May 29, 2019 | HR, IT, Management
There’s a lot of confusion right now about IR35; what it is, why it’s changing and what those changes will mean for the millions of self-employed contract workers currently operating in the UK.
Although many of the proposed changes to IR35 legislation are not yet set in stone, we have put together some helpful information to try and make sense of the latest developments and how they might affect you:
What is IR35?
IR35 is a piece of legislation that was introduced in 2000 to ensure the correct national insurance and income tax was paid by self-employed contractors. IR35 prevents tax avoidance, stopping workers who seek to hide their employment status from HMRC by supplying services to clients via an intermediary – a practice known as ‘disguised employment’.
What’s new with IR35?
In 2017 in the public sector, the onus shifted from worker to employer; employers became responsible for determining the correct tax status of their workers and took on the associated tax risks. From April 2020, it is expected that medium and large-sized businesses in the private sector will face the same shift in responsibility.
Back in March, the Government began an open consultation on the implementation of reforms to the off-payroll working rules from April 2020. The consultation asks for views from all sectors on subjects that include;
– the scope of the reform and impact on non-corporate engagers
– information requirements for engagers, fee-payers, and personal service companies
– addressing status determination disagreements
The consultation closed on 28th May 2019.
We’re not in Kansas anymore
There are many who see these changes as far more than a reform of current rules, calling it a ‘stealth-tax’ and alleging that the consultation seeks to mislead. Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC), said to onrec; “…the proposals go significantly beyond compliance with the original IR35 rules… The device used is therefore at best a brand new tax burden, and at worst a new tax altogether.”
A lot of the disagreement stems from the new rule which states that payments to contractors must not include either employer’s NI at 13.8% or an Apprenticeship Levy which, at 0.5%, would mean each contract becomes 14.3% more costly to the company engaging a contractor.
What do these changes mean for you?
The anticipated changes to IR35 from April 2020 will mainly affect the businesses who receive contract services, rather than the workers themselves. However, it would be foolhardy to assume these effects will not trickle down and be felt by all.
Uncertainty surrounding the issue will likely cause companies to think twice before engaging new individuals through personal service companies (PSCs) so, if you are unsure about your status, you can use the HMRC employment status checker to confirm. Once you know where you stand, you will be better prepared to discuss reservations from potential clients.
With regard to the potential 14.3% increase in cost to engage, it is highly likely that all contracts will be renegotiated. Unfortunately, these changes seem set to be costly for both sides.
Our expert IT recruitment consultants are here to take the pressure off you when recruiting someone new, permanent or contract. We liaise with candidates with the utmost care to ensure that their candidate experience is a positive one. Call us on 0207 788 6600 and let us help you Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.
May 16, 2019 | Well Being
It’s Sunday night. You’ve spent much of the day in your jim-jams binging box sets, but you’ve just crossed that uneasy 6pm line between the weekend and Monday eve. Thoughts of work creep in and interfere with your chill. Wide eyed you suddenly remember the work you bailed on in favour of a Friday afternoon wine in the sun. Anxiety strikes and you start to fear the coming dawn. It’s OK, we’ve all been there. But, what now?
First things first, calm down. Sure, it would’ve been better if you’d met your deadlines, but you’ll be a model of focus and self-control with these 5 clever tactics to help you form a fast and highly effective plan for fighting off the dreaded Sunday night fear;
1: Stop overthinking
The biggest waste of time right now is panicked, anxious, self-critical thought. Woulda, coulda, shoulda nonsense offers no value or solutions. Take a deep breath and decide right now to focus on an action plan instead of paralysing thought-analysis.
(exhale) Game face time.
2: Get organised
With your newfound focus, list every incomplete task you can remember from last week and prioritise two things:
1 – Stuff your boss wants asap
2 – Stuff your whistle-blowing clients or colleagues want asap
This is what you need to do first to avoid the first wave of trouble. Everything else can wait.
3: Prepare some easy wins
Next up, lets add achievement and progress to the plan for tomorrow. Go back to your list and look at:
– Jobs you’ve nearly finished
– Jobs that’ll take 5/10 minutes to complete
– Bigger jobs that you can start to demonstrate you’re “on it”
With the urgent stuff done, your ‘job complete’ list is about to look pretty impressive. Perhaps better than a normal day! Doesn’t that feel good?
4: Remember your Successes
With a solid catch up plan now in place why not add a layer of self-care?
Let go of the ‘what I didn’t do’ worry and recall what went well. We give ourselves such a hard time, it’s important to celebrate the wins too. After all, if challenged you’ll want to run off your wins without hesitation.
