Proposed rules for self-employed onerous, says IPSE
17 December 2014
Forcing company directors to report personal information to agencies and then to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will have a serious effect on subcontracting.
Wed, 17 Dec 2014Forcing company directors to report personal information to agencies and then to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will have a serious effect on subcontracting.
According to IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, requiring company directors to report personal information to agencies that must then be reported quarterly to HMRC will have a “most concerning” effect on the practice of subcontracting work.
In a statement released this week, IPSE said that it would seek legal advice from “a leading QC [Queen’s Counsel]” on the “legitimacy” of the new draft reporting regulations that are intended to combat false self-employment in the construction sector and other industries.
The proposal requires company directors to divulge personal information to agencies including age, gender and National Insurance number. Agencies must then report this and other information to HMRC every quarter.
“The new rules mean that a freelancer who wants to sub-contract a piece of work out to another self-employed person will not only have to register the details of their peer with HMRC, but will be forced to continue reporting on this person for a full three years after the work is completed,” said Simon McVicker, director of policy and external affairs at IPSE.
He went on to say that the reporting requirements of the new legislation “not only threaten to bind self-employed people in costly and time-consuming red tape, but also present a real threat when it comes to data security”.
McVicker also noted that IPSE had been repeatedly assured that their constituents would not be “the target” of the proposals. “There was even a guidance note published by HMRC setting out why they would not be caught by this legislation,” he said.
The organisation also will bring its concerns to minister Matthew Hancock and business secretary Vince Cable at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to point out “the potential harm such regulations could do to Britain’s flexible workforce should they come into force”.
According to IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, requiring company directors to report personal information to agencies that must then be reported quarterly to HMRC will have a “most concerning” effect on the practice of subcontracting work.
In a statement released this week, IPSE said that it would seek legal advice from “a leading QC [Queen’s Counsel]” on the “legitimacy” of the new draft reporting regulations that are intended to combat false self-employment in the construction sector and other industries.
The proposal requires company directors to divulge personal information to agencies including age, gender and National Insurance number. Agencies must then report this and other information to HMRC every quarter.
“The new rules mean that a freelancer who wants to sub-contract a piece of work out to another self-employed person will not only have to register the details of their peer with HMRC, but will be forced to continue reporting on this person for a full three years after the work is completed,” said Simon McVicker, director of policy and external affairs at IPSE.
He went on to say that the reporting requirements of the new legislation “not only threaten to bind self-employed people in costly and time-consuming red tape, but also present a real threat when it comes to data security”.
McVicker also noted that IPSE had been repeatedly assured that their constituents would not be “the target” of the proposals. “There was even a guidance note published by HMRC setting out why they would not be caught by this legislation,” he said.
The organisation also will bring its concerns to minister Matthew Hancock and business secretary Vince Cable at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to point out “the potential harm such regulations could do to Britain’s flexible workforce should they come into force”.
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