Comments on: Sadly there’s a link to unregulated umbrella industry growth and HMRC inside IR35 hiring

By: Michael Wilkinson

Michael Wilkinson — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 17:43:01 +0000

If HMRC believes those workers are employees for tax purposes, why aren’t they HMRC employees, or is HMRC just evading employment law

By: simon more

simon more — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:38:42 +0000

it’s actually worse.

Some government dept expect contractors to do on-call AND not get paid for it. They will give them time off in lieu, however, only if you get called out. So if you are called at 3.00am in the morning for 15 mins, they will give you 15 mins off in lieu !!] If you build up a lot of time they will then push back and not offer you time off. BE WARNED

However, permanent staff, they get paid if they are on-call even if they don’t get called out, and extra money when called out

By: Paul Newman

Paul Newman — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:03:01 +0000

Umbrella companies invested a lot of time and money into lobbying for enforcement of IR35 legislation, so it’s unsurprising to see HMRC rewarding them for their investment everyone’s a winner after all, more cash for the likes of Brookson, more cash for HMRC, more contractors giving up and paying far less tax as permies…oh, that last one might not be a win.

With so many private sector employers still taking the lazy “blanket inside” approach due to the absence of comprehension of IR35 rules within HR circles, it seems unreasonable to expect that a lumbering dinosaur like HMRC (not renowned for competence at the best of times) would somehow lead the way on enlightened hiring!

By: Phil M

Phil M — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:25:50 +0000

So HMRC openly recognise and accept that umbrella companies are often breaking tax rules, why are they putting the onus on the employee for ensuring they don’t fall foul of one like that…
It should also be noted that when IR35 was being implemented, some freedom of information requests by accountancy firms showed that HMRC were breaking some employment laws, and also lying to parliament about how much extra revenue the change would generate.
So not only is this hypocritical, it’s dishonest, possibly illegal, and entirely disgraceful.
HMRC should not only be ashamed of themselves, but should also be investigated to see if any of those responsible for the IR35 implementation, also have financial interests in any umbrella companies, I bet they do.