There’s a slow tightening of the screw on the self-employed that might as well have eight consultancy giants at the handle end, and government policy as the torque.
Contractor-turned-umbrella-company-body-CEO Chris Bryce outlines what’s deliverable, affordable and tangible in the new chancellor’s first budget, ranging from MSC reform and a statutory employment
First Point Group, Bowers Partnership, VIQU IT and Robert Walters tell ContractorUK why the PM’s dislike of video interviews doesn't map onto professional tech contracting, where virtual is
ContractorUK's investigation into historic contractor loan recalls has uncovered a regulatory question surrounding loans that were bought or administered in the Isle of Man.
Urged to intervene against ‘HMRC cruelty’ in MSC cases, and U-turn employer NICs changes, chancellor John Healey is being called by SG, Re Legal and Caroola to fix the default of 'Inside IR
HMRC is consulting until Sunday on plans to make Direct Debit mandatory for VAT and PAYE payments, hitting contractors paid on agency terms of 30-60 days.
HMRC’s recent focus on ‘reckless’ tax offences is a blunt instrument that risks tarring legitimate contractors with the same brush as tax evaders, warns SG Accounting’s Daniel Mepham.
The former Felicitas director says contractors were never supposed to be pursued for the full face value of their loans — and reveals that Felicitas cancelled at least one loan after conclu
As LinkedIn users herald a ‘quiet comeback’ in outside IR35 contracting, Reed's head of contract IT hiring Kelly Macey sets the record straight, and explains what's actually behind 2026's rise in o
Auto enrolment quietly sorts pensions for employees. Contractors get nothing of the sort, and fewer than one in five of the self-employed now saves into one at all.
ContractorUK investigates how the alleged rights to thousands of historic contractor loans passed between private companies — and why the paper trail proving who owns them today is missing.
IR35, employment status, security clearance: IPSE's Joshua Toovey outlines the five tests Andy Burnham's government must pass in its first 100 days to earn contractors' trust.
Markel Tax’s David Harmer unpacks how a mix-up between day rate and drop rate underpins an employment tribunal's ruling, with six key takeaways for contractors concerned about worker status and IR3
Digital ID dropped, Palantir in the cold, a UK-AI focus and a VPN clampdown — plus the tax reversal that could revive contractor hiring under PM Andy Burnham.
Fresh from the FCSA Forum, Sapphire's Chris Bloor explains why Matthew Taylor's latest Fair Work Agency message matters for the contingent labour supply chain — and what agencies, end-clients and c
JSL is bedding in largely as HMRC intended almost 100 days in, with both due diligence and PSL scrutiny on the up, but 'Bills of Exchange' and patchy smaller-agency awareness show the compl
A record heatwave, a Red Extreme Heat Warning and even the World Cup combined in June 2026 to end IT contractor demand's brief return to growth, with VIQU IT and Reed exclusively telling
As the government moves to guarantee workers' hours, umbrella contractors and end-clients face an unexpected shake-up to the balance between flexibility, security and IR35 risk.
Greg Smith MP, Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG co-chair: the ‘independent’ HMRC Loan Charge Review — run by a former HMRC official — is unravelling as fast as Keir Starmer's governme
Former HMRC inspector Danny Batey on everything contractors need to know about the taxman's IR35 compliance activity, as government confirms no review of OPW, no plans for Single Worker Status, and
The new Makerfield MP is tipped by the cautiously optimistic-sounding contractor sector to be the next PM — and even if his IR35 and Loan Charge policies are pending, he’s an interventionist
Fewer updates from HMRC about arrangements to avoid generate more questions about its resources, alongside doubts that every wheeze deserves a black mark, and hints that not all schemes fac
Focusing on just figures if probed by HMRC over VAT is a fool’s errand. Far safer to evidence, explain and justify EVERYTHING because soon, the taxman will be done probing mid-sized firms.
Not since August 2023 has IT contractor demand been this buoyant, thanks to Automation, AI, Cloud and Cyber Security uplifts, coinciding with nervy employers ‘sitting on their hands.’ Just
Don’t squander a critical opportunity to give your ‘input,’ because the government says it is committed to ‘ending’ a-gone-awry aspect of contractors’ work that UK contracting wouldn’t exis
Out of the latest tax fraud to hit the UK contractor supply chain comes some potential good for almost all of us, except ‘Bills of Exchange 2.0’ promoters, of course.
Even the sympathetic-sounding, ultimately powerless taxman knows that for contractors on the receiving end of West 28th Street’s demands, it all hinges on enforceability.
If it’s a pay instrument HMRC won’t accept, the liability still exists, cueing up a domino effect of PAYE, NICs, and VAT exposure for anyone banking on bills of exchange.
A ‘ruse’ that the JSL-enforcing taxman won’t accept as ‘money in the bank’ because it has ‘no legal basis’ is making the sales rounds, despite posing a ‘serious commercial risk’ to contract
I became a contractor nearly eight months ago, and I've lost count of how many people have asked me whether I'm worried about the lack of security. Right now, I'm more curious about theirs...
