IR35 legal advice
Many firms use consultants or contractors in their businesses on a routine basis, bringing in expertise and to help projects move at a faster pace. These are commonly referred to as Off Payroll employees or come under the IR35 definition used by HMRC.
There are advantages for both your company and the contractor in having this type of relationship. However, it is important you consider the nature of the relationship and look at the overall picture to assess the true nature of the engagement – in relation to both employment legislation and new Off Payroll rules around the IR35 status.
What is IR35?
The Intermediaries Legislation, or IR35, has been around since 2000. The aim of the legislation is to remove the tax advantages that come from individuals providing services via a limited company, who are actually ‘disguised employees’ working for a client company.
What are the IR35 / Off Payroll rules?
The existing Off Payroll rules, commonly known as IR35, were introduced to address the avoidance of payroll tax where a business pays a worker via the worker's personal service company (PSC) such as a limited company, rather than as an employee.
Historically, the responsibility for the IR35 rules and deciding the status of the contractor fell on the PSC and not the client business.
For the public sector bodies, the rules changed back in 2017 when the government introduced new legislation to reform IR35, shifting the liability and risk for determining IR35 status to the public sector client.
The 2017 rules require public sector bodies who are the end client of the contractor’s services to decide if any of their contractors, who provided services through a PSC, fall under the Off Payroll rules. If so, the public body has to advise all relevant parties and make payroll deductions before the payment is made to the PSC.
From April 2021, new Off Payroll rules will be introduced and will now apply to many private sector businesses.
Will you be impacted by IR35?
The IR35 changes will apply to large & medium sized private companies that:
- Engage contractors who provide their services through their PSC, and
- Are the end client for the provision of services by that contractor.
IR35 for large & medium businesses
The changes to IR35 affect medium or large entities, which means that any two of the following apply:
- The average number of employees in your business is more than 50;
- Your annual turnover is more than £10.2m;
- Your balance sheet shows more than £5.1m in assets.
Similarly, a charity or other unincorporated entity is impacted by new IR35 rules, if its annual turnover (excluding donations and voluntary income) exceeds £10.2m.
IR35 for small businesses - does IR35 apply to small companies?
If your organisation does not meet the criteria above, it is classed as a small business and the responsibility for IR35 remains with the PSC; so there is no change.
What do you have to do?
The new rules around IR35 /Off Payroll come into force for services provided from 6 April 2021.
If your organisation meets the criteria to implement the new rules, engages contractors through a PSC and is the end client of the services, you must take the following action:
- Review each engagement with a contractor to determine whether the IR35 rules apply
- Using ‘reasonable care’, prepare a Status Determination Statement (SDS) for each contractor
- Issue the SDS to your contractor and their PSC
- If contracting the contractor through an agency, the SDS should be issued to the agency and other parties in the supply chain for the contractor
- Establish a disagreement process for a contractor to challenge an issued SDS
What is a Status Determination Statement (SDS)?
The SDS sets out a contractor’s deemed status for the purposes of IR35 / the Off Payroll rules and the reasons for that determination.
It is important to take reasonable care when preparing the SDS. If your organisation fails to do so, the contractor’s tax and National Insurance contributions become the responsibility of your organisation.
Deciding whether the Off Payroll rules apply to an engagement may be difficult as it depends on a wide range of factors. This makes it confusing to many. You would be well advised to prepare for new rules with the guidance of qualified legal advice.
IR35 / Off Payroll checklist for businesses
With the new IR35 / Off Payroll legislation is coming into force, you should take action now before the rules come into place:
- Decide whether the new rules apply to your business – consider whether your organisation is a large or medium sized business.
- Carry out a preliminary review of all contractors expected to be providing services after 6 April 2021. Consider whether they use a PSC or other intermediary and whether your organisation is the end user of the services.
- Establish the policy and process for reviewing contracts under the IR35 rules and issue an SDS to contractors, agencies and others in the supply chain
- Prepare your payroll system to implement any new off-payroll / IR35 changes.
Get started today, use our IR35 health check to Discover your legal health under the new IR35 Rules.
IR35 / Off Payroll Checklist For Contractors
With the new IR35 / Off Payroll legislation is coming into force, you should take action now before the rules come into place:
- If you are working via your personal service company (PSC), have you thought about how the IR35 rules will impact your new or current contract?
- Have you had your contract reviewed by a lawyer to confirm whether it is compliant with the IR35 rules or how to mitigate them?
- Has your client and/or recruiting agency issued a Status Determination Statement (SDS) to confirm whether your individual contract is within the scope of IR35?
- Have you considered if you are exempt from the IR35 rules, if you work from home (and anticipate doing so in the future) due to the CoVid pandemic, control your work, hours of work and use your own equipment?
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