And now for some good news . . .

Yes, there is a faint glimmer of hope for businesses on the horizon.   An announcement which came out last week about IR35 legislation (the rollout of changes to private sector off-payroll rules) and the enforcement of gender gap reporting will be delayed for the time-being. Both of these changes weredue tomorrow on 1 April 2020.

Just a quick reminder about what this news means for employers.

IR35

So what is IR35?  IR35 is a term used to describe two sets of tax legislation thatare designed to combat tax avoidance by workers, and the firms hiring them.  The latter are companies who are supplying their services to clients via an intermediary, such as a limited company, but who would be an employee if the intermediary was not used.

The Government had intended to introduce the rollout this year to the private sector having done so across the public sector in the UK.

In short, IR35 involves applying three main principles to determine employment status.  These are known as the principal ‘tests of employment’:

Control:  What degree of control does the client have over what, how, when and where the worker completes the work

Substitution:  is personal service by the worker required, or can the worker send a substitute in their place?

Mutuality of Obligation:  This is a concept where the employer is obliged to offer work, and the worker is obligated to accept it.

However, our advice is that you should check your workforce contracts to see how many fall foul of these principles.  Now is a good time to do a review and assess the outcome for your business.

Gender gap reporting

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) said it had decided to suspend enforcement of the gender pay gap deadlines this year in the wake of the challenge presented to employers by coronavirus, meaning it will not investigate any employers failing to report their pay gap.

While employers will not be obliged to publish their gender pay gaps this year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) recommends and encourages all businesses that are able to submit their data, should do so.

Again, this is a good opportunity if you have additional capacity in your business because of the changes in circumstances, to prepare and assess your gender pay gap if any.

If you would like to find out more or have any questions please get in touch with Hafton by giving us a call or emailing us at info@haftonconsultancy.com.