Roy has no regrets over his decision to leave traditional employment as contracting has become a very rewarding career choice for him, whilst Autotech Recruit remains the most reliable source of his work.
If you’re considering a career as an MOT technician, you’ll need to complete the appropriate MOT training. You can find more information here.