As with the public authority rules, responsibility for determining the tax status of contractors is to switch from the contractor to the hirer. Tax liability passes to the ‘fee payer’, which, with three exceptions, is the business that contracts with the contractor.
Since the government announced in October 2018 that the IR35 public sector rules would be extended to the private sector, there has been a plethora of publications warning against potential issues.
Whenever engaging an individual it is always important to understand the rules and rights that apply. These are determined by the employment status of the individual, whether an employee, a worker, a contractor, self employed or via a company (e.g. a PSC or umbrella), or some other kind of casual operator.
Lawspeed is delighted to announce the launch of a new accreditation for umbrella companies and other service providers. To be known as SPA (service provider accreditation).
The contractor tax rules known as IR35 are set to change. In simple terms, agencies and hirers that have historically hired contractors without risk of tax liability will, from 5th April 2020, be liable if they get the IR35 rules wrong. It is therefore relevant to understand when the rules apply.
The recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO) concerning the impact of public sector IR35 rules on the BBC in 2017 should be taken seriously.
Until the onset of the public sector IR35 rules, there was little tax or employment risk of dealing with a standard company contractor so long as the obvious tax avoidance models were avoided.
The BBC has reported that it believes the IR35 public sector rules are to be extended to the private sector in the budget later this month. Anyone who has followed the path of this controversial tax proposal will not be taken by surprise.
Recent reports involving a claim by the contractor Susan Winchester (Ms. W) for holiday pay deserve more analysis. The reports, published by Contractor Calculator (CC) and on the IPSE website, state that Ms W received an out of court settlement on the day of an Employment Tribunal hearing for her claim for unpaid holiday pay based on the fact that she was an agency worker, the claim apparently having been made under the Agency Worker Regulations.
There are few people in this world who are more autonomous than football referees. Controlling the beautiful game, sometimes to the frustration of one team or another, the ref is the authority and calls the shots until the final whistle blows. Even the video ref is a referee with comprehensive power to exercise judgment.