IT contractor is 'temp worker of the year' finalist

A helpdesk support worker and car enthusiast from Liverpool has been chosen as IT contractor of the year as part of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC) 'One in a Million' competition.

Winning contractor Martin Beddis will now go head-to-head with temporary workers such as drivers and nurses for the final One in a Million award next week at the House of Commons.

Beddis is a Mini enthusiast and part-time contractor on recruitment agency Parity's books. He works on a temporary basis primarily to balance the childcare commitments for his two children.

Beddis was nominated by Parity for going above and beyond the call of duty by voluntarily managing the Contractors' Forum, which represents the 30 IT contractors at the client's site, and regularly taking work home with him.

One particular incident cited by Parity in support of Beddis' nomination was taking home a damaged file to work on and managing to restore 90 per cent of the data overnight on a vital presentation that a member of staff thought she had lost completely.

Beddis said: "She rang me up as soon as she got in. I think she was a bit overwhelmed with relief."

The REC's award forms part of temporary workers week between 6 and 10 June aimed at highlighting the unsung contribution millions of temping staff make to organisations and the UK economy.