The chancellor has further muddied the limited company waters, rather than obliging contractors with the wiping clean of the speculation slate that all other taxpayers receive.

A tempering of ambition with pragmatism. A shaping of policy with evidence. Both are hopefully signs of the Employment Rights Bill consultations to come.

The take-home dent of the chancellor’s hike to basic and higher rate dividends goes far (far) beyond 2026/27, because a precedent has now been set.

Nine chapters alongside Budget 2025 are likely the last word to contractors’ agencies before they turn jointly and severally liable for umbrellas’ unpaid taxes.

The deposit protection limit of the FSCS increasing today is trust-inducing. Contractors (both prudent and shrewd) will still likely want to act.

The chancellor hits UK contracting with a ‘growth-choking’ budget, containing two IR35 ‘devils in the detail’ and Labour’s ‘hidden’ penalisation of remote work.

The chancellor giveth warm words to ‘working people’ but taketh more of contractors’ incomes via stealth tax, dividends, and NI on £2k-plus pensions contributions.

Five key areas of contractor pensions and personal finance to watch out for in the chancellor’s statement today.

An ignoble nine directors are a warning not to ignore, especially for contractors with BBL concerns who are about to close.

A behind-closed-doors session for the Conservatives to work out their IR35 position posed four big questions to contractors’ advisers.

Demand for IT contractors takes another step towards growth, as ContractorUK is told of a ‘clear and sustained’  uptick.

As the government continues to flatter IR35, the data needed to truly gauge the full, detrimental impact of the HMRC rules is conveniently not being disclosed.

Today’s perfect storm of pressures on temporary technology workers is greater than ever. All the more reason to dig deep, self-believe and adapt.

The “interesting” case of the nurse who won at the ET, but who’s now lost at the EAT, contains some key admissions for Labour, as well.

A full list of winners from the seventh annual Contracting Awards.

The Intermediaries legislation of 2000 has made life ‘very, very difficult’ for contractors, so it too would be abolished with the OPW rules — Reform UK.

The taxman has 14 million reasons to feel like he’s come out on top, even if it is wooden dollars which changed hands four times.

Following an attack by Nigel Farage on ‘weak Tory chancellors’ for leaving contractors ‘embattled by IR35,’ Richard Tice says it does indeed mean a Reform government would axe the HMRC rule.

Officials' insistence that digital ID cards will be internally resourced is not convincing analysts, agents, and trade bodies, who argue that IT contractors will inevitably be involved.

A few good reasons why the ‘token gesture’ should avoid the axe probably need offsetting against alignment and adjustment risks to dividends on Nov 26th.

Self-employment isn’t a tax dodge — it’s a benefits gap. Fixing it with ‘parity’ would cost the Treasury more than it’d raise.

An unpacking of the Court of Appeal upholding HMRC’s consecutive wins over a ‘careless’ umbrella, thrice ruled to have wrongly reimbursed contractor travel expenses.

Beware, because a last-ditch push from disguised remuneration schemes looking to cash-in before April 2026’s closing date is underway.

Pressure by UK plc to water down late payment rules must be ignored, or else contractors face another half-measure, dressed up as reform.

Robert Half reveals where IT contractors seeking premiums need to look in 2026.

A soon-to-be published review of settlement terms will reveal HM Treasury still deciding the fate of loan charge contractors, as even its ex-HMRC author says he won’t have ‘first voice.’  

More updates than new entries on HMRC’s list is actually a good thing, not that the named necessarily feel shamed, say top tax advisers.

Mismanaging the off-payroll working rules lands the Welsh government environment agency with a still ‘staggering cost.’

In a world with a lower VAT ceiling than today’s, expect fewer unregistered rivals, potential FRS tweaks, and more HMRC compliance noise.

The VAT ceiling is tipped to either rise or fall on November 26th. Here’s why PSCs should hope it’s hiked to £100,000.

Why I’d bet my insolvency licence on the wisdom of avoiding unlicensed firms.

The government response to Ray McCann’s HMRC loan charge findings will be published before or on November 26th, ‘a fiscal event.’

Not seeking a repeal of the OPW rules is a wasted opportunity. And since 2017, the UK has known plenty about ‘wasted opportunity’ — by leaving its contractor workforce shackled.

