The government last week announced plans for a review into employment law during the Institute of Directors Annual Convention. The Chancellor of Exchequer, George Osborne, spoke of how the government plan to support growth and be pro-business, with a focus on removing red tape.
Speaking about Britain’s economy pre-recession, Mr Osborne said; “Our tax system became uncompetitive, our businesses were constrained by red tape, and we fell behind the rest of the world in the skills of our workforce.” The government have already started to address these issues, following their pro-business budget; which some industry groups had dubbed the ‘budget for jobs’.
They have established a ‘red tape challenge’ to address badly designed regulations and cut red tape, and have also focused on improving the tax system by planning to merge income tax and nation insurance – described by the Chancellor as “a huge reduction in payroll red tape for businesses”.
More importantly, for contractor and freelancers, they held a review into IR35 and are now supporting the work of the new IR35 forum.
Mr Osborne also spoke of “the costly impact” of employment laws and regulations to businesses and the need for a “wholesale review of employment law”, something which many groups have highlighted as a problem recently.
This review has been welcomed by both the PCG, who aim to ‘ensure that any changes to the current regulations around employment will have a positive impact for the UK’s freelancers’, and the REC. Speaking about the plans, the REC’s Head of Public Policy, Gillian Econopouly, said;
“It is a welcome development that these plans are now being brought forward. Overall, this review presents a significant opportunity to ensure our legislation is fit for purpose.”
ICS work with a team of experts in employment and tax law to ensure our services are fully compliant with existing IR35 legislation and the latest government regulations, such as the AWR. You can contact us now for a tailored proposal based on your individual circumstances as a contractor.
