From 6 April, public sector end clients will be responsible for determining whether a worker who operates through a personal service company or other intermediary is caught by IR35 or is genuinely self-employed. Where the worker is caught by IR35, the new rules will also make the fee payer, who will often be a recruitment agency, responsible for deducting and then paying the worker’s tax, National Insurance and employer’s NI.

On Friday, Recruiter reported about current widespread confusion around the changes, with HMRC coming in for criticism from agencies.

Claire Carter, director public service at Interim Partners, claimed HMRC had not provided the market with “the appropriate level of support and guidance” and criticised HMRC for the absence of its new online assessment designed to help determine a contractor’s IR35 status that was not yet ready. Meanwhile Matt Gascoigne, chief operating officer at public sector and not-for-profit recruiter GatenbySanderson, told Recruiter there had been “a degree of paralysis” as people awaited the online assessment tool.

In response to the criticism, a HMRC spokesperson told Recruiter that it is “untrue” to say it has not been providing help and support to public sector organisations and their suppliers.

“We continue to work closely with public sector organisations and their suppliers to ensure people have the right information ahead of 6 April,” said the spokesperson.

“The Employment Status Indicator Tool has been available to public and private sector organisations during private development and will be publicly available shortly.

“Since the government confirmed at Autumn Statement 2016 that reform of the off-payroll working rules in the public sector will be implemented on 6 April 2017, support materials, including draft legislation and guidance about the changes, have been published on GOV.UK.”