Most workers assume that their National Insurance Contributions (NICs), as reported by their employer or through their own records, are accurate and up to date. Read More
The Treasury has announced that the off-payroll tax will go ahead in April this year despite conducting a review this month to address any concerns from businesses and affected individuals about how they will be implemented.
The review will determine if any further steps can be taken to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the reforms, which are due to come into force in April 2020. As part of this, the review will also assess whether any additional support is needed to ensure that the self-employed, who are not in scope of the rules, are not impacted.
Off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, were introduced in 2000 to ensure that someone working like an employee, but through a company, pays similar taxes to other employees. Employers using contractors who are covered by IR35 are required to deduct income tax and national insurance from their pay as if they were an employee.
Under the reforms, which have been in place in the public sector since 2017,the responsibility of deducing whether contractors are covered by the rules moves from the individual contractor to the employing organisation.
Critics have called for it to be delayed or cancelled altogether, saying they are concerned about potentially missing out on skilled contractors and temporary professionals if they are forced to make tax deductions on their earnings.
There has also been criticism of the reliability of the tests employers must use to determine whether a contractor is caught by IR35, specifically about the Government’s ‘Check Employment Status for Tax’ toolkit.
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Recent research suggests that almost three-quarters of firms in the UK are not ready for the changes to the IR35 off-payroll working rules, which will include the private and voluntary sectors from April next year. Read More
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The Government has launched a consultation on its aims to reduce the number of job losses related to ill health and encourage larger and smaller businesses to invest more resources into supporting their workforce’s wellbeing. Read More
Recent research, conducted by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), has found that only 39 per cent of recruitment agencies believe that their clients are aware of the extension of off-payroll rules to the private sector from next April. Read More
According to recent research, private firms that employ contractors could experience major disruption when changes are made to IR35 and Off-Payroll working rules in April 2020, as tax liability changes will affect national insurance and significantly increase the cost of hiring them. Read More
Recent research has found that the cash flow constraints of having to wait for a single day every month to receive wages can be dangerous to the financial wellbeing of employees. Read More
A recent report suggests that despite ‘challenges’ in recruitment and retention, the jobs market is continuing to boom, although a significant number of salaries remain stagnant. Read More