April 2021 IR35 Private Sector implementation now a certainty
MP’s confirmed last night that the April 2021 implementation of IR35 in the private sector would be going ahead when they voted down an amendment to the Finance Bill during its report stage in the House of Commons.
It is now expected to be plain sailing for the Bill which now moves onto the House of Lords. This confirms what the head of Brookson Legal Services – Matt Fryer has been warning businesses in recent months and after seeing MP’s pass the report stage, Matt commented:
“Last night presented the final opportunity for MP’s to delay the 2021 implementation. With the Finance Bill passing through report stage and third reading in the House of Commons, changes to the off-payroll working rules in the private sector are now set for on 6 April 2021. The coronavirus pandemic bought businesses an extra year to get themselves ready but the fact is, many still weren’t ready for the original IR35 deadline this April with just weeks to go. Our ‘Ticking Timebomb’ research last year found that many businesses were woefully underprepared in the run up to the changes and were planning short cuts like blanket bans of all contractors.”
What does this mean for businesses?
With IR35 now confirmed for April 2021, end hirers that utilise flexible workers that haven’t already done so, need to start preparing for the IR35 implementation. By not completing this crucial step, it could be a costly mistake to make putting their businesses at risk of investigations and fines from HMRC and increased difficulty in finding flexible workers who are favouring other businesses that have correctly implemented IR35.
The delay from 2020 to 2021 has given businesses another year to get this right and avoid any financial issues, however with us now ¼ of the way through this extension and it is now time to take action.
Brookson Legal is an SRA regulated law firm that provides a range of solutions to the flexible working supply chain. The Brookson Group have been supporting hirers, agencies and contractors on IR35 for over 20 years, carrying out thousands of employment status assessments each year.