Contractors Articles

The Government has published the full budget 2015. A search for contractors, freelancers and umbrella companies highlights the following:

Umbrella companies and employment intermediaries

1.250 Autumn Statement 2014 announced that the government would review the growing use of overarching contracts of employment that allow some temporary workers and their employers to benefit from tax relief for home-to-work travel expenses, relief not generally available to other workers. This is unfair. As a result of the review, the government will change the rules to restrict travel and subsistence relief for workers engaged through an employment intermediary, such as an umbrella company or a personal service company, and under the supervision, direction and control of the end-user. This will take effect from April 2016 following a consultation on the detail of the changes. It will level the playing field between employment businesses that seek to lower their costs by using these arrangements and those that do not.

Today, 10^th March 2015, representatives of the Umbrella Company industry and of Employment Intermediaries will be meeting a number of MP’s at the House of Commons to discuss the HMRC review of Tax Relief on Expenses.

Some potentially good news for contractors who operate through their own limited company is that HMRC have relaxed their deadline for Limited Companies (with less than 50 employees) that are adjudged to be late filing their monthly PAYE returns and hence liable for a penalty.

The Chancellor included Umbrella Companies in his Autumn Statement after what seemed to be as a result of a campaign from UCATT and other Trade Unions criticising Umbrella Companies.