Contractor ambassador pledges simplification of ‘unnecessarily complicated’ IR35
Contractor ambassador David Morris MP has announced his intention to try and simplify IR35. Speaking after his re-appointment to the post of self-employment government ambassador, he said: “I look forward to continuing to work with IPSE and other bodies who represent the self-employed to come up with new ideas in the coming months. One of the things I would especially like to tackle is IR35 which has always been unnecessarily complicated.” More...
Contractors with strategic skills benefit from increasing client investment
Contractors with key strategic skills are benefitting from profitable contracts as clients are “investing more resources”, including hiring, to get the talent needed to address capacity and skills shortages. This is according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) JobsOutlook for June 2015, which also highlights that 65% of contractor clients pay their contingent workers more than they pay their equivalent employees. “Candidate availability is extremely low and as a result more employers are offering lucrative short-term assignments, especially in fields such as engineering,” explains REC chief executive Kevin Green. More...
Contractors with buy-to-lets cash in on cheap mortgages and high UK rents
Contractors who own, or are considering acquiring, UK buy-to-let properties are in the market at just the right time, figures from the National Housing Federation suggest. BBC personal finance reporter Kevin Peachey claims that low interest rates and a lack of properties on the market have lowered the cost of home loans, whereas UK rental costs are the highest in Europe. Contractors working on contracts that require them to live away from home for long periods and stay in rental properties will see their expenses increase as a result of high rents, but perhaps these contractors should consider buying rather than renting. More...
Contractors with niche talents needed in Singapore as skills shortage worsens
Contractors with skills in the contracting disciplines of engineering and finance could find their next position in Singapore. According to the ManpowerGroup 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, accounting and finance (first position) and engineering (third position) are top of the skills in shortest supply in the city state. Overall, the report highlights a greater percentage of employers reporting talent shortages in 29 of the 42 countries and territories this year, when compared with 2014. Singapore, with an increase of 40% of employers experiencing skills shortages, is one of the most notable increases. More...
Oil and gas contractors’ prospects could improve if Irish drilling is successful
Oil and gas contractors could benefit from a new oil and gas province opening up on their doorstep if drilling operations start this summer at Kinsale Head gas field in the Celtic Sea, off the coast of Ireland. According to proactiveinvestors.co.uk reporter Jamie Ashcroft, Kinsale Head’s owner Kinsale Energy is drilling a well on the Midleton Prospect. Lansdowne Oil & Gas CEO Steve Boldy is reported as saying: “We are pleased with the rapid progress Kinsale Energy has made since taking over as operator and look forward to the drilling of the Midleton well later this year.” More...
Contractors have free access to client and agency accounting records for credit checks
Contractors can now access all Companies House records free of charge, enabling contractors to check the financial background of clients and agencies before accepting a contract. All public digital data held on the UK register of companies is now searchable for free on its new public beta search service. Contractors will be able to search over 170 million digital records on companies and directors, including financial accounts, company filings and details on directors and secretaries throughout the life of the company. More...
Contracting in manufacturing shows signs of improving
Contracting in UK manufacturing remains ‘sluggish’, but prospects are improving for contractors targeting this sector. This is according to the results of the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey. Export orders slipped back following two months of improvement, although output grew in the three months to June, and is expected to improve steadily over the next quarter. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director of economics, said: “Output and overall orders are still doing better than average but hopes that export demand would start to drive forward have not yet been fulfilled.” More...
Oil and gas contractors are likely to benefit from industry cost pressures
Oil and gas contractors could represent a cost-effective option for North Sea companies as industry body Oil & Gas UK calls for the industry to become sustainable. Speaking at the industry body’s annual conference, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive Deirdre Michie warned against “Real and present threats that are challenging our future,” including low oil prices and a shortage of investors. The solution, according to Michie, lies in increasing efficiency and working together. Highly skilled and adaptable contractors, representing a lower risk option than employees to cost-conscious operators and services firms, should be a significant part of the solution. More...
Contractors who think that IR35 is expensive and complex have been proved right
Contractors who consider IR35 expensive to comply with and highly complex have had their opinion officially confirmed by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) in its recently launched complexity index. This spreadsheet tool analyses and measures the relative complexity of the UK tax system, and will be used by the OTS to identify future projects and for monitoring changes in complexity in different areas of tax. Surprisingly, IR53 is not the most complex of taxes, but it scores highly in a number of key criteria, including the cost of compliance to taxpayers and HMRC. More...
Contractors invited to particulate in IPSE’s Confidence Index survey
Contractors are invited to take part in the latest Freelancer Confidence Index by the Association of Independent Professionals and Self-Employed (IPSE). The data is used by organisations such as the Bank of England “to monitor self-employment in the UK and to ensure appropriate measures are taken to encourage its growth.” The survey is open now and only takes a few minutes to complete. Those that take part will be entered into a draw to win one of ten £50 Amazon vouchers. More...