News

The idea of ‘painting a picture’ in order to make a well-rounded assessment of employment status is a widely acknowledged one. However in light of the more ‘mechanical’ approach soon to be taken by HMRC with regards to arguably one of the most nuanced tests, IR35, a recent case reiterates again the need to make […]

On 6th January, representatives of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) attended a meeting with HMRC officials to discuss the proposed new public sector IR35 rules and to comment on the latest version of HMRC’s planned new online tool. “The meeting, which was attended by a number of large agencies and some public sector representatives, […]

A stark reminder was handed down recently by the courts – comply with the legislation or face the consequences! The director of Whites Recruitment International pleaded guilty to eight charges contrary to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (Conduct Regulations) for failing to supply workers with the necessary paperwork and for […]

The conference ‘Panic, Penalty or Progress?’ is being held on 9th February 2017 in London at a time when the recruitment and contracting sector faces of some of the most radical changes to affect the industry in recent years. It will bring together keynote speakers and recruitment law experts to explore the challenges facing hirers […]

Agencies that do not fully meet their obligations under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (‘AWR’) risk immeasurable damage to their reputations. However, as public awareness of the legislation increases, employers may face negative media attention, even when compliant. The danger was highlighted in the recent Guardian article on the practices of the internet retailer ASOS. […]

Last week the government announced new rates for statutory employment payments, state pensions and most other benefits. The current weekly rate of statutory adoption, maternity, paternity and shared parental pay will rise from £139.58 to £140.98. Statutory sick pay will also rise from £88.45 to £89.35 a week. The annual increase in payment rates takes […]

As was widely anticipated, the draft legislation and guidance published yesterday has confirmed that where a contractor provides services to a public sector hirer and the arrangement is considered to be caught by IR35 the paying party will be obliged to deduct tax and primary NICs from the payment it makes. The gross amount paid […]

    ARC welcomes the Chancellor’s focus on fairer tax within the Autumn Statement; the policy paper states that the ‘government will … consider how the system could be made fairer between workers carrying out the same work under different arrangements’. ARC has long campaigned for a fairer tax system for supplied personnel, arguing that […]

  It is clear that many of the measures announced by the Chancellor today in his Autumn Statement will have some impact on the recruitment sector and on labour relations. Ben Grover, External Policy Adviser for the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) said “As always, the devil will be in the detail and we shall […]

Go to the top of the class! A report recently published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) stated that responses given by recruitment agents, to questions on discrimination between UK and foreign-born workers, were “superior on every single question” to those given by employers. However, the report also highlighted areas in recruiters’ knowledge […]

Could you be bound by amendments to your terms, agreed by your office junior in an email, without your knowledge or consent?  You might think this sounds far-fetched, but a recent court case held that an exchange of emails could be sufficient to amend contractual terms, despite a “no amendment” clause.  Clear contractual terms are […]

From April 2017, a large number of companies may be required to report quarterly on their supplier payment practices. The aim of the draft regulations is to identify those companies who may be clogging up the supply chain and causing cash flow problems for the suppliers they contract with. As it stands, the regulations currently […]

The recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in the case of Lock v British Gas confirms the EAT decision that when calculating holiday pay, the commission a worker would have earned, had they not been on holiday, must be included. This clearly has more far-reaching effects on those in the recruitment sector, where large […]

The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (AWR) are 5 years old, but have they become part of your internal processes?  Could your business have become complacent?   We have seen very little case law on this area.  However, Lawspeed has experienced a recent increase in clients receiving complaints and cases based on the AWR.  What can […]