From April 2012 the qualification period for taking a case for unfair dismissal to an Employment Tribunal will be increased from one to two years – however the Government confirmed in the week of 16th January that this change will not be retrospective
There’s always new legislation flying around in the run-up to the Budget, and this year is no different. We’ve put together a round-up of the employment law changes we know are happening and those that are anticipated in 2012.
We recently reported on the Government’s tentative plans to introduce a General Anti-Avoidance Rule to tackle tax avoidance. A GAAR has been discussed in the past as a potential replacement for IR35, so the prospect of its introduction had the potential to rid freelancers and contractors of an unwanted headache.
This is certainly the first time we’ve heard a company website advertised as a way to help your cause in an IR35 status dispute, although in theory it could fall under the Direction and Control IR35 tests – if a worker is an employee, they wouldn’t have a website – right?
We’ve been keeping abreast of the Agency Workers Regulations since they came into force on 1st October. Despite proclamations of the world ending, the legislation hasn’t had as drastic an impact on the UK’s freelancer and contractor community as was expected.
With the first twelve weeks of the AWR finishing on 23rd December 2011 – when in theory all agency workers will have ‘equal’ treatment rights to pay, holidays, hours of work etc. – we take a look at the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations so far – what’s good, bad and downright dodgy!
With the first twelve weeks of the AWR coming to an end on 23rd December 2011 – when in theory all agency workers will have ‘equal’ treatment rights to pay, holidays, hours of work etc. – we take a look at the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations so far – what’s good, bad and downright dodgy!
All’s been quiet on the IR35 front recently. Since news of HMRC’s woeful enforcement record surfaced late last year, there’s been a relative dearth of IR35-related tomfoolery, instead most compliance related head-scratching has been directed towards the Agency Workers Regulations.
I’m not much of a political commentator, but I think most people in the west agree the government of Iran are something of an irresponsible and oppressive bunch. After cracking down on anti-Government protests at the beginning of the year, Iran has now “gone Nuclear” on its freelancers, and has blocked popular outsourcing website Freelancer.com.
The Government has confirmed this week their plans to ‘overhaul’ key areas of employment legislation following several months of consultation and the Red Tape project. Will any of these make life easier for Employers by reducing red tape, or be fair to Employees?
Recently, Freelance Advisor reported on the very important Supreme Court 2011 legal judgement on Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher and Others and how this may affect freelancers and contractors who have IR35 concerns. As this case is so important for all employees, workers and freelancers in deciding their employment status, at Workline we thought we’d explain this in more detail.
The case highlights the importance the Courts now give to finding clarity in employment relationships, not by looking at what is written down in a contract, but what is actually happening in the working relationship.
Smart phones, internet, social media sites, e-mails, tweeting, blogging – we have accepted all of these innovations as part of our working and daily lives – they help us to work more flexibly, stay in touch for longer and respond to each other more quickly. But several surveys and employment tribunal cases this year have shown that employers need to provide clear guidance to staff regarding how they use social networking sites.
About nine-and-a-half weeks ago the Agency Workers Regulations came into effect in England, Wales and Scotland, and following lots of corporate hand-wringing beforehand, October 1st came and went without incident, and most of the contractors impacted carried on as normal – it seemed like the Y2K virus of the employment world.
Late last week HMRC issued a warning to those plying their trade online – pay your VAT or face stiff penalties and possibly criminal proceedings. The warning comes on the back of the prosecution of one Gregory Allnutt of south-east London, who was found guilty of evading £420,000 in VAT on good he sold via his website.
Just six weeks after passing into law, the controversial Agency Workers Regulations are facing more and more vocal opposition. Despite audible industry protestations, the new legislation went ahead unchanged on October 1st, and now both the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) and The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have renewed calls for an early review.
I’d like a Second Job – what do I need to know? There has undeniably been a huge increase, across all professions, of people taking second jobs or finding an extra source of income by ‘moonlighting’. Getting a second job can be a great (or necessary) thing to do, and while it’s not illegal to have a second job, there are several issues you need to consider, to avoid jeopardising your main source of income. Here we describe what you need to know.
