are you prepared? how do you achieve compliance?
From April 2021, contractors and hirers in the private sector need to be ready for the enforcement of IR35 rules. Agencies like yours will want to be aware of the off-payroll working rules and the mechanism of this legislation in order to ensure your supply chain remains compliant.
We understand that there might be a lot of confusion regarding the legislation and how it works, so to help out we have outlined a five-step process for you to ensure your agency can mitigate associated risks.
step 1: impact to your business
Initially you need to understand which one of your candidates fall in the scope of this legislation. The legislation applies to those who operate via their own personal service companies. You as an agency need to carefully assess the candidates you engage with to ensure that their employment
status is aligned with the service they provide.
step2: what’s your approach
As an agency, you’ll want to understand the role of each party in the supply chain so you can ensure compliance.
As an agency having a clear understanding on how off-payroll working operates will increase your compliance. It is important that you know that the working practises and contractual agreements vary from assignment to assignment. This is why individual assessments are considered more legitimate and compliant over blanket assessments.
According to a survey, 59% of UK businesses were considering making blanket assessments as they do not have time to assess assignments on individual basis. However, individual assessments are more compliant, secure, and relevant. Hirers that go for blanket assessments risk their financial and reputational position in the highly competitive recruitment industry.
step 3: assessment options for your clients
According to the off-payroll working legislation, it is the duty of your end clients to determine the employment status of the contractors. For this, they have two options: HMRC’s CEST tool or an independent tool. The benefit of using CEST tool is that the government will back the decision taken by
their tool. Whereas an independent tool is designed with more direct questions that will lead to a valid outcome.
step 4: project management
The service of project management is to assist you and support you better regarding off-payroll working and its rules. We will take care of everything related to IR35 for your clients, from status determination to presenting the contractors with feasible payment options. We will also do timely
reassessment to ensure transparency and compliance. Outsourcing to giant is going to make the process efficient and simplified for you and your clients.
step 5: April 2021 and beyond
The time is now. You need to get prepared for the changes off-payroll working brings and adapt to those changes before April 2021.
As a recruitment agency, you’re always in the process of recruiting and managing candidates. For this, it is recommended to secure your agency from any legal repercussions.
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