This leads us nicely to the final part of your fear battle…
5: Reward yourself
No one will appreciate the effort involved to haul yourself from brink of calamity so there’s unlikely to be gold at the end of your secret and suspiciously brown rainbow. Instead, bask in the smell of your own glory by rewarding yourself with an unusually elaborate lunch or special treat.
Phew! Panic over. In just five easy steps you’ve calmed down, worked out how you’ll meet deadlines, prioritise tasks and enjoy recent successes. Thinking about your achievements will improve confidence, reduce stress and get you back on track for a good night’s sleep and a productive week. Well done. Now to plan that fancy ass lunch!
May 15, 2019 | IT, Management
For business leaders experiencing country wide skill shortages, the knock-on effects of key recruitment failures are far reaching, costly and damaging. Experienced IT Recruiter Langley James offers valuable advice to help attract and secure desirable talent ahead of the competition.
The latest UK Recruitment Survey from the REC and KPMG reports that although the number of vacancies becoming available slowed in April, many recruiters and employers are struggling to cope with fierce competition for quality candidates.
Failing to recruit on time can hurt. Commercially, a business can suffer downtime, missed deadlines, reduced quality and disappointed clients or customers. Further operational problems can appear due to increased pressure on staff to pick up the slack causing stress, resentment and general unhappiness. Mistakes, complaints, sickness and even resignations inevitably follow heaping more pressure on you to steady the ship by finding that key hire.
The problem is demand. Quality candidates have an abundance of choice and rarely need to take a job out of necessity. Savvy employers make great efforts to deliver attractive recruitment propositions from branding to interview content aimed at convincing people to attend interviews and accept job offers. Put simply, any company failing to do this will risk missing out.
Ok, so what can we do about it?
Firstly, let’s start with the target audience. With most people employed these days talent targets are likely to be passively interested and relatively happy in their job, which means your vacancy positioning needs to change from a mere job to fill to an attractive career opportunity.
Quality candidates interested in career opportunities want to:
– hear the company and career path vision in order to imagine joining the journey
– understand clear objectives relating to the business problems requiring their skills
– trust you as a manager and leader
– feel valued and rewarded both personally and financially
– develop their skills and/or progress their careers
– be heard
– work with talented people with a shared interest in personal growth
– Enjoy a positive working environment
Ask yourself, does my current recruitment agency brief, job description and interview content deliver on these points?
Next, lets lose the mindset that people should count themselves lucky to interview with you. In a talent short market it’s actually the other way around and so anyone subjected to a hard nosed poker game of an interview is likely to switch off. Instead, create candidate desire by forming a warm and welcoming pitch just as you would sell your own products or services. Focus on the employer features of your company and the benefits of joining you – ideally delivering on what a quality candidate wants. Make people want your job before asking them to jump through a selection process.
Speaking of selection processes, during times of high demand avoid forcing people through unnecessary testing and long winded, multi-stage interviewing. Look at improving the interview itself and reduce the time between interview and decision to hire.
Finally, recognise the seriousness of your need and look to offer a salary and package that reflects that. Cast aside the ‘that’s what we pay’ mentality, recognise the true cost of failing to recruit and instead focus on doing what it takes to win.
Ultimately winning the talent race comes down to how a person feels so, make changes to your approach aimed at creating a positive selection experience. Make people feel good and you’ll stand a much better chance of securing their services.
Our expert IT recruitment consultants are here to take the pressure off you when recruiting someone new. We liaise with candidates with the utmost care to ensure that their candidate experience is a positive one. Call us on 0207 788 6600 and let us help you Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.
May 13, 2019 | News
IT Recruitment Consultancy Langley James has appointed Hayley McDonough to head up the newly created Creative, Coms and Media recruitment division.
Hayley joins the business as the IT Executive Search and Delivery Lead with seven years recruitment and senior level appointment experience.
Sharing her time between London and Chester, Hayley will focus on IT Management professionals with specific Support and Infrastructure expertise gained from the Marketing, Advertising, Publishing and PR sectors.
“We’re very pleased to have secured someone of Hayley’s immense talent at a time of such growth for the business. Having recognised the unique challenges and demands creative companies have of their IT Support teams we’re looking forward to Hayley expanding our client portfolio in the creative world.” Said James Toovey, Managing Director of Langley James.
Langley James is one of the UK’s best known IT Recruitment Agencies with 20 years experience specialising in IT Support & Infrastructure positions for all sectors and levels of seniority.
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