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.

Freshly ‘named and shamed’ Miwsa Ltd triggers a list-wide update, advising recruiters and contractors to scrutinise umbrella company tax deductions.

A postponement to payrolling BIKs of 12 months is being well-received, as is a 2027/28 penalty waiver (of sorts).

A ‘win-at-all-costs’ taxman is concerning for those of us who champion contracting, especially given the spring in his step courtesy of the courts.

A new ‘gateway question’ on Mutuality is the most noticeable of numerous, non-material changes to the official IR35 tool.

James Murray MP just recommitted to arming HMRC with extra coshes to beat back a £600m problem, including by making more directors personally liable.

Combined with complications caused by PGMOL, limited grounds of appeal were the urologist’s undoing.

Chancellor is put on notice that rushing the PAYE shift risks ‘disrupting the supply chain’ and ‘reducing tax receipts to the exchequer.’

A weighty 63 questions is (hopefully) the government’s sign that avoiders will need a hard hat by the time HMRC is done.

An HMRC update clarifies that while the starting gun may be unholstered in April 2026, it won’t be fired until April 2027.

‘Examples of good practice for umbrella companies’ isn’t a fishing expedition. Even if some of the spelt out legal duties could be checked up on.

A big step towards 'the black' in March makes it the brightest month for IT contractors since November 2023.

April tax changes: why choosing the right business current account should matter to contractors now more than ever.

Taxman blackens the black mark he’s already put by three companies, while ‘naming and shaming’ four more schemes that he says ‘contractors should exit.’

The swingeing 8.7% tax hike is best broached now or at contract renewal but, either way, ensure your uplift calculation is correct.

An ‘essential’ new tax year update for limited company directors seeking to shore up the bottom line.

Ex-HMRC veteran tells ContractorUK that IT contractors could help his ‘focussed’ review, even if it is a ‘disappointingly narrow’ focus according to some.

The chancellor’s Revenue fillip is off to a fortuitous start. Just make sure you’re not the next John Strange.

Rachel Reeves is a chancellor ‘less about anything new and more about reaffirmation,’ so the ‘un-merry-go-round’ for UK contracting continues.

Despite a lean statement with no ‘further tax rises,’ umbrella and limited company workers aren’t off the hook, due to a ‘soon-to-be reinvigorated HMRC.’

Rachel Reeves unveils a ‘serious plan to renew our country,’ free of 'any further tax increases.'

Contrary to popular belief, ‘deemed employment’ and regulating umbrella companies are two separate proposals.

It’s all over for another player-turned-pundit and their IR35 appeal against a comfortably victorious HMRC.

Three housing market measures could upend the UK’s property landscape from this Wednesday.

Avoiding running off agency PAYE reference numbers is how the government can avoid destabilising the UK’s entire temporary labour market.

Contract workers must adjust to BRPs and ‘clipped’ no longer being acceptable RTW proof