Contractor demand bounced back in May, with positive prospects for the rest of 2013
Contractor demand bounced back during May 2013, and recruiters are optimistic about contractor prospects for the rest of the 2013. This is according to two key labour force surveys, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)/KPMG Report on Jobs and APSCo’s monthly trends. “Recruiters tell us that employers are more optimistic and are planning to increase their temporary and permanent hiring,” notes REC chief executive Kevin Green. More...
Financial IT contractor prospects buoyed by sharp increase in City hiring
Financial IT contractors look set to enjoy a renaissance in demand for their services as hiring in London’s financial centre grew by 20% month-on-month during May 2013. However, Morgan McKinley’s latest London Employment Monitor shows that the financial sector’s recovery has a long way to go as, despite the monthly gains, hiring remains down by 59% when compared to May 2012. “An increase of 20% in new job availability is certainly a good sign,” explains Morgan McKinley Financial Services operations director Hakan Enver. “Much of this is on the temporary and contract side of the recruitment market.” More...
Contractors in the services sector benefitting from improving business confidence
Contractors with clients in the services sector are benefitting from a surge in business optimism. The BDO Business Trend optimism index for May 2013 “saw a sharp increase”, and the survey identifies the services sector as the “driving force behind this confidence boom”. Contractors in manufacturing may be faring less well, as confidence rose only marginally. BDO also reports that hiring is on the increase, with the ‘intention to hire’ by clients reaching its highest level since April 2011. More...
Manufacturing contractors enjoying positive outlook: EEF/BDO Survey
Contractors with clients in the manufacturing sector are enjoying “broad-based improvements” as recruitment activity picks up again. In contrast to BDO’s Business Trend Optimism Index (see above), the second quarter EEF/BDO Manufacturing Outlook survey shows contractor clients “reporting the strongest output and orders balances for a year”. “Positive manufacturing data has been somewhat easier to find in recent months and our latest survey provides further confidence that the sector’s prospects are improving," says EEF chief economist Lee Hopley.
Oil and gas contractors profit from ongoing confidence and investment in North Sea
Oil and gas contractors are profiting from ongoing confidence and record investment in the UK’s Continental Shelf (UKCS). Oil & Gas UK’s business confidence index shows that both operators and service and support companies are “adopting a generally optimistic outlook”. Oonagh Werngren, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, highlights that oil and gas services companies are “benefiting from the record investment in the UK continental shelf, which has led to increased demand for their services and equipment”.
Limited company contractors given an RTI extension to April 2014
Limited company contractors now have until April 2014 before they have to implement Real Time Information (RTI) reporting of their payroll. HMRC has extended its amnesty for businesses with fewer than 50 employees from October 2013 to the end of the financial year. By then, all employers – including limited company contractors – will be required to submit an RTI return on or before they make any salary payments. As larger businesses, most contractor umbrella companies will either be implementing RTI now, or will be doing so before September 2013.
Contractor numbers increase as self-employment reaches 4.2m
Contractor numbers increased in the quarter to April 2013, as the number of self-employed workers in the UK reached 4.2m, just below the historic high of 4.223m reached during May to June 2012. Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Market Statistics show that the increase is largely as a result of 33,000 new full-time self-employed workers, with the part-time count falling by 11,000. Overall, employment across the UK rose by 24,000 during the quarter, with unemployment falling by 5,000. More...
Contractors may be facing a “more aggressive and assertive” HMRC
Contractors may be facing a “more aggressive and assertive” HMRC intent on challenging “more businesses and tax avoidance schemes more aggressively”, if Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge MP has her way. AccountancyAge’s Calum Fuller writes that Hodge told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee that she was “not sure that HMRC is battling away behind closed doors to get the best deal on my behalf, the taxpayer”. In response, representatives of leading accountancy firms argued “that HMRC should not be assertive just for the sake of it”. More...
Over a third of contractors have received an HMRC fine or penalty
More than a third of contractors have received a fine or penalty from HMRC, shows a survey of over 2,000 contractors by umbrella company Paraplus. And 42% of contractors claim that “their biggest concern about working for themselves is understanding and adhering to HMRC guidelines”. “Unfortunately these findings aren’t surprising as the regulations and constant updates from HMRC can be confusing,” explains Phil McDonald, managing director of Paraplus. “HMRC doesn’t consider ignorance to be an excuse, so those workers who have already been fined or might be, are at risk.”
Contractors can’t sue their accountants for failing to advise on tax schemes
Contractors won’t be able to sue their accountants for negligence for failing to advise on tax avoidance schemes, despite the Hehjoo v Harben Barker High Court ruling. The ruling found that an accountant had been negligent in failing to advise its client on tax avoidance options. Mark Lee writes on AccountingWeb that “the law has not changed” and “there is no new obligation on accountants to advise on fancy tax schemes”. More...