Compliant flexible PAYE solutions for contractors & freelancers
Specialist limited company accountancy for contractors
Giving workers in the construction industry greater flexibility
Bringing you exclusive discounts, the best deals and offers
Company Rescue, Recovery and Closure Advice for Business Owners
Industry leading solutions for agencies
Why wait? Call or email us now to find out how we can help
New research reveals that more than two million workers are planning to switch jobs before Christmas, with most workers motivated by a better work-life balance.
According to Totaljobs - which analysed more than 4.2 million job changes since 2015 and surveyed more than 4,500 jobseekers - a quarter of the UK workforce is planning on a change in the next two years.
A survey has revealed that more than half of the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises haven’t introduced formal IR35 processes five months after a major rules shake up.
Last year was a challenging year for almost everyone in the UK, including umbrella workers. Many of these challenges are likely to continue this year, but there will also be opportunities for umbrella workers to prosper in 2021.
In this article, we look at some of the most important challenges and opportunities facing umbrella workers this year.
UK contractors’ average income dropped by 25% in the second quarter of 2020 according to the Freelancer Confidence Index, run by contractor interest group IPSE and PeoplePerHour.
The three-month period, which includes the height of the UK’s national coronavirus lockdown, saw a record fall in the average number of weeks worked by contractors in a quarter. In the 13 weeks between March and June, the average freelancer went five-and-a-half weeks without work.
Many industries have been rocked by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As the smallest entity in supply chains, contractors will be among the hardest hit by the virus lockdown.
For many contractors, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been a valuable source of support when other work has dried up.
Because umbrella companies employ umbrella contractors on a PAYE system, contractors have had the opportunity to receive furlough payments since the scheme was announced.
Employer demand for contractors is soaring in key sectors, including IT and construction, as the economy bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic.
Competition for contractors has been intensified by a number of factors, including long-term labour shortages and an IR35 exodus from the contracting sector.
Recruiter trade body REC said that there was ‘fierce competition’ in the jobs market in September, where labour shortages contributed to issues in petrol stations and on supermarket shelves.
New research from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) suggests that contractors are lowering their day rates and working more to mitigate the impact of coronavirus disruption.
The study also points to rising concerns about the government’s tax policy, including upcoming changes to IR35 in the private sector.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a package of measures designed to support the economy, limit redundancies, and support small businesses and the self-employed during the ongoing coronavirus
IR35 concerns and the coronavirus lockdown has had a negative impact on UK contractor wellbeing and finances, a survey has found.
The survey of over 1,000 limited company contractors found that many were disappointed to be excluded from government support schemes like the self-employed income support and furlough schemes.
A major change to the way that VAT is paid on building and construction invoices has been delayed again, this time until 1 March 2021.
At the end of May, HMRC said that the domestic reverse charge rules for the construction industry would commence on 1 October 2020. However, a week later, the tax authority confirmed that this would be pushed back by five months, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector.