Did you see the BBC Panorama programme last week, All Work and No Pay? As the National Minimum Wage increased to £6.08 on 1st October 2011 (for workers aged 21 and over) Panorama discovered that many British workers are still being paid much less than the law states
The Chancellor, George Osborne, at the Conservative Party conference last weekend confirmed that the Government would double the qualification period needed for employees to be able to claim unfair dismissal – from 1 year (which it is now) to 2 years – from April 2012.
With Workline’s origin in the Film and TV Industries we thought we’d return to the infamous HMRC ‘Film, Television and Production Industry Guidance Notes’, that provide advice on how to determine the correct employment status of workers in these industries.
In preparation for the Agency Workers Regulations passing into law (which happened this past weekend) ACAS last week advised Employers to ‘get to grips’ with the Regulations so they do not fall foul of its requirements, or they could be fined.
Great question. How long have you got? The problem we have here is that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. We can’t give definitives because every business is different and needs different things (which we know doesn’t help you much).
It’s been a long time coming, but this Saturday – despite worries and protestations from many in the recruitment, contracting and HR sectors – the implementation of the Agency Workers Regulations looks set to go ahead as planned with little change to the rules handed down from the EU.
The saga of IR35 is full of twists, turns, loop-the-loops and groin-kicks, and doesn’t show any sign of letting up soon, following George Osborne’s decision to take the path of least resistance in his 2011 Budget. Following a freedom of information request from the PCG, HMRC has divulged some interesting figures which shed some light on HMRC’s tremendous mis-management of IR35.
From October 2012 most workers will have to be auto-enrolled into a pension plan by their Employer (under the Pensions Bill that also abolishes the Default Retirement Age during 2011). According to a recent quarterly survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) 53% of workers are ‘totally unaware’ of this.
There are potentially a couple of small but noteworthy changes heading the way of small businesses in the not-too-distant future, both announced last week. Firstly, HMRC is mulling over a proposal which would make online submission of VAT returns compulsory for firms with turnovers less than £100,000.
Many new freelancers and contractors may be vaguely aware of IR35, but not know when and where it applies. Before getting too intimate with the ins and outs of the IR35 legislation, the first step is to know if IR35 is even relevant to your situation.
We’ve been covering the upcoming Agency Workers Regulations with some interest. The legislation, due to come into force in October, has the potential to fundamentally alter the relationship some freelancers and contractors have with their Umbrella Companies.
When it comes time to form a Limited Company, undoubtedly the biggest hurdle will be choosing a Company name. Company names are like URLs – they have to be unique – and with over 1,000 companies formed every day in the UK, the number of available company names is decreasing rapidly.
Lesley Furber | Legal,Resources
A recent survey by the British Chambers of Commerce of 1,000 sole traders looked into their attitudes to hiring staff. Here we disect the report and see if there are any solutions to encourage sole-traders to take on staff.
Late last week Employment Minister and part-time Wayne Rooney lookalike Ed Davey told industry watchers that a formal review of the troublesome Agency Workers Regulations would not take place until 2013, meaning agencies and Umbrella companies may have to suffer for as much as two years.
A study by the Forum of Private Business has found that small firms are spending more time and money complying with Government legislation than ever before, with a massive 84% of businesses saying they have increased compliance activities since 2009.
Yesterday the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the case of Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher and Others, and set a worrying legal precedent for freelancers and contractors worrying about their IR35 position.
At Workline we get a lot of queries from Care Workers who are unsure of their rights, and with Healthcare Providers in the news lately as they run out of money, we felt it was time to summarise your rights!
This is a difficult and potentially time-consuming process. Long-term freelancers will certainly wish to ‘IR35-proof’ their contracts in order to avoid the reduction in earnings. Contracts will need to be checked for each job/project and they should highlight your status as a self-employed professional.
