Knowledge is Power! Understanding variables is essential!
They say that "Knowledge is Power", but what can one do in uncertain times and when things aren't yet set in stone?
The Prospectus approach – especially when it comes to legislative changes that affect the workforce – is to get decent information on all variables. With this in mind, Elkie Holland and Ian Wiles attended the REC (Recruitment Employment Confederation) Technology Sector meeting on Thursday 14 November in London.
It was a great meeting, with a lot of information to take on board and digest, and great to meet and network with other forward-thinking and forward-planning executives.
This Tech Sector meeting was invaluable and covered 3 main parts:
- Current UK Labour Market trends
- Post-Brexit Immigration System
- The Government's Good Work Plan and IR35
Current UK Labour Market trends
Thalia Ioannidou, Research Manager of REC, gave her insight into UK Labour Market trends. The statistics and figures were very interesting.
Post-Brexit Immigration System
Thomas Mayhew, Senior Associate of Fragomen LLP, gave insights into the possible future of the Post-Brexit immigration system in the event of both a "Deal" and a "No Deal" scenario. He went through strategies on how best to prepare clients for all eventualities with some example cases. There was an awful lot to take on board, and we will wait to see what will happen with Brexit and how best to advise our clients. Whichever way it goes, Thomas suggested that a good place to check for current information is the Home Office website.
The Government's Good Work Plan and IR35
Bunmi Adefuye, Senior Solicitor with REC, brought us back up to speed on The Government's Good Work Plan and the beloved IR35 legislation. She went into great detail on the Good Work Plan and four draft Statutory Instruments which have been published:
- The Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2019
- The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
- The Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019
- The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2019.
Time was also spent on KIDs (Key Information Documents) of each type – PAYE, Umbrella, and Personal Service Company.
The section on the IR35 update had 4 key headliners for recruiters:
- Small companies (end clients, not recruiters) will be exempt from the new rules.
- Clients will need to pass the determination and reasons for the determination directly to the worker.
- All parties in the supply chain will have to pass on the IR35 status determination to the next party in the supply chain until it reaches the fee payer.
- Disagreements about status decisions will be managed through a client-led disagreement process. Clients will also have 45 days to respond to IR35 disagreements.
In Summary:
It was a head-spinning day with all the information to take on board and implement. We are pleased we are members of the REC, who bring these interesting and information sessions.
Gone are the days when all an agent had to do was recruit!