This Summer the Government consulted on the reform of rules governing off-payroll working in the private sector. While we await a formal response to the consultation (expected late Autumn), there has been much speculation about when – not whether – new legislation might take effect. We strongly expect any new legislation in the private sector to mirror the off-payroll rules introduced in the public sector in April 2017, which required public sector organisations to identify all contractors that were being paid “off-payroll” via a personal service company. They were then required to assess the contractor’s employment status by reference to IR35. In all cases, if the contractor is under the direction, control and supervision of the hirer or end user, and fails HMRC's employment status test, PAYE and NICs must be applied to the contractors fees.
