May / 7
Contract negotiation and renewal – getting it right
If you’re about to start a new contract, or if your contract is coming up for renewal, you should take some factors into consideration in order to maximise your earning potential, while also ensuring that your contract is compliant with current IR35 legislation. Here we look at how getting your contractual negotiations right can give
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Apr / 18
Another defeat for HMRC as Loose Women presenter wins IR35 appeal
Presenter Kaye Adams has won her appeal against a £124k tax bill she received from HMRC. Adams, who presents a number of radio and TV shows, including the popular daytime talk show Loose Women, successfully defended her self-employed status with BBC Radio Scotland as presenter of The Kay Adams Programme. Her victory follows just weeks
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Apr / 2
Are worker’s rights under threat from government legislation?
Constant wrangling over off-payroll legislation and Brexit have raised questions about the rights of UK workers. Although several documents have addressed the issue of rights, the government have yet to fully consider this angle. Like all workers, contractors need to be treated fairly for the service they provide. However, government legislation is often responsible for
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Mar / 8
Government publish consultation on off-payroll working rules
During last October’s Autumn Budget, Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced that the current public sector off-payroll working rules will be extended into the private sector in April 2020. This week, HMRC published their long awaited consultation document for off-payroll working rules, highlighting a number of key points for consideration. The consultation, open until Tuesday 28th May,
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Jan / 22
10 predictions on the future of contracting
As the shape of the global workforce changes to reflect business evolution and lifestyle aspirations, the contracting world is set for change. From a number of studies, what’s clearly corroborated is that contracting has an increasingly fundamental role to play, both in facilitating economic growth and in giving people the freedom to prioritise what they
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Jan / 16
Should contractors include a right of substitution clause in their contracts?
‘Right of substitution’ is one of three primary concepts, along with ‘control’ and ‘mutuality of obligation’, which is used to determine a worker’s employment status. Recent controversy surrounding IR35 and the off-payroll reforms has seen these theoretical concepts scrutinised and put to the test in tax tribunals. In this article, Contracting Scout looks at the
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Jan / 8
Why limited company contractors should consider writing a confirmation of arrangements letter
For limited company contractors, the debate surrounding how their employment status is determined is a complicated area. The government’s recently published Good Work Plan seeks to address current issues within Britain’s independent labour market. In this report, the government acknowledges that their tax self-assessment tool is inadequate, while the surrounding legislation on employment status requires
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Jan / 2
What is mutuality of obligation and why do contractors need to know about it?
Mutuality of Obligation or ‘MoO’ is one of the key tests of employment status. Alongside the concepts of ‘control’ and ‘right of substitution’, it is used to determine whether or not IR35 should be applied to a contract. Recent changes to the off-payroll rules have resulted in tighter IR35 legislation, with MoO and the other
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Dec / 11
Registering your Limited Company for VAT & Making Tax Digital
For contractors operating through their own limited company whose turnover exceeds the upper tax threshold, registering for VAT is a legal requirement. The upper tax threshold is also the point at which you need to register for the government’s new digital tax scheme that has been introduced to make the VAT system more efficient. If
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Dec / 4
How to land contracts with high value clients
How to land contracts with high value clients For contractors, the primary benefit of working with high-value clients is obvious – high-value clients will have bigger budgets to spend on projects. This not only offers the contractor the chance to negotiating higher rates of pay, it increases the likelihood of securing longer or repeat projects,
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