Lesley Furber | Legal,Resources
With dismissal notices being given out by Shropshire Council to all their staff earlier this month, we thought we’d take a closer look at what this means and if it could happen more frequently in the current climate.
It has been revealed in a recent survey that some small businesses are so desperate to cut costs they are considering reducing their staff holiday allowances. The survey, which was carried out by insurance company MetLife and involved 400 small businesses, found that 27% of firms felt that holiday allowance was too generous.
On 1st July 2011 the Bribery Act (2010) comes into force across the UK, making it a criminal offence for an individual or organisation to offer or receive a bribe – and carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if convicted.
Following HMRC’s recent tax amnesty targeting plumbers, those strike-happy tax collectors have launched another campaign encouraging businesses with revenues above the VAT threshold (currently £73,000) who are not currently VAT Registered to come forward to admit their unpaid taxes – and incur a reduced penalty of only 10% of the the VAT owed.
The Agency Workers Regulations come into force on 1st October 2011 to bolster the rights of so-called “vulnerable” agency workers – and the Swedish Derogation is being mentioned a lot by Umbrella Companies. What does it mean?
Small firms have been warned by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) to check the copyright of images used on their websites following an increase in copyright infringement complaints. Having received a surge of recent calls regarding this issue, the FPB are aware of numerous small businesses that have been charged for using images that they did not realise were copyrighted.
Rachel Soothill | Legal,Technology
A free online tool has been launched to help small-businesses comply with employment regulations, including recruitment, discipline, grievance procedures and the Working Time Directive. Developed by ACAS, who aim to improve employer-employee relations, the Modern Workplace tool lets employers assess their management techniques and offers practical advice on maintaining good employment relations.
Last week marked the first meeting of the IR35 Forum, a carefully-selected group of freelancing, contracting and employment experts gathered by HMRC to aid their faltering IR35 reform attempts. Following the OTS report of small business tax reform and the Government’s subsequent inaction at the Budget, the forum was put together to look into better ways to administer the so-called “Freelancer’s tax”.
There was good news for micro-businesses last week as the EU decided it was time to unburden them from the heavy weight of small business accounting. Business Minister and aged Wayne Rooney lookalike Ed Davey announced that by reducing the accounting responsibilities of businesses with fewer than ten employees and turnover less than £434,000 the EU could save these small enterprises around £300 million per year.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a new version of its guidance to help companies deal with the troublesome Agency Workers Regulations, due to come into force on 1st October, 2011. The final guidance has been edited to clarify how Umbrella Companies can use the Swedish Derogation Model.
Yesterday we ran a piece from our resident HR expert Lesley about the Agency Workers Regulations, or AWR for acronym fans. So now we know how it will affect Agency Workers from an employement point of view – but how will it effect the freelancing and contracting industry as a whole?
From 1st October 2011, Agency Workers in Great Britain (Northern Ireland will publish their own separate regulations) will have the right to ‘equal treatment’ in certain areas of their employment. We summarise what you need to know!
If you decide to form a Limited Company, your next question will probably be “How do I do that?” Many people imagine that forming a Limited Company is an exercise in endless bureaucracy, involving mountains of paperwork and astronomical costs. This couldn’t be further from the truth. According to Companies House 362,000 companies were incorporated in the financial year 2009/10 – over 1,000 every day day!
After the recent hot weather and with summer around the corner (allegedly), is your client happy with what you wear to the office? The warm weather naturally lends itself to a different dress styles but what if you turn up to work in shorts, vests, mini-skirts and halter-necks?
Although this does not relate to you, our honest and straight-laced freelance readers, we thought we would just fill you in on the latest HMRC initiative designed to bust the tax dodgers. Following their “amnesty for all” announcement HM Revenue & Customs have now unveiled a new tax evasion unit that offers reduced penalties for those who come clean on undeclared income.
Jon Norris | Guides,Legal,Money
It’s the freelancer’s perennial quandary – should I stay as a sole trader, or form my own Limited Company? There are advantages of both, but also some drawbacks to be aware of. Remember every situation is different – some people may choose to go Limited for the added weight it puts behind their company name, some people may choose not to incorporate to as they don’t earn enough to take advantage of the added tax efficiency.
