IT and engineering contractors in top five most in-demand online industries
IT and engineering contractors appear fourth and fifth respectively in October’s Monster Employment Index year-on-year growth league table of online demand. Conversely, three other core contracting sectors, marketing, banking and finance, and construction are in the bottom five. Overall, online demand across the board increased during October, leading Monster UK & Ireland managing director Julian Acquari to say, “It is very encouraging to see online hiring levels increase compared to the same time last year for the third consecutive month.” More...
Contractors deliver increased productivity and capacity during uncertainty
Contractors deliver increased productivity and offer a solution to organisations seeking low risk strategies to grow and increase capacity during periods of uncertainty. This is according to the latest Labour Market Outlook published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). It also shows that over four fifths of those organisations surveyed use contractors and temporary workers. “The shift to more part-time and temporary employment looks set to continue to drive the jobs market further along the road to recovery,” said CIPD labour market adviser Gerwyn Davies. More...
BBC to create new ‘employment test’ for its media and entertainment contractors
On- and off-air contractors working for the BBC via limited companies and earning over £50,000 will be asked to undergo a new employment test. The BBC’s chief financial officer Zarin Patel has confirmed that the BBC will work with HMRC “to develop new objective criteria for the tax treatment of on-air presenters where none currently exist.” The new test will be in place for the new tax year in April 2013. More...
Contractors will find HMRC’s RTI PAYE system “impossible”, says accounting body
Contractors have been warned that HMRC’s proposals for Real Time Information (RTI) of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system are “at best unrealistic and at worst impossible”. This downbeat assessment of HMRC’s plans comes from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which says, “While complying with the RTI requirements may be relatively straightforward for larger businesses, many smaller businesses will find it difficult and sometimes impossible to cope with.”
Alert for contractors with EBT histories, as HMRC declares bank scheme ‘illegal’
HMRC has issued a stark warning for contractors who are current or past users of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs). Workplace Savings and Benefits’ Julia Rampen reports that HMRC has declared an EBT run for around 2,000 JP Morgan employees to be illegal. “HMRC told the US bank’s British-based employees the scheme was ‘disguised remuneration,” writes Rampen, “and demanded they pay income tax and national insurance contributions by 7 December 2012.” Disguised remuneration legislation introduced in December 2010 forces EBT users to pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on their income. More...
Workers forced into limited companies by agencies and employers, claims tax group
Temporary workers who are not genuine contractors and would benefit more from being employed or paid via agency payroll are being forced into limited companies by agencies and employers. So claims the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG). “Workers are being forced to use limited companies in order to obtain work when they would be better off being employed either by the agency or the client,” explains LITRG’s chairman Anthony Thomas. “Many low and moderately paid workers, including supply teachers, cleaners and construction industry subcontractors, are being inadvertently caught in these arrangements.”
Contractor numbers fall as self-employment dips below historic high
Contractor and freelancer numbers may have fallen in the three-month period to October 2012 as self-employment fell from its historic high of 4.202m in the quarter to end September to 4.191m in the quarter to end October. The number of part-time self-employed rose by 24,000 during the period to reach 1.204m, but full-time workers fell from 3.020m to 2.987m. Overall, the UK’s labour market saw an improvement, with 100,000 more people in work and 49,000 fewer unemployed than in the previous quarter. More...
Glimmer of hope for beleaguered construction contractors
Contractors in the construction sector, where demand for contractors has slumped dramatically in recent months, can take some hope from the latest Savills Commercial Development Activity report. It shows commercial activity growth during October was at a 32-month high. Output in the UK’s commercial property sector grew for the second month running and is “forecast to improve in line with increased bank lending and better confidence in the market”, says the report.
“Embarrassing” Public Accounts Committee MPs slammed for “ignorance” over tax
The Public Accounts Committee’s interrogation of executives at Amazon, Google and Starbucks about their tax strategies showed the “panel's complete ignorance of how a tax system is designed to function”, writes Miles Dean in Accountancy Age. “This seems to stem from either wilful blindness or a total lack of understanding of basic economics. Those running the country ought to have been better informed and knowledgeable,” adds Dean, who believes that the committee’s “behaviour was an embarrassment” and “undermines the UK's standing amongst business leaders around the world”. More...
HMRC launches ad campaign targeting contractors failing to pay their tax correctly
Contractors who are not paying the correct amount of tax are the target of a new ad campaign by HMRC. The campaign is designed to warn taxpayers, including contractors, who may have undeclared income or capital gains, that it is not too late to put their tax affairs in order. The message is that the alternative, HMRC finding out first, will result in penalties and possibly prosecution.