If you are entering into a contract with an agency you will no doubt have been faced with the daunting options of choosing your route – either going PAYE directly with the agency, going limited or using an umbrella company.
The government must make good on its promise to open up the market if recruitment agencies are to help implement its ICT strategy, according to the REC Technology group.
Antal International’s latest global snapshot of employment markets shows that hiring activity rose slightly in the last quarter.
The Department for BIS recently published statistics which show just how dependant the UK economy is on small businesses. In fact SMEs provide 60% of all the UK’s employment.
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP has said the point based system for immigration has room for improvement, especially when it comes to the rules regarding intra-company transfers.
HMRC should focus on detecting genuine cases of disguised employment rather than jumping to the conclusion that all freelancers are subject to IR35 rules, according to the REC.
Lawspeed, the recruitment law specialist firm, claims there could be a conflict of interest between HR and finance departments when the Agency Workers Regulations are enforced in October this year.
Umbrella companies that have been using Employee Benefit Trusts have been offered an amnesty by HMRC. This comes just months after the Revenue said it would be closing EBT schemes down.
As from October 2012, employers, including umbrella companies, will need to enrol their staff in a pensions scheme automatically.
The chances of companies collapsing are increasing by the month, according to a new study from RSM Tenon.
Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary announced last week that the British Chambers of Commerce will have sole responsibility for uniting the network of local enterprise partnerships.
More than half of UK businesses, including umbrella companies, are concerned that changes to employment law will damage their business, according to a new survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce.
Whilst employees throughout the UK will be rejoicing at the thought of two consecutive long weekends this month, businesses and umbrella companies need to plan early for the closures.
Cutting HMRC’s budget is not rational, according to the president of the Association of Revenue and Customs.
More and more umbrella companies are cropping up on every street corner and more and more agencies closing ranks and whittling down their umbrella company lists, it is becoming increasingly harder for umbrella providers to compete it would seem.
HMRC should not rush its planned computerised PAYE reforms according to leading professional bodies.
