Contractors are in demand in the UK and worldwide, shows Manpower
Contractors working in core contracting disciplines such as IT, engineering, interim management and accountancy and finance are in demand worldwide. The latest ManpowerGroup Annual Talent Shortage Survey shows that, after skilled trades, clients find engineering roles the second hardest to fill. However, only 13% of UK clients and employers are unable to fill roles compared to the 35% global average. More...
Contractor offshore employment schemes under threat from Treasury plans
Contractor tax planning schemes based on offshore employment relationships may be under threat from new plans released and under consultation by the Treasury. The Open consultation on offshore employment intermediaries proposes to tackle what the Treasury perceives as tax avoidance by contractors using such schemes. The Treasury’s solution is to make UK-based intermediaries, such as agencies and clients, liable for income tax and National Insurance Contributions it believes should be paid by workers operating such schemes. More...
Are contractor umbrellas turning into recruiters? Debate rages: APSCo and Lawspeed
The industry debate into whether umbrella companies will compete with recruitment agencies continues. Contractor umbrella companies are not planning to become recruitment agencies, says the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) after canvassing its umbrella solution provider membership. “We received over 30 responses from umbrella providers all confirming that they have absolutely no intention, now or in the foreseeable future of competing with their recruitment company clients,” says APSCo. Lawspeed responded saying it has “actual evidence” that some umbrellas are “gearing up to complete with agencies”. More...
Contractors should be used more by public sector clients
Contractors and other flexible workers should be used more in the public sector to maintain “the delivery of efficient public services”. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the public sector “must be more innovative in the way it uses its flexible, contingent workforce”. However, REC makes no mention of the off-payroll rules that are preventing many public sector clients from using contractors, despite claiming that public sector clients should “have the ability to source the right staff as and when they are needed”.
IT professionals motivated by challenging projects and not high pay
IT professionals, including contractors, are more motivated by the prospect of an interesting project than by large remuneration packages or high rates. The Robert Walters Career Lifestyle Report Survey 2013 shows that only 37% of IT professionals consider remuneration and benefits ‘very important’ to their job satisfaction, versus 57% who “consider the interestingness of their day-to-day work ‘very important’ to their job satisfaction”. More...
Contractors and contracting are the “new normal”, says recruitment body
Contractors and contracting have become the “new normal”, according to a new guide for contractor clients published by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). “The reality is that the professional flexible workforce is now ‘the new normal’, which can provide employers with a candidate who has had exposure to a wide range of management styles and business practices,” says APSCo CEO Ann Swain. More...
Contractors may be subject to new EU tax avoidance laws “in a matter of months”
Contractors trading cross border within the European Union (EU) may be subject to a range of new anti-tax-avoidance measures within “a matter of months”. In a BBC news report by Matthew Wall, this is the promise of European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who estimates that tax avoidance costs EU member states £129bn each year. New tax treaties, general anti-abuse laws and automatic information sharing are on the cards to become EU law. More...
Contractor tax data to be shared by nine more countries
Contractors with financial assets held in countries such as Luxembourg, Singapore and Australia will find their tax data being shared with HMRC as nine new countries sign up to international tax protocols. Shiv Malik writes in the Guardian that “the UK will be provided with a wealth of information about companies and individuals registered in well-known tax havens”. There are more than 50 countries that now automatically exchange tax information. More...
Contractors trading via partnerships to get their own version of IR35
Contractors trading via partnerships could end up paying more income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as HMRC proposes new legislation to tackle what it perceives as the “disguised employment” of partners. AccountancyAge’s Richard Crump reports that “HMRC is consulting on the tax rules governing partnerships with the intention of clamping down on the use of LLPs to disguise employment relationships”. According to Crump, current tax rules allows some partners to be self-employed who should be taxed as employees. More...
Financial IT contractor prospects secure, despite EU bonus cap rules
Financial IT contractors working in the City of London are unlikely to experience a mass exodus of banking clients, and contracts should European Union (EU) bank bonus cap rules be introduced. The latest Bonus Satisfaction Survey by Morgan McKinley shows that 83% of City workers would remain in London even if a bonus cap was introduced. The survey also shows a sharp drop in the overall number of bonuses paid to City professionals, and that only 36% were satisfied with their bonus. More...
Contractors with larger engine cars lose out on latest HMRC fuel scale rates update
Contractors with company cars that have petrol engines over 1400cc will be able to claim a penny less from 1 June 2013, when the latest HMRC advisory fuel rates come into force. And diesel engine car drivers of all engine sizes have lost a penny on what they can claim for fuel costs before being forced to pay a benefit in kind tax charge. HMRC’s rules allow contractors to use either the old or new rates for a month after the change is introduced. More...