Disputes between contractors, clients, agencies and umbrella companies are growing in number and becoming increasingly intense, as each player in the contract food-chain tries to hold on to cash as the recession bottoms out.

According to a report in Contracting Matters, disputes between umbrella-contractors and their clients and agencies have risen four-fold on last year’s figures. And Rob Crossland, Managing Director of professional business services provider Parasol, says the effects are wide ranging. (more…)

The subject of IR35 was raised again in the Commons last month, with a Government Minister refusing to reveal how many IR35 investigations were launched over the past five years. (more…)

Contractors supplying services to public authorities will not face requests under the Freedom of Information Act, in line with demands from the business community.

Heading off the prospect of extra costs for large and small government suppliers alike, policy makers said contractors would remain outside the scope of the 2005 legislation. (more…)

Indications are that limited company contractors will be excluded from the Agency Workers Directive, whereas umbrella company contractors will be covered by the directive. This information is based on the final consultation meeting at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in London yesterday, to which ContractorCalculator’s CEO, Dave Chaplin, was invited. (more…)

The advantages that technical worker Andrew Tilson told an employment tribunal that he perceived in operating the way he did cannot be revealed without scrutinising his likely tax position. But for Silversun Solutions Ltd, he would be seen as an agency worker contracted under a contract for services (self-employed) and the tax/NICS agency legislation would kick in, which would mean that the agency should deduct PAYE and NIC from all payments to Mr Tilson. As an agency worker he would not be able to claim any travel and subsistence expenses. With Silversun in the chain as a limited company, the agency would not be required to make any deductions from the payments it made to Silversun. All fairly straightforward so far. (more…)

A laid-off techie was right to say employment rights entitled him to claim unfair dismissal, despite being engaged as an independent contractor on a project with just a week’s notice.

The ruling, obtained by CUK from the case lawyers, is being seen as a landmark decision, for potentially allowing contractors inside IR35 to claim employment rights from their end- users. (more…)

Some contractors within IR35 might be able to claim employment rights from their ‘client’, following a landmark ruling this week.

An Employment Tribunal has found that contractor Andrew Tilson was an employee of Alstom Transport, despite billing on an hourly basis through his own contractor limited company and working through an agency. (more…)

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has called the government to broaden its base of IT contractors away from large technology companies like Capita.

Rather than simply being reserved for the “the big players”, the Tory leader said contracts for the supply of services to the government should go to smaller outfits.
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New powers forcing organisations and individuals to tell Revenue & Customs the whereabouts of suspected tax dodgers are incoming for the tax authority.

Until now, it was up to mobile phone companies, councils and utility providers to volunteer the address of a person if HMRC requested it to collect their tax debt.

But under the Finance Bill, which is due to become law in a few weeks, third parties face a hefty cash penalty if they refuse to aid HMRC in locating the taxpayer. (more…)

Figures have been released showing that the IR35 tax regulations are producing an average of just £1.5 million a year in tax revenues.

The disclosure came after the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) used the Freedom of Information rules to request exact sums on the amount of tax raised for the exchequer by IR35. [Source: PlanIT Chartered Accountants]

Between the tax years 2002/03 and 2007/08, IR35 managed £9.2 million in government income, the equivalent to £1.5 million annually. (more…)