IR35: How to manage your contractors after April 6th

Your business may have been getting ready for IR35, but have you considered the longer-term management of any contractors affected by the regulation changes? 

These changes mean that the status of the worker is now your responsibility to determine. This shift of responsibility must be considered to ensure your business remains fully IR35 compliant and every worker's status has been correctly assessed. After April 6th, 2021, having processes in place will help you to manage these changes long-term. These processes will apply to any existing workers who are impacted by the regulations and new contractors.

Developing your long-term IR35 management processes now, will ensure your business can navigate the IR35 changes efficiently to make the whole process cost-effective and simply a component of your HR function.

Managing IR35

A long-term IR35 management process would have several key components:

Status Determination

The core of the new regulations is status determination. Your IR35 management system should be an integral part of your recruitment process.  Any new vacancy must be tested against IR35 - will the new recruit fall inside or outside of IR35? The job description and the relationship the worker will have with your company should be clearly defined. 

Inside or Outside IR35

The tool we have developed enables your company to apply IR35 status determination assessments. For contractors deemed outside IR35, we will underwrite their contracts. By insuring these contracts, IC Resources eliminates the risk to your company.

IR35 Point of Contact

To ensure your IR35 management processes run smoothly, a dedicated point of contact in your company should be assigned. This person will be the contractors' communication channel. Having a single point of contact for contractors, ensures their relationship with your company is always transparent and remains fully compliant with the regulations. At IC Resources we will also assign a dedicated point of contact for each of your contractors to assist them with any IR35 queries.

Monitoring Contractor Working Practices

The long-term IR35 management process your business implements should allow you to monitor the working practices of each contractor. To remain compliant, their working practices must not change from those detailed in their contract of employment. This is an important part of your business's ongoing IR35 management and at IC Resources, we will stay in close contact with our contractors to make sure they continue to follow the working practices outlined in their contract. Any changes that do occur must be communicated to the internal IR35 contact and your IC Resources contact.

IR35 strategies

After April 6th, it's vital to ensure your company has a clearly defined and implemented IR35 management system in place. The system your enterprise creates should remove all of the uncertainty about the operational status of any existing contractors and new contractors your business may hire in the future.

The IR35 system your business creates should be an integrated component of your contractor management process from recruitment to onboarding. Ensuring IR35 assessments are on-going and efficient to carry out, will ensure IR35 is manageable without becoming a drain on time and other resources. Remember, it’s critical to have a long-term IR35 management system in place to ensure your business remains fully compliant. 

For more information, please call +44(0)118 988 1150 and ask to speak to one of our contract consultants.

You can also email us: enquiries@ic-resources.com.