If you are asked to work on a Sunday, do you have to? Here is a run-down of your rights.
With a 56% rise in Tribunal claims in 2010, Employment Tribunals (ET’s) have been in the news a lot lately! Here we give you the information you need to know about what they do and how they work.
A new fiscal year always means more fun legislation changes. This year is no different and, as well as the tax changes which we’ve already detailed, there are a raft of changes to employment law. Effective from 6th April 2011 are the following changes -
Now that the Budget has come and gone, and the ensuing raft of fiscal and legislative changes has passed us by leaving a sea of confused freelancers in their wake, it’s time to ask if the changes the Government made were the right ones.
IR35; what the hell is going on, apart from nothing? When an accountant first said to me “You don’t know what IR35 is?!” with a look of open mouthed incredulity, I knew right then and there it was going to be the sucky kind of litigious revelation that cost me money and possibly sanity.
Those of you on a flat-rate VAT scheme are in for a treat – a small treat, but a treat nonetheless. A recent tribunal ruling has deemed that HMRC charging VAT on interest gained through bank balances and savings is illegal, meaning that the practise will cease, pending a possible appeal from HMRC.
During these austere times, it should come as no surprise that HMRC is increasing the penalties for late tax returns and payments. The new rules apply to the tax year 2010-11 so for UK freelancers it’s even more crucial that returns are filed correctly and on time.
If you run your own freelance business, you’ll probably appreciate the freedom that this can give you, as well as the specific challenges it can bring. You may be an old hand at it and completely comfortable managing your own schedule and financial affairs. On the other hand, perhaps you’re new to freelancing and feel a little daunted by all the things to consider.
Contractor Advisor | Legal,Money
The OTS Small Business Tax Review, which was released last week to barely-audible fanfare ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget on March 23rd, threw up three potential changes to the way IR35 currently operates. The first suggestion was to suspend IR35 completely, the second was to amend IR35 enforcement, and the third was to introduce a definitive Business Test
Contractor Advisor | Legal,News
Following last week’s publication of the Office of Tax Simplification’s report on IR35, Contractor Advisor looks at the possibility of suspending the employment legislation altogether, and the impact that could have on the self-employment community at large.
With the recent various natural and human calamities in Japan, New Zealand and the Middle East, now is a better time than ever to think about donating to your charity of choice. Whether you are operating as a sole trader or a Limited Company, there are ways you can make your donations go further both for you and your Company.
Contractor Advisor | Legal,Money
As part of its report on simplifying Tax for small businesses, the Office of Tax Simplification raised two possible short-term solutions. One was to suspend IR35 with immediate effect, and the other was to keep IR35 but improve how it is administered.
Following this morning’s disappointing launch of the Office of Tax Simplification’s Small Business Tax Review, we have now had some more time to digest the whole document, and have pulled out some more snippets that are relevant and interesting to the self-employed community.
Earlier today the Office of Tax Simplification released their report Small Business Tax Review, which is designed to inform the Chancellor’s decision-making process when looking to reform IR35. Although we’re going to look at the report in more detail, a provisional analysis seems to indicate the OTS are not playing the kind of hardball many freelancers and contractors would have liked.
It only happens every ten years, but it is always the subject of much discussion when the Census rolls around. Some think it is a vital statistical tool that can give a unique snapshot of our nation for years to come, some think it is just the Government snooping.
As we reported last week, since March 1st the Advertising Standards Authority has broadened it’s reach, and is now monitoring online advertising in the UK as well as its traditional sphere of print, television and radio. While we certainly don’t envy their new task, it’s absolutely a good thing that some kind of regulatory body is wading into the traditionally murky world of online advertising.
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published a report on how to simplify UK tax reliefs. It’s a long document which takes a while to rifle through, which is surely a good thing (or not, depending on how much you like reading about complex financial and legal issues).
