Official meeting with Will Quince ahead of IR35 reforms

Will Quince, MP for Colchester and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions visited our offices last week to discuss the impending IR35 reforms and the implications for UK contractors, agencies and businesses alike.

The IR35 law is part of the Finance Act and was first introduced in April 2000 with the purpose of stopping “disguised employees” from avoiding paying tax and National Insurance. A reform that shifts the liability to the clients in the private sector is planned to come into place in April this year causing concerns for medium and large businesses across the UK. These organisations will be responsible for determining whether a contractor is inside or outside IR35 and therefore also liable for any penalties for an incorrect determination.

“Challenging peoples’ very livelihoods, stifling entrepreneurship and innovation, disincentivising the use of UK experts and encouraging the offshoring of roles that could be performed by UK talent cannot be the objectives of this reform. We’re advocating for a delay on April 6th 2020, so that the time required to arrive at reforms which will achieve the required objectives can be implemented based upon confidence, accuracy and fairness.” – Ricky Knight, Sales Director, Whitehall

Mr Quince has listened to our concerns and will be raising them with Chancellor Of The Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Chief Secretary of the Treasury Stephen Barclay, ahead of the reforms.