News

The government has today announced a consultation into the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, otherwise known as the ‘Conduct Regulations’ or ‘Agency Regulations’. The Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) has always lobbied government on behalf of the recruitment industry and has responded quickly to the announcement. The principle aspects under consideration […]

Fathers are expressing a wish to spend more time with their children but many are concerned that society attaches a stigma to dads who work part-time or even take the minimum parental leave. In November Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced a new system of flexible parental leave which will come into effect in 2015. […]

A new law which extends the rights of working fathers could have the additional benefit of reducing discrimination against women in the workplace. Adrian Marlowe, MD at Lawspeed, sees the forthcoming system of flexible parental leave as a step towards true gender equality in the recruitment process. Marlowe said: “Whilst it is against the law […]

The government has confirmed that its use of the Managed Service Companies (MSC) legislation to recover tax and National Insurance has escalated significantly in the past year. Recruitment law specialists Lawspeed submitted two Freedom of Information requests to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and discovered that the number of enquiries alive at April 2012 was […]

2012 was a challenge for everyone so after weathering the storms and surviving the excesses of the festive period now is probably a good time for recruitment agencies to check up on their wellbeing. It’s time to book a SPA. A Lawspeed SPA may not offer you full use of an indoor pool, a complimentary […]

The government has announced its annual increases in the maximum compensation awards that can be awarded by an employment tribunal in unfair dismissal cases. The maximum compensation award in unfair dismissal claims has increased from £72,300 to £74,200. For redundancy payments and calculating the basic award in an unfair dismissal claim, the cap on a […]

On 12th December the contractor website Shout99 published an initial roundup or reactions (from Minor to Major to the proposed new changes to the IR35 rules). Comments varied with some commentators suggesting that the changes are in essence only minor. Our view is that the changes will have serious consequences – see our previous article […]

On 11th December the government published new rules applicable to IR35, set to take effect in April 2013. It has also published the planned General Anti Avoidance Rules, an overarching set of rules applicable to tax avoidance. “The planned change to the IR35 rules threatens contracting in a number of different ways, and adds to […]

True to its promise in the Chancellors Autumn statement the government has drafted legislation to tighten IR35 tax laws following the recent “controlling persons” consultation. Under the intermediaries rules known as IR35, applicable since April 2000, a contractor intermediary is obliged to treat the majority of income from its contracts as employment income of its […]

12. Holiday pay must be part of the ‘payments between assignments’ under the Swedish Derogation model Fact or fiction? Fiction – holiday pay only accrues when the worker is actually working. When making payments to individuals under the Swedish Derogation model, holiday pay will not be accrued. 13. Agency workers will be entitled to SSP […]

6. The R.5 rights to equal pay can be avoided by switching the workers to a new hirer every 12 weeks Fact or fiction? Part fact, part fiction – this is correct, unless the agency worker is alternated between hirer A and hirer B in order to try and avoid the rights accruing, in which […]

The Chancellor’s Autumn Announcement that the government will not be introducing new legislation to tax so called “controlling persons” was accompanied by a statement that the government would be strengthening IR35 to put beyond doubt that it applies to office holders for tax purposes.  This implies that the government is planning to amend the IR35 […]

1.    Personal Service Company (PSC) contractors are automatically outside of the scope of the AWR Fact or fiction? Fiction – an individual working through a PSC is not automatically outside the scope of the AWR. However, if the individual is ‘carrying on a business undertaking’ and is supplied under the right form of contract where […]

Lawspeed, the recruitment and employment law specialist, congratulates 5 of its clients that have this year achieved a listing in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 listing published on 2nd December. Ravi Murphy, a director of Lawspeed, said “This year 13% of the top 100 are recruitment businesses and have been listed amongst Britain’s top […]