Legislation changes and new employment legislation come thick and fast in the recruitment and employment sector, and the recent spate of 'non-compliant' solutions coming to market spells real danger for recruiters, employers and the workers engaged in them.
I understand the importance for us all to 'maximise' our take home pay, but individuals must go into things fully and properly educated and eyes wide open. After all no one ever sells the risks or potential future issues that workers may be stacking up for themselves.
I am strongly urging self-employed individuals working in the driving and construction sectors to seek an expert independent review of their working arrangements.
Why? Well many self-employed drivers and construction workers are using schemes that they are simply not eligible for, meaning they risk being pursued by HMRC further down the line.
Avoid HMRC action down the line, its a battle individuals rarely win and can be financially crippling with people losing homes and even seeing families breaking up under the strain of HMRC investigations.
A sanity check will quickly identify if individuals are using the best scheme for their circumstances and complying fully with legislation and tax regulations. With a large number of drivers and construction workers operating on a self-employed basis, many individuals - particularly those who have operated alone for a number of years - are using schemes that they simply aren't eligible for. I am led to believe that HMRC is using driving and construction as target sectors for onshore legislation, the risk of contractors being pursued in retrospective HMRC investigations has never been higher so contractors should act now to protect themselves.
Drivers and construction workers are advised that the best way to find out if they are using the optimum model, is to get a thorough independent audit that pays particular attention to individual circumstances, compliance and maximising take home pay.
Buyer beware, with any provider offering EDM (elective deduction models) or 'Hybrid' models, as typically they are against the spirit of the law and are coming under very close HMRC scrutiny right now.
With the UK general election coming in under 8 months time, this is a political football that will be kicked so this really is a fluid space to watch.
I would encourage contractors to ensure the review is conducted by an impartial service provider offering all three HMRC recognised models: self-employed/CIS, employed/umbrella and PSC/Limited Company. This way they will know that all options have been carefully considered when a recommendation is made.