Where Rachel Reeves can prove next month that the government finally understands what the UK’s flexible workforce needs to thrive.

A minister’s underreported remarks have transformed Rachel Reeves’ fourth fiscal set piece into an event that will almost inevitably increase taxes for contractors.

The Tory leader wants to cut contractors’ moving home costs by thousands. Look out for Labour’s halfway house measure next month.

Seasonal factors have helped the still-shrinking temporary IT jobs market move towards growth for the first time in four months.

Your limited company’s end isn’t an end to your director responsibilities, no matter what the dark web might have you believe. Or pay for.

Despite a minister’s warm words, the ERB risks leaving some contractors in the cold, just as SOW and consultancy gigs start to show green shoots.

Shadow business secretary vows to ‘look at reforming IR35’ if the Conservatives are returned to power.

JSL tipped to sit alongside the current list of avoiders, ‘tightening the taxman’s approach via deterrence and enforceable recovery.’

A foreshadowing of JSL that emphasises the purpose of the April 2026 rules also appears to reveal when a penalty isn’t truly a penalty.

Freelance tech staff forecasts are up, but the chancellor’s ‘kicking’ and her possibly incoming ‘car crash’ are keeping temporary IT billings down. And dwindling.

When insolvency experts like us wind up recruitment companies, it’s proactivity that often separates the paid from the unpaid.

The withdrawal of an Employment Rights Bill amendment isn’t the last contractors will hear of a brolly licensing authority. Not if we have anything to do with it.

Contractors with a buy-to-let who believe Autumn Budget will be bruising face a choice: raise the rent, or get out now before the taxman cometh.

Whether it’s blue, red, or another hue, one party will finish conference season with the self-employed vote more in the bag than the others.

Despite concerns over its independence and scope, the ‘Freelance Champion’ won’t face any competition in its role supporting IT contractors.

The government’s focus is firmly on umbrella companies, but ‘there’s still a lot on the table’ that chancellor Rachel Reeves could hit contractors with 12 weeks from now.

Contractor tax and accounting experts say the chancellor’s mooted plan to get the UK ‘unstuck’ has a size issue.

This government must resist labelling status ‘too difficult to fix,’ and in the process, clear up IR35 nonsense.

Far from thawing out the threshold freeze we’ve all suffered since 2022/23, Reeves is tipped to soon leave even more of your earnings out in the cold.

A commitment to consult ‘by the end of this year’ may reassure contractors, but not those who've been pinning their hopes on Single Worker Status.

It’s time to turn the page on the CV, as a rewrite won’t cut it. It’s a medieval innovation that’s no longer innovating.

Hopes now rest with Autumn Budget following the third-lowest score for IT contractors in 2025, which isn’t due to a ‘summer slowdown,’ but is, conversely, amid a ‘sunnier outlook.'

Dual blend: Integrating flexible talent with AI expertise, ahead of merging internal and external teams, is now considered the key to building a high-performance workforce.

None of us ever appears quite as we hope, particularly if you miss this Wednesday’s webinar and then get checked out via ‘LinkedIn Recruiter.’

If PAYE/NICs to the taxman fall short under both Chapters 11 and 7, the top agency or MSP is on the hook. And if there’s no agency or no umbrella, the end-client is on the hook.

The UK’s new SBC Emma Jones exclusively invites ContractorUK readers to respond to ‘Late Payments: tackling poor payment practices.’

Policy-makers’ focus on 665,000 Personal Service Companies must be sharpened to untangle them from the web that successive governments have ensnared them in.

Nine judges have 13 weeks to whittle down 118 finalists to 30 winners -- only those who ‘truly go above and beyond’ for contractors.

Agencies and end-clients appear to be hogging the JSL liability limelight. But ‘relevant party’ means there’s room for one more.

The ‘toughest crackdown on late payments to SMEs in a generation’ could potentially ‘bring super slow payers up to speed,’ or it might merely be 'tinkering around the edges.’

HMRC’s ‘retrospective due diligence’ -- revisiting MSC determinations mid-appeal to request the actual income data -- is unprecedented. So too will be the FTT’s decision in just six months.

