IT contractors should resist lowering their rates in order to survive the economic crisis, according to experts.

Contractor UK explains that a client can sometimes attempt to cut a contractor's rate by negotiation, cutting elsewhere in the contract such as the budget for new equipment or the removal of in-house staff.

In addition, contractors should watch out for clients attempting to extract additional value from the contract by adding new conditions upon completion of the contract or bringing forward timescales.

In order to protect headline contracting rates, the website advises contractors to be able to justify their prices, which means calculating the value to the client without factoring in largely redundant issues such as experience.

It also is important to look at the state of the market and what other contractors are charging for similar work, and prepare valid and persuasive arguments to combat cuts.