The Agency Workers Regulations – are you prepared?
The Agency Workers Regulations officially came into force in the UK, Wales and Scotland on October 1st. Although the regulations are designed to protect vulnerable and low-paid temporary workers, many contractors are affected by the new rules if they operate through an umbrella company.
“Starting Out Contracting” – downloadable guide for new Contractors
There's nothing we like more than seeing more people start contracting, and to that end we've produced a downloadable guide.
Sample Contracts for Contractors
If you're thinking of starting out contracting, one of the most crucial things to put in place is actual contracts. Without a water-tight contract you could be putting an awful lot at risk. You put yourself in a dangerous position should your client not decide to pay, and you could stray into the muddy waters...
Relevant Life Policies – Death-In-Service plans for Contractors
Permanent employees often have death-in-service cover as part of their contract of employment with typically 3-4 x salary as the benefit, but for contractors who are often the only person who works in their company, there has been little scope to provide similar benefits, until now.
Executive Income Protection – tax efficient income protection
As a contractor you may review your finances fairly often and look at your current and projected earnings to enable you to set effective budgets, for you personally and for your business moving forwards. This allows you to set future personal and financial goals, which could centre on retiring early to planning that big holiday...
Working From Home – is it for you?
According to the Office for National Statistics 3.7 million people in the UK (that’s 13% of the workforce) are now enjoying the savings in time and money that working mainly from home brings. You might be tempted to join them. Home working undoubtedly has many benefits but it also presents its own challenges, so...
IR35: Direction & Control
IR35 is a sticky piece of legislation originally introduced under the Labour Government in 1999. Fully titled “IR35: Countering Avoidance in the Provision of Personal Services”, the purpose of the measure is to eradicate the practise of an individual providing services to a company as a Contractor, when in fact they are existing as an employee....
Legally required information on your business website
All contractors should, if they don't already, have a website. Even if it's not something they design and build themselves, they should at least have some kind of personal landing page to lure in prospective clients.
How can I reduce my Corporation Tax?
Everybody hates taxes, but as Corporation Tax is less than Income Tax and National Insurance, meaning contractors and freelancers operating under their own Limited Company can pay less. Corporation tax is calculated based on your profit, so unfortunately as your profits increase, so will your tax.
Guide to Ensuring Prompt Payment
Probably the most important role of any Contractor is that of a successful Debt Collector. This part of Contract work often falls into the same category as tax returns and sorting out insurance and wallows at the bottom of to-do lists, so follow our fail-safe guide and make your life as easy as possible. Be Clear When...
Guide to Contracts and Written Statements
With the New Year hangover starting to clear we are beginning to wake up to the reality of a financially straitened future and with that comes an even greater need to ensure you know your rights as a Contractor. We have sifted through legal jargon to guide you through the most important information to be...
IR35: Other determining factors
We've already covered the three key determining factors used by experts when investigating a contractor's IR35 status (Mutuality of Obligation, Substitution and "The What, Where, When and How Tests"), however there are some other factors that can be used to make a decision. While usually not as important as the other three tests, these factors...
