Uk Businesses In Danger Of Losing Contractor Talent In Wake Of Ir35 Changes

Research by Brookson Legal suggests thousands of UK contractors face an uncertain future ahead of new IR35 tax legislation coming into force. The company says more than half of UK firms (59 per cent) admit to considering taking a blanket approach to managing the legislation, because they don’t have the time to assess contractors individually. In contrast, 41 per cent wouldn’t consider taking this approach as they don’t want to wrongly assess any contractors for risk of losing them.

HMRC’s consultation on the changes due next year is closing on May 28th. At the same time, Brookson Legal has published its IR35: A Ticking Timebomb report. Based on independent research of more than 500 medium and large-sized UK businesses that hire contractors, it reveals how lessons have not been learnt from the IR35 roll out in the public sector.

Just under three quarters (73 per cent) of businesses agreed that IR35 will have an impact on the number of contractors they hire. Of these, 48 per cent confirm that IR35 will encourage them to reduce the number of contractors they hire – resulting in thousands of contractors potentially losing out on work amongst 20,640 UK businesses. 39 per cent of businesses expect there will be fewer contractors available.

“Whilst it is heartening that many businesses wouldn’t consider taking a blanket approach to this legislation, the fact that 59 per cent of UK businesses are actually considering doing this is shocking considering the well-publicised impact of this approach in the public sector,” says Joe Tully, managing director of Brookson Legal. “Businesses may see this blanket IR35 approach as a quick fix but it is anything but and should be avoided at all costs. Far from saving businesses time and money, this approach will lead to serious repercussions – leaving businesses wide open to increased cost, a wide-scale contractor talent drain, reputational damage, and, in some cases, accusations that they have broken the law.”

The Brookson Legal research also revealed:

• 77 per cent of businesses are concerned that all or some of their contractors previously not captured by IR35 will now be. 9 per cent don’t know and 14 per cent say they are not concerned.
• 47 per cent of businesses know their exposure to IR35 in terms of the proportion of contractors that will fall inside IR35 and have taken steps to understand their exposure/risk. In contrast, 38 per cent are relying on a ‘gut feel’ of their exposure and 15 per cent have no idea at all of their exposure/risk.
• According to only 24 per cent of respondents, IR35 won’t make any difference as contractors are vital for their businesses and 4 per cent expect to be taking on more contractors in future regardless of IR35.

When asked what their biggest fears are with regards to IR35, the top three fears are:

1. Losing skilled contractors – 33 per cent
2. Wrongly placing workers inside/outside the IR35 rules – 32 per cent
3. Increased costs – 32 per cent

Only nine per cent of businesses don’t have any big fears when it comes to IR35.

Joe Tully concludes: “78 per cent of businesses are already being asked questions about IR35 by their contractor workforce, and risk alienating and losing this workforce if they don’t have any answers. 41 per cent of businesses are not considering taking a blanket approach and it is these businesses that will have the competitive advantage by showing that they are taking their IR35 obligations seriously.

Tully also observes that the new IR35 off-payroll rules come into force in April 2020 but the time for UK businesses to put their IR35 house in order is now. “By undertaking proper audits, and seeking expert advice, businesses will be able to illustrate that they are taking ‘reasonable care’ with their IR35 assessments and will almost certainly find that the impact of IR35 is not as far-reaching as their own gut feeling leads them to believe,” says Tully.

To find out more about the IR35 research amongst UK businesses and to download a copy of the Brookson Legal IR35: A Ticking Timebomb report