Chapter 5
Contract roles
Contract hiring is fast and agency-led. A recruiter with a new requirement searches the database that morning, shortlists by title, skills, rate, availability and clearance, and sends a few CVs to the client. Your CV has to be found, and then read in seconds.
What contract adverts look like
Our measurement 19,519 contract adverts on the ContractorUK jobs board, posted to 13 September 2026, measured 26 September 2026 CUK1 CUK2 CUK3:
| What the advert states | Adverts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pay per hour | 7,484 | 38.3% |
| Pay per day | 7,129 | 36.5% |
| Pay per year | 2,198 | 11.3% |
| Pay per week or month | 227 | 1.2% |
| No pay basis given | 2,481 | 12.7% |
| IR35 status field: inside | 1,731 | 8.9% |
| IR35 status field: outside | 991 | 5.1% |
| IR35 status field: undetermined | 16,797 | 86.1% |
| Text mentions "umbrella" / "PAYE" | 1,653 / 1,900 | 8.5% / 9.7% |
| Text mentions "hybrid" | 2,344 | 12.0% |
So most contract adverts on our board do not state IR35 status, and fewer than two in five state a day rate.
Day rate
CV databases let recruiters filter on daily and hourly rates as well as salary CV1. Set your rate on your database profiles, and give it in the screening answer or to the recruiter; a rate on the CV itself fixes one number for every role you send it to Our view.
Our measurement Advertised day rates, September 2026 CUK5:
| Role | Adverts with a day rate | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project manager | 255 | £452 | £400 - £550 |
| Business analyst | 50 | £487.50 | £411 - £550 |
| Data engineer | 40 | £475 | £436 - £528 |
IR35
For most engagements the client decides whether the off-payroll rules (IR35) apply and must give a status determination statement with its reasons; where a worker provides services to a small client outside the public sector, the worker's own company decides GOV1. The rules for medium and large private-sector clients changed on 6 April 2021 GOV1.
- IR35 status is decided by the contract and the way the work is done, not by the wording of your CV Our view, from GOV1. Describe what you delivered, for whom and when, accurately.
- If you only accept outside-IR35 roles, or also inside roles through an umbrella or PAYE, say so to the recruiter and in any screening question. Do not put it in a way that rules you out of roles you would take Our view.
- ContractorUK has published guidance on IR35 and CVs: How contractor CVs can be made IR35-friendly and IR35 clangers on CVs. This guide is not tax advice.
Clearance
Our measurement 240 contract adverts ask for SC or DV clearance: 117 in IT, 53 in engineering, 43 in the public sector and defence, 16 in construction; "BPSS" appears in 373 CUK4 CUK3. Vetting levels are set out by UK Security Vetting GOV3. If you hold clearance, state the level and that it is current, near the top, in the words adverts use ("SC cleared", "active DV"). Never imply a clearance you do not hold Our view.
Availability
"Immediate start" appears in 1,672 contract adverts and "ASAP" in 2,330 Our measurement CUK3. Put your availability ("Available from 6 October 2026", or your notice) at the top of the CV and keep it current Our view.
The contract CV, in short
- The common title for what you do, plus clearance and availability, in the first lines.
- Each contract with client, your role, month and year dates, and what you delivered, with numbers where true.
- Short contracts grouped under one heading with dates, so parsers and readers see continuous work.
- The advert's skill words, full term and short form, only where you have them.
- Rate and IR35 preferences in your profile and answers, not fixed on the CV.
What Fitread checks for contracts. The day rate as the advert states it against the role's advertised median and middle half this month (with sample and month), IR35 as stated or "not stated", the contract length as stated, the advert's skills and title on your CV, and a seniority check that uses the role's advertised day rates. Details in chapter 9.