Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs is poised to put new self-employment restrictions in place, creating a furore in the umbrella company contractor community.
The new proposals put together by HMRC run the risk of adding needless rigidity to the British labour market, and the prospect of such an occurrence has sent chills down the spin of not one but two different industry trade bodies. Both the Professional Contractors’ Group and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation have joined forces in protest, writing a sternly-worded note to chancellor George Osborne – hopefully to sway the man’s opinion prior to his budget.
If the changes go into effect on 6 April, both the REC and PCG say that self-employment will be effectively off the table for anyone thinking of working with an employment agency to find work. This has serious repercussions for economic growth and job creation, it goes without saying!
Honestly it sounds to me like both of these trade bodies might be overreacting just slightly, but at the same time it’s not like they’re running about claiming that the sky is falling. What I mean is that these proposed changes, if they do go into effect, will most certainly have a deleterious and chilling effect on the British labour market and especially the contractor community; at the same time they’re simply proposals at the moment and could very well be changed or eliminated at the last minute.
By the same token, it’s hard to underestimate the Government’s ability to completely bollocks something like this up. It is puzzling though, especially since the self-employed and other small business owners are absolutely integral to the British economy – and have been paid lip service in the past for the role they’ve played in the long, slow slog of a recovery from the credit crisis and resultant worldwide recession. Apparently no good deed goes unpunished in the UK.
If you want my honest opinion this is just a play on the part of MPs and Government ministers to get the heat off multinational companies that have been very reticent to pay their fair share of taxes. Shifting blame and responsibility to smaller businesses creates a smokescreen to allow these multinationals to continue conducting business as usual – and it’s no secret that they’ve got the British Government in their pockets!
