IR35 review making good progress, as contracting expert joins OTS team
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), which is undertaking a review of IR35 as part of its wider review of small business taxation, has reported making good progress. The contracting sector will have direct representation within the OTS, as IR35 expert Kate Cottrell of Bauer & Cottrell has joined the OTS team alongside other private sector experts. In addition, OTS is meeting with other key contracting and IR35 specialists, including ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. More…
Business group slams IR35, urging OTS to relieve the burden on contractors
In its submission to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), the Institute of Directors (IoD) describes IR35 as having become ‘the problem’, and not the solution to disguised employment it was meant to be. The IoD suggests applying tests ‘mechanically’, so as to remove room for doubt and lift the burden on contracting businesses and clients using contractors. More…
Contractor limited companies could be hit by new pension rules
New pension rules announced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) could impact on the way contractors disburse remuneration and profits within their contractor limited companies. The new rules are set to affect all businesses, including micro-businesses like typical contractor limited companies. They will require each company to enrol all employees on a pension scheme after three months of employment. As the rules kick in when an employee earns above a certain limit, contractors may be required to adjust their own salary payments to remain exempt and avoid the administrative burden. More…
IT contractor demand league see support overtake project management
The latest Skills in Demand report published by the IT Job Board reveals that IT manager roles have fallen for five consecutive months, halving since January 2010, with IT support roles moving into the top spot for available assignments. This could be due to major UK organisations changing IT project priorities, as IT Job Board MD Alex Farrell explains: “[This is] perhaps a reflection that companies are cutting back on bigger IT projects, which require specific project management skills.” More…
New skills body to redeploy skilled defence contractors into civil industries
Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) published earlier this month, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has launched the Skills and Jobs Retention Group. This new skills body will focus on redeploying skilled workers, such as engineering and IT contractors, from cancelled defence projects into industries in the civil sector. Business Secretary Vince Cable says: “I want to ensure that wherever possible we retain the talented individuals leaving the defence industry within the UK's advanced manufacturing sector.” More…
Contractors benefit from construction-fuelled economic growth
According to a preliminary estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the UK economy grew by a faster-than-expected 0.8% in the third quarter of 2010. Construction contractors should benefit directly as construction activity delayed from earlier in the year is fuelling growth. Indirectly, with manufacturing output also increasing by 1%, a recovering economy will present more opportunities for the wider contracting sector. More…
Oil & gas contractor boom moves closer as North Sea exploration licenses mushroom
In its latest round of licensing oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has awarded 83 exploration companies licenses to extract oil and gas from 192 North Sea blocks. Ongoing exploration and extraction of new oil and gas reserves will create new opportunities for a range of contractor disciplines, including oil & gas, offshore, IT and engineering. More…
Contractor opportunities fuelled by UK’s £100bn/year and growing internet economy
Research commissioned by Google and conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that the UK’s online sector is worth £100bn a year, is growing at 10% a year and providing work for 250,000 people, many of them contractors. The report highlights that the online contribution to the UK’s economy is greater than the utilities sector, construction and transport and could grow to 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fuelling ongoing demand for IT, new media and related contractors. More…
Modest downward trend in house prices knocks contractor property portfolio values
Hopes for contractors looking to realise short-term gains in their property portfolios have taken a knock as, according to research by lender Nationwide, house prices fell by 0.7% in October, but property values were still up by 1.4% compared to the same period last year. However, annual growth in property prices may be reversed, as Nationwide Chief Economist Martin Gahbauer explains: “If the recent trend in house prices were to continue through November and December, the annual rate of house price inflation would drop to between 0% and -1% by the end of 2010.” More…