Everyone knows it’s okay to evade tax but completely wrong to avoid it, right? Wrong. What I meant to say is that it’s okay to avoid tax but illegal to evade it. Confused? You’re not the only one. I recently saw an interview on BBC News where tax polemicist Richard Murphy had to repeatedly correct a muddled newsreader over definitions of avoidance and evasion.
The Advertising Standards Agency, whose remit is to monitor advertising in the UK and make sure it sticks to the letter of the law, is from today expanding its remit to include online advertising. Until now, the ASA has concentrated on print, radio and TV advertising. This means that all online UK entities will have to conform to the rules, including us.
Of course we’re not talking about you. We know the Freelance Advisor readership are bastions of honesty, purity and fiscal responsibility. We just thought we’d let you know anyway, so you can warn your less-scrupulous friends about HMRC’s latest clampdown.
This is a busy time of year for the people at HMRC, they’re processing all those tax returns that were delivered online at the end of last month (and some that are still dribbling in late, resulting in nasty £100 fines). This flurry of activity has also seen an increase in email scams centred around tax returns.
Everybody’s favourite comedy double-act, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, have been busying themselves organising a review of Intellectual Property law, in between getting stuck in doorways and hitting themselves in the face with carelessly-discarded rakes.
A number of Freelancers have questioned how the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) will affect them. From October 2012 the UK Government will introduce a new pension scheme to the UK as part of a bigger overall pensions reform strategy. Previously known as “personal accounts” NEST was announced on 7 January 2010.
After locking horns with the taxman for seven long years, freelance contractor Mark Fitzpatrick has has come out victorious in a significant IR35 ruling. And the key to his victory concerned a little concept called ‘mutuality of obligation.’
Fitzpatrick had been accused by HMRC of using his limited company, MBF Design Services, to avoid tax when working for aircraft manufacturer Airbus. In reaching a decision, the tribunal noted a lack of ‘Mutuality of Obligation’ as a significant factor.
What fortuitous timing! We’re currently in the process of making a Copyright Guide for freelancers, and what should come across our desk this morning but a perfect example of copyright being used entirely incorrectly – a cautionary tale, if you will.
Regulations regarding agency workers in the UK has been a controversial issue for a few years now. When the Conservatives were in opposition, they suggested that they would review the legislation which is due for implementation next year, if elected. But since the coalition government was formed, all has gone quiet.
One man who has the inside track is umbrella consultant Gerry Gregoire. In the following article he gives the lowdown on current regulations and how things may change in the future.
One of the things guaranteed to provoke debate is the whole question of notice periods in freelance contracts. On the face of it, an equal right for you and the client to step out of a contract looks like a good thing to have.
But are they really worth anything?
Freelancing and contracting is becoming a normal work practice within our society but many people continue to work as a sole trader rather than through a limited company. Freelance Coach Daryl Close takes a look at how a limited company setup can help you
In this economic climate there are few letters which are worse to receive than a letter saying that your client has gone into administration or bankruptcy owing you money. But the number of these letters being sent out is on the increase. As a freelancer or contractor you will rank behind the banks, the Revenue and employees for payment and the prospect of getting money out of a company at this stage is remote at best. How then to stop your debts going bad?
Regulations and legislation are part and parcel of any business and trading online is no exception. Healys solicitors have extensive experience in IT, e-commerce law and software development agreement. Here they sketch out some of the key factors you need to consider when trading online. Legal considerations when setting up an online business The remote [...]
Freelancers need all the advice they can get and when it comes down to leglistlation not knowing your liabilities can be a painful and costly lesson. Our new legal blogger David Gordon is an expert in giving legal support and advice for freelance, contracting and small-businesses. Six things you need to know (but might be [...]
Heard of it? Most have but still it manages to send a shiver or two down the spine of even the most newbie contractor or freelancer who’s not quite sure! So what actually is it? Well essentially it’s the Inland Revenue’s (HMRC) definition of ‘self employment’ and it’s designed to catch those who are [...]
