Hillier's Headlines

My light hearted take on the week gone by and the week ahead.

Wow, what a busy week and it’s definitely ramping up in the countdown to April. I say April, because aside from IR35 there are plenty of additional changes due then, which are probably keeping recruitment leaders up at night!

Industry updates

IR35 

Like a duck gliding onto a pond, IR35 will have a soft landing. But you can bet that the legs will be paddling like mad under the water!

It does seem for all of the talk and lead up to the IR35 changes, that many businesses (and individuals) are still not prepared. In the government’s latest off-payroll report they confirm:

• Customers will not have to pay penalties for errors relating to off-payroll in the first year, except in cases of deliberate non-compliance
• Information resulting from changes to the rules will not be used to open new investigations into Personal Service Companies for tax years prior to 6 April 2020, unless there is reason to suspect fraud or criminal behaviour
• The rules will only apply to services carried out from 6 April 2020 onwards

Be wary though, just because the penalties won’t be enforced in the first year, the rules will still apply and any tax not paid due to incorrect assessments will still need to be paid.

Aside from ensuring the correct status of your workers, April is going to throw up a lot of additional challenges. Swedish Derogation contracts, Key Information Documents and National Minimum Wage to name a few!

Key Information Documents (KIDs)

As of April for each and every assignment, a Key Information Document (KID) will need to be provided. For agencies working with People Group, we have a tool that will automatically generate each KID by populating the required fields.

Swedish Derogation

As of 06 April, no Swedish Derogation contracts are allowed. This means any worker on this contract will be entitled to pay parity with permanent staff. It’s estimated that 8-10% of agency workers in the UK are on Swedish Derogation contracts. This will add significant additional costs to those operating these contracts.

NMW

New rates have been published by HMRC for the tax year 2020/21. NMW is high up on the agenda for the reinvigorated agency task force. Make sure if you are paying umbrella that your payroll provider has calculated the minimum rates they’ll need to ensure NMW is met. There are hefty fines if found to have breached NMW, and alongside this, often reputational damage too.

Around the office

Win tickets to Ascot

We started a survey at Recruitment Agency Expo this year and continue to gather responses for the opportunity to win two tickets to Ladies Day at Royal Ascot. The survey looks at the current big issues facing recruitment leaders. Get your name in the hat. Prize draw to take place week commencing 01st June.

Global Recruiter Summit

If you aren’t booked to attend you may still get in. Your chance to see me live on a panel debate looking at Technology in recruitment. Nerves…nah!

New IR35 resources for contractors

We’ve been developing our website a lot over recent months and it is now full of some fantastic insights and resources. Last week we pulled together a lot of our IR35 information for contractors into a new area which you can view here. It’s a great resource for contractors who are affected by IR35, so please do spread the word.

Coronavirus

There is certainly a heightened sense of awareness of the new flu Coronavirus COVID 19. Here at People Group we have taken simple precautions; putting information notices and hand sanitiser around the office. Thankfully nobody took a trip to Italy over half term so we will just remain vigilant. To date I’m not aware of any cases being reported in Wiltshire.

Key Information Documents

We are now booking appointments with our agencies to run through Key Information Documents. A number of agencies have been in touch to see how we can support them with this new piece of legislation. We’ve designed a simple to use spreadsheet that will produce the KID once certain information has been populated. The ability to onward share these documents with colleagues and end clients means that the new rules shouldn’t be a burden. Act now. If you want to discuss KIDs and are or are not using People Group for payroll, I’d be happy to advise further.

Umbrella Vs PEO

I got my head down last week to look at the figures when comparing our PEO (with Joint Employment) against Umbrella and have produced a new table to display the results. What we’ve found is that for agencies operating fully within the law (with rates adhering to AWR) PEO will provide monetary savings across the board. You should see more about this on our website over the next few weeks, but again, feel free to get in touch and I can run through this with you.

NMW

Our rates are now available to our agencies. Get in touch if you’ve not received the new document.

The light hearted part – My collection

If you’re picking up Hillier’s Headlines for the first time, this section has recently been reserved for sharing some of my collectables. I’ve been a keen collector of many things for many years, but not least my Star Wars Collection. (To see previous ‘show and tells’, look up my previous headlines).

One Darth last week, leading to a new Darth this week…Darth Maul. The double lightsabre wielding Sith lord, known for his red a black facial tattoos and horns on his head. Maul featured in The Phantom Menace & Solo: A Star Wars Story. Here at People Group House, he keeps an eye on our Finance Director.

Darth Maul facts

1. Actor Ray Park took classes in gymnastics and ballet to better prepare himself for the role of the nefarious Sith lord!
2. Benecio Del Toro, who eventually made his appearance in Star Wars in The Last Jedi, was originally slated to play Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, but he backed out due to the role being too small!
3. Darth Maul was going to be a female. George Lucas planned for an evil witch with long hair in black robes to be the one that brought the name 'Maul' to life. However, this concept was scrapped as the character was deemed too intense.

And there we are. Another week passes by. Let me know if you want to talk through anything contained within. For those attending I'll see you at the Global Recruiter Summit tomorrow.

Terry Hillier, CEO, People Group Services. [email protected]