Contrary to dangerous assumptions, it’s end-clients who face joint and several liability for agency contractors’ PAYE/NIC debts, unless an umbrella company is involved.

FCSA says it’s legally reviewing a range of tax proposals, because it has found them wanting on fairness, proportionality, clarity and viability.

The taxman just turned down an opportunity to ‘help the contractor supply chain,’ on the grounds of risk, length and uncertainty.

Official or not, a delay to an arduous filing change for micro and small company directors is a U-turn we can all get behind.

What steps contractors can take before their agency joins the hundreds going bust -- including ‘Top 10 hacks to survive staffing firms shutting down.’

Relief as L-Day passes without 'shockers,' despite a new legal definition of ‘umbrella company,’ and the novel concept of the ‘purported umbrella’.

The ERB’s ‘threat of rising costs’ kept hirers in ‘wait and see’ mode in June, denying IT contractors the chance to capitalise on May’s uptick.

A ‘big shift’ on supply chain accountability and non-compliance risk in the UK contractor sector is imminent.

Soulless dross that Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT is churning out is the CV market’s biggest problem, not CVs themselves.

All supply chain parties are bracing themselves for Finance Bill 2026, the ERB, and JSL legislation for umbrella companies.

With dividends’ future uncertain, it’s probably now a case of ‘every little helps,’ and that includes making your spouse a shareholder.

Ahead of test cases in February 2026, Boox and Churchill Knight contractors have been selected for a pilot HMRC is already having to quietly apologise about.

How contractor recruitment agencies appear to be caught between two competing pieces of legislation, and what navigating the push-pull needs to involve.

‘Named and shamed’ avoidance schemes are taking keywords associated with contracting for their names. Or just potentially trading off someone else’s.

It might be legislation to address umbrella companies, but JSL means it’s agencies that must try to survive and not get wiped out.

A new freelance champion is coming. Here’s three things that need to happen next for it to more than just symbolically lift contracting.

Keeping ‘business’ separate from ‘personal’ is among the main points of the darts pro who’s been disqualified.

APSCo: Contractors’ agencies aren’t set to bear the brunt of everything under the 2026-27 brolly shake-up.

The IT contractor jobs market climbs to an 18-month high, thanks to heftier employment costs and projects getting ‘cautious green lights.’

A rethink by end-hirers on how to structure and allocate resources bodes well for IT contractors, says staffing giant Robert Half.

What steps umbrella employees should take to prepare for the new ‘JSL’ legislation (includes some urgent actions if you’re using a tax avoidance scheme).

Umbrellas get to retain their ERN and continue PAYE operations, while recruiters still ‘bear the brunt,’ under an updated version of HMRC’s incoming legislation.

Chancellor refrains from a £5k dividend raid (for now), while saying there won’t be a rerun of last autumn’s bruising.

Replacing like-for-like would be lamentable, even if BritCard is apparently going to be free and seamless technology.

Although the truth isn’t getting in the way of a good LinkedIn post, there are genuine lessons to learn from IT director Ben Wicken v Akita Systems Ltd.

TV host Ant Middleton is among the famous (and not-so-famous) faces falling foul of the Insolvency Service, with disqualification orders in just three cases totalling 16 years.

A leaked memo from the deputy PM to the chancellor asks for a £5,000+ cut to limited company contractor take-home pay.

This government (like the last) cannot settle on the self-employed, subjecting them to a never-ending, legislative merry-go-round.

There’s a new witty banner on LinkedIn. But it doesn’t filter to agencies, nor does it give the outside IR35 points you probably want.

What will your end-clients identify as? That is the question an HMRC update sets up as significant for April 6th 2027.

Accreditation body welcomes Lord Holmes’ clause to subject every ‘employment business participating in employment arrangements’ to a ‘licensing authority.’

Zero-hours workers are today’s IT contractors from the 1990s; HMRC’s thinking needs to catch up with that reality. 

A slight adjustment to the government’s train of thought could avoid derailing the umbrella industry for the 700,000 employees who rely on it.

A single test involving a Boox contractor, and the separate test case for CK contractors, could be scheduled before 2025 is out.

Two consecutive months of momentum ground to a halt in April, from a ‘bow wave of costs’ that dampened hiring.