Contractor hiring increases set to continue during 2014
Contractor hiring looks set to continue increasing during 2014 across all core disciplines according to the latest BDO Business Trends Report. The Employment Index remains in growth territory, and has been for 12 months, suggesting that the increased demand for contractors is likely to be sustained. Confidence across both the manufacturing and service sectors is resulting in new orders and investment, further fuelling the demand for contractors to ensure organisations can deliver. More...
PSCs are undefinable and ‘disguised employment’ is nonsensical, Chaplin tells Lords
There is no statutory definition of personal service companies (PSC), nor is it possible to objectively define one, and ‘disguised employment’ is a nonsensical construct by HMRC to raise more taxes. These were some of the messages delivered by ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin in his evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Personal Service Companies (PSCs) inquiry. Chaplin also highlighted that knowledge-based businesses are unfairly targeted by HMRC. More...
HMRC finds that IR35 contractors are more valuable than it previously thought
HMRC appears to have discovered that contractors are paying an ‘extra’ £75m of IR35 tax mid-way through the Lords’ PSC inquiry. The leap in IR35’s yield occurred between HMRC delivering its oral evidence on 25 November 2013 and submitting written evidence on 9 January 2014. “In the space of a few weeks, HMRC’s analysts have either found new data or updated old estimates that increase IR35’s total tax take by £75m,” says ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. More...
“IR35 is a “sticking plaster” on the UK tax system’s structural problem, Lords told
IR35 is a “sticking plaster” on the structural problems of the UK’s tax system, according to engineering firm Amey’s tax director Robert Fort. He was giving evidence in the fourth session of the House of Lords Select Committee on Personal Service Companies (PSCs) inquiry. On the whole, representatives from the NHS, local government and industry were highly supportive of the limited company model in the right circumstances. However, client representatives believed that the idea of substitutions is unrealistic. More...
Marketing contractors in a candidates’ market, says recruiter
Marketing contractors and interims are in a ‘candidate market’ according to research by recruiter Reed. The Drum’s Steven Raeburn reports that two thirds of marketers received no pay rise in the last 12 months, pay remains largely static and nearly 35% of employees are looking for a new job. This suggests that the sector may see an increase in contractor numbers with workers leaving employment and seeking to increase earnings through interim or freelance work. More...
Marketing contractor prospects strengthened in 2014
Marketing contractors received a further boost to their prospects in the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Bellwether Report for the last quarter of 2013. The report shows that marketing budgets increased sharply at the end of 2013 and are predicted to grow further during 2014. Online marketing shows the largest increase in spend, whereas PR registered the sharpest fall in budget. If the forecasts are accurate, new marketing contractors leaving employment due to poor pay and conditions will find plenty of work in the coming months. More...
High oil and gas contractor rates are damaging confidence in the sector
High rates paid to oil and gas contractors as a result of acute skills shortages may be good for contractors but are damaging confidence in the sector, with the rising costs potentially threatening investment. This is according to the latest Oil & Gas UK business sentiment index for the third quarter of 2013, which highlights: “Factors such as a shortage of skilled personnel, wage inflation and growing operating costs may have dampened any rise in optimism across the industry.” More...
Contractors a step closer to shale gas development boom
Oil and gas, engineering and construction contractors are a step closer to enjoying the benefits of a shale gas development boom in the UK. This follows the decision by French energy major Total to invest £30m in exploration drilling in Lincolnshire. In a separate move, Prime Minister David Cameron has committed to giving councils that back fracking on their patch a greater share of the revenues. More...
UK oil and gas workers lured to the Middle East and Africa by huge pay increases
UK oil and gas workers, highly prized for their North Sea experience, are being lured by high rates into assignments in the Middle East and Africa. Oilandgaspeople.com’s annual review also highlights that a further 20,000 contracts and jobs are likely to be created globally during 2014. Offshore drilling engineers and health and safety experts experienced the highest pay rises during 2013, with further inflation-busting rate and salary increases of 10% expected during 2014. More...
HMRC accused of eating small business ‘plankton’ while allowing corporate big fish to go free
HMRC is like “whale which survives on tiny plankton” while allowing the “big fish to go free”. This is what forensic accountant Martyn Arthur told This is Money’s Ruth Lythe following his client, small business owner Icilda Newell’s, victory over HMRC in a tax case “which should never have been brought”. Arthur warned: “I fear we will see similar things happening to other small business owners.” More...