With a clearer-eyed taxman pursuing limited company look-ins, rest assured it’s ‘only’ late recorders, retrospective preparers, fluctuaters, reversers, and overlappers in the HMRC crosshair
It’s probably about right to assert that ‘The wind is in our sails when it comes to getting late payment sorted.’ Just beware the gaping holes in the masthead.
AI-generated identity fraud looks set to overrun recruiters with its ‘speed and scale,’ yet somehow, the conversation about synthetic contractor risk is stopping short of the supply chain’s
The hiring spree behind ‘one of the most in-demand jobs in tech, and one of the most important functions for AI rollouts,’ just found its contractor feet.
The biggest monthly spur in temporary techies’ prospects since early 2025 is credited to war and cycles ending, with buoyancy for IT contractors around Infrastructure, Transformation, and S
Swap rates, rather than the frozen base rate, are what UK mortgage lenders are pricing their deals on, catching out contractors who don’t expect 5% — unless their borrower profile is pristi
Momentum is building for contracting — but government policy remains a barrier, as each bid to reduce risk over here seems to introduce new risks over there.
Contractors in IR35 enquiry deadlock claiming not to be part of the squad, but actually the one with the whistle, might get an assist from the FTT showing the Revenue a ‘red card.’
Via two entry points, HMRC is seeking richer data to risk-assess and enquire into directors’ personal and company tax affairs. Have your say before June 10th.
The Revenue resumes its exclusive sit-down with ContractorUK, and warns contractors of ‘large, unexpected tax bills if they get caught up with rogue umbrella companies.’
Genuinely shocking treatment of 2,000 contractors by the taxman should not be ignored by the Public Accounts Committee — for the good of due process, contractor ‘service providers,’ and equ
At last, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is here, not that limited companies should panic — even if it does demand some contractors’ attention, discipline, organisation, preparation, and
The assumption is that your accountant will sort it. Keep your receipts, pass them across at year end, and everything claimable gets claimed. Job done.
The taxman takes on 11 questions on the now-in-force rules, warning of ‘no light-touch to enforcement activity’ because ‘for too long, unscrupulous umbrellas have put contractors at risk.’
The pre-launch of HMRC’s new ‘recovery mechanism’ for non-compliant contractor umbrella companies saw a six-fold fall in ‘early warning system’ avoidance alerts.
As ‘significant changes to PAYE responsibilities’ get ushered in, compliance is no longer the only interest of contractor jobs agencies set to pick up the HMRC tab, even if it must be what wins out
The expectation that turbulence in the permanent jobs market works in contractors’ favour appears to be being turning on its head, with 56,000+ jobs already at risk in Jan-Feb 2026.
An expenses episode for a government minister filmed doing pull-ups has parallels for HMRC-wary Personal Service Company directors, as neither can promote themselves within their respective rules.
Government plans to shake up late payment enforcement could finally deliver the tough sanctions that contractors and SME suppliers have been demanding for decades.
The true significance of HMRC’s case against Ducas, which the Revenue has now dropped, lies in what it reveals about the future of supply chain liability.
The taxman is giving us all a heads-up that the days of an end-of-year ‘sorting it all out’ are numbered, as part of new proposals affecting how directors remunerate themselves.
For many contractors, April’s higher NMW will flit between mechanical and margin-moving — unlike for some umbrellas, for whom it may be the ‘perfect storm’ that puts them to the test.
With billions being spent abroad on offshoring, UK contractors understandably feel forgotten. But is the government just fiddling as Britain’s temporary IT labour market burns?
Temporary techies are now part of the UK’s ‘thinking hiring market,’ which is practising ‘controlled breathing’ following ‘a long snooze,’ albeit ahead of ‘economic shocks.’
LCAG: Ministers said a quick and partial review would resolve Loan Charge cases, but the McCann Review will be the latest failure of the Loan Charge scandal.
What the chancellor’s ‘not fooling anyone’ fiscal update means for contractors, according to SG Accounting, Mellor & Co, Brookson, LITRG and other UK contracting experts.
SafeRec says despite April fast approaching, too much of the temporary labour supply chain still thinks the risk of HMRC’s framework is only about whether the tax liability has been paid.
The Post Office Ltd becomes the public sector’s single largest off-payroll working compliance failure, ‘sending a clear message’ to the private sector that robust IR35 processes are ‘essent
Amid practical unknowns and the risk of unintended consequences, the government would do well to remember it already has a highly productive mobile group of workers.
The open consultation ‘Make Work Pay: Modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework,’ marks a HUGE step towards ending the ‘grey area’ for contractors.
A new technical note shows the taxman taking with one hand and giving with the other. He must be persuaded (or instructed) to ditch his balance sheet-led approach.
Since few contractors can now say ‘Not me, guv,’ the IR35-hit and other PSCs must use the government’s own free tool to temper the reality of the tax walls closing in.
