Leading and expanding Leicester recruitment agency, Encore Personnel, is preparing to support its contractors and clients following the UK Government’s IR35 repeal.
Last week, the Government revealed its latest plans to reverse the IR35, a tax-avoidance rule that was previously designed to combat ‘disguised employment’ – a term that refers to an individual worker that is hired as a contractor but is treated as an employee.
Encore, headquartered in Leicester with a further 10 branches across the UK, followed the Government’s plans closely as Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the IR35 reversal will come into play from the 6th April 2023.
Scrapping the reform means that instead of the end client being responsible for its contractors, come next Spring contractors and self-employed workers will be once again responsible for determining their own employment status.
Commenting on the IR35 changes set out, Andrew Fletcher, Operations Manager of Encore’s driving division, said: “We’ll continue to keep compliance closely under review, but so far we’re welcoming the steps that the Government has taken to cut back, on a process that has been seen to add unnecessary complexity and costs for many businesses. The IR35 reform of 2021 had a huge impact on the HGV driver shortages – so from this announcement, we hope to see a positive outcome for both our contracted drivers and clients.
“At Encore, we’re in a strong position to advise on how to remain compliant and prepare for the changes to come. It’s important for us to remain transparent to ensure our clients and contractors understand they are protected from the risks of getting it wrong and facing the liability of unpaid taxes. We’re here to support businesses through the process and will bear the brunt of the regulation changes so that they don’t have anything to worry about. These changes are six months away which gives us plenty of time to digest and plan for the future. We’re on hand to handle these situations so businesses can get on with keeping vital supply chains running.”
The Government’s initial IR35 reform was first introduced for the public sector in 2017 and was later reviewed and altered in 2021 to include large and medium sized private sector businesses. The reform has proven to hinder the UK’s flexible workforce, with many businesses finding themselves incapable of ensuring IR35 compliance. A report published in February 2022 by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that public sector bodies alone have paid or owe a total of £263 million because they have not administered the reforms correctly.
Andrew added: “We’re available whenever our customers want to discuss the news about IR35, with specialist advisors and consultants just a phone call away – all fully prepared to help them and their workers navigate these changes.”
Encore prides itself on its exceptional client and candidate service. It puts the customer and candidate experience at the centre of all strategy with dual value propositions of ‘your business, your culture, our priority’ and ‘your future, your wellbeing, our priority.’ It places its success on following its key values including avoiding negativity, creating loyalty, and communicating with a refreshing openness.
