The 6th of April sees us arrive at the first anniversary of the new Off-Payroll Working Rules, more commonly referred to as “IR35”. In the midst of pandemics and other global crises, it’s almost unbelievable just how quickly the last year has passed, and we continue to see clients wrestling with how to continue to engage with the freelance community while being compliant with the new rules.
For those not aware, the new rules took effect from 6th April 2021. The most fundamental and significant of those changes relates to the party responsible for conducting the status determination for each individual assignment, with a view to determining if the off-payroll rules apply or not – referred to as being “inside IR35” or “outside IR35”. Where previously the responsibility for determining the status of the assignment sat with the contractor, under the new rules that responsibility passed to the end-user client – You – which in itself can be something of a daunting process to navigate through if you’re unclear of the new rules that sit behind the legislation.
Contract Scotland has been at the forefront of the changes and helping our clients navigate through the process. In the last 12 months, we have been working with a specialist IR35 assessment consultancy, who have developed an automated tool that offers far greater transparency of process to arrive at a IR35 Status Determination. The Kingsbridge IR35 Status Tool takes a best-of-both approach, allying a custom-designed process with in-house expert consultancy to provide the quickest, most accurate IR35 status result available, supported by Andy Vessey (Leading IR35 Expert, Tax Advisor & Kingsbridge Status Tool Co-Creator) who has been deeply involved with IR35 since its inception in the year 2000. Not all clients have engaged with the tool, as some will have developed their own processes, but where clients do choose to engage with the Contract Scotland tool, there will be no charge to either the candidate or the client for the Status Determination process. We will be providing this service free of charge.
We continue to engage with the construction, engineering and property sectors to provide assistance and, as far as possible, offer solutions to the challenges these sectors face in attracting the temporary staff they need in this new landscape.
If you would like to receive more information on the assessment tool and process as we arrive at the anniversary of the legislation coming into place, click below for a demonstration of the tool and its uses.
