HMRC to be “less combative”, but IR35 likely to remain a focus
Permanent secretary for tax Dave Hartnett has told the Financial Times that HMRC “will adopt a less combative approach to resolving tax disputes with businesses”. This could mean an end to long, drawn-out IR35 cases and could be the reason that, so far, HMRC has not appealed the Novasoft case. ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin says: “This move could signal the taxman focusing more on those contractors clearly within IR35, rather than trying to make case law with more complex, expensive litigation. So it remains as important to be IR35-aware as it has ever been.” More…
Winds of change for offshore and energy contractors
Scotland’s offshore wind sector could generate nearly 50,000 jobs by 2020, according to a report commissioned by Scottish Renewables and Scottish Enterprise. Many of these will be contracts leveraging existing offshore and energy expertise. Scottish Renewables Policy Director Jenny Hogan says: “The international market for offshore wind is growing every year. We can sell [development and deployment technologies] into the growing global market just as our world-leading subsea engineering sector has done.” More…
Flexible workers key to supporting private sector through recession
In its Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter of 2010, Manpower calls for major reform of the public sector, as hiring fell into negative territory for the first time since 1994. According to Manpower UK’s managing director Mark Cahill, the public sector can learn from the example of the private sector in surviving the economic downturn, which could lead to greater opportunities for contractors: “Innovative solutions, such as flexible working, internal redeployment programmes and well-managed non-permanent workforces have supported companies through the recession.” More…
Contractors urged to be cautious contracting for public sector suppliers
“Contractors supplying their services to public sector suppliers should ensure they protect themselves against the possibility of payment default,” says ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin, discussing the surge of insolvencies in the sector. Data from accountant Wilkins Kennedy shows a 47% increase in public sector suppliers going bust, against a national decrease in all insolvencies of 5%. Wilkins Kennedy director Anthony Cork explains: “It is not just the actual cost cuts that are causing problems but the delay by public sector bodies making spending decisions.” More…
Points-based system cuts work visas for foreign workers
The latest 2009 migration figures from the Home Office suggest that the points-based system used to determine whether a work visa should be issued has resulted in a fall in the number of visas being issued, possibly reducing short-term competition for UK-based contracts. Overall, net migration to the UK increased because, although fewer people arrived in the UK, far fewer chose to leave. More…
Public sector finances improvement on 2009
In July’s Public Sector Finances release from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), monthly net borrowing by the government to pay for public sector services was £3.8bn, and total government debt rose to £816.2bn, amounting to 56.1% of gross domestic product. These figures highlight the urgency of tackling public sector spending, and signal that contractors are likely to see significant changes to future public sector contracts. However, the monthly spending figures for July 2010 show a marked improvement on July 2009. More…
IT contractor demand rose 10% in Q1 2010, with IT skills shortages forecast
In its latest quarterly bulletin, ICT sector skills council e-skills UK reports that demand for IT contractors rose by 10% in the first quarter of 2010. Rising demand and falling unemployment among IT workers has resulted in an upwards pressure on contract rates of 2%. The bulletin also warns that, although there are sufficient candidates for available contracts at present, IT skills shortages could be on the horizon. More…