MP’s vote confirms IR35 extensions to go ahead in April 2021.

Last week’s vote by MP’s rejecting an amendment to the Finance Bill in the House of Commons paves the way for the April 2021 implementation of IR35 to the private sector.

Ahead of the new regulations, companies that are deemed to be large or medium sized businesses will have to make an assessment or status determination of their flexible workforce, and decide if they are inside or outside IR35.

Outside Spy has found that many private sector companies have already set up new processes in anticipation of the original April 2020 date, and have continued to operate with these processes in place. For them, it will be a simple transition, but others are unprepared and may still have lots of work to do to implement the correct protocols. The results of these status determinations are likely to be heavily scrutinised, both by Contractors and HMRC alike.

Many have seen the new rules as the end of flexible working arrangements for contractors, and it is clear that while some contractors have closed their companies and others have joined the ranks of the permanently employed, opportunities do remain for those contractors wanting to continue to operate through their own companies.

Outside Spy notes that a significant number of contracts continue to be advertised as “Outside IR35”, both in the public and the private sector, and it will continue to provide its service delivering market intelligence to contractors detailing where and when these contracts are being advertised on the web, effectively becoming a “one-stop shop” for all Outside IR35 contracts.

 

 

Outside Spy is a business service for the independently-minded IT Contractor, that discovers contracts advertised as being “outside IR35” wherever and whenever they are published on the web.