An IT contractor has taken the bold step of planning to take on the government and their IR35 reforms in a legal battle.
As you can no doubt imagine, this type of thing isn’t going to be cheap and that is why he is looking for donations to make it all happen. The cost of full legal action is expected to be around £360,000. Not exactly small change is it.
I’ve reported before about these IR35 changes of course, which came into force during April for contractors within the public sector and has mostly been unpopular.
In fact, some IT divisions within the public sector have seen thousands of contractors walk out once their contract was up, with many more planning to do the same once they get the chance.
Would a U-turn by the government on IR35 change contractors minds? It very well could, but I think many are probably doing just fine out there away from the public sector, maybe even making more money.
As I’ve spoke about in another blog post, contractors and their skills are more in demand than ever before, with many companies willing to pay top cash for those who want to put in the hours.
I’m sure there would be some who might consider a return to the public sector though, because the work is quite steady and predictable, which gives a bit of reliable income.
This legal challenge has got to make it into a court of law, and with over quarter of a million pounds needing to be raised it does make me wonder if we are going to see anything happen? Let’s wait to find out.
You don’t need to send any donations just yet, as the IT contractor has mentioned that any potential supporters should email and say how much they could donate on a monthly basis. £20 a month has been talked about.
The one thing I do know is that the government very often do change their mind. Just take the “making tax digital” plans as an example, where for months it seemed to be at the top of their to do list.
It now appears the plans for making tax digital has been scrapped, after a lot of hard work and millions of pounds spent, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if one day some government official decided that IR35 should also be scrapped.
What can you do though? Most contractors will simply get on with their life and make the best of anything that comes their way. If the public sector is no longer viable then they look elsewhere, and if the public sector starts to seem more attractive again then I’m sure many will be back.
