Are more people in the UK turning to self-employment out of necessity rather than choice? This debate has been raging over the last few months and the news that self-employment has reached an all time high will no doubt start people talking again.
Within hours on HMRC publishing its IR35 guidance, members of the IR35 Forum issued a statement saying the document did not take key elements of their advice into consideration.
Contractors in Scotland may have started to wonder what their future will be after the Scottish Referendum on Independence takes place.
The government still hasn’t managed to fine tune the clearance system to make sure it gets the best value IT contractors for sensitive projects.
A lot of contractors were probably waiting with bated breath to hear the latest news from the IR35 Forum. However, they were in for a disappointment when HMRC postponed the meeting scheduled for the 18th of January, saying there was more work to be done.
A recent survey by the PCG found that most limited company contractors think the UK’s economic landscape will not improve next year.
Umbrella company contractors might be interested to learn that HMRC is considering changing the way it thinks about IR35.
Umbrella contractors may not be aware that the UK is not the only country with a thriving contractor community.
Umbrella company contractors who are members of the PCG may be interested in a new scheme the Group has set up.
A new report has claimed that PAYE umbrella company contractors are disadvantaged by failures in the Government Security Clearance procedures.
Despite the slow growth in the UK economy, contractors such as those working through umbrella companies are doing surprisingly well, according to a new survey by the PCG.
People Per Hour recently surveyed 9,000 businesses about their usage of freelancers and discovered that the number of businesses using flexible workers has risen by 68% in the last 12 months.
Umbrella company contractors may be interested to learn that HMRC only yielded slightly over £200,000 last year from their enquiries into the IR35 status of self-employed workers.
Contractors may be interested to learn that MPs from all the UK’s main political parties have pledged to address the false perceptions that exist around freelance contracting.
HMRC should focus on detecting genuine cases of disguised employment rather than jumping to the conclusion that all freelancers are subject to IR35 rules, according to the REC.
Contractors who had hoped to see the demise of IR35 may be interested to learn that the PCG is to be part of the new IR35 Forum.
