HMRC has last week announced a consultation on the self employed status of construction workers. It is common within the construction industry for workers to operate via the CIS scheme, which allows for self employed workers to have certain level of tax deducted at source, which depending upon their registration status with HMRC can be 30%, 20% or nothing.
The government consultation is looking at the self employed status of such workers, with a particular focus on whether they provide their own plant, materials and equipment. At present this is limited to the construction industry. However, if changes are made so that workers in one industry were to be deemed not to be self employed due to the fact that they do not provide all tools and equipment, this could potentially have consequences across other industries also.
In addition to this consultation, there are increasing calls, including a private members bill for construction to be brought within the scope of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Could this all be part of an increasing regulation of this industry?
For more information on this matter or to find out about how we can represent your views in response to the consultation, contact Lawspeed on 01273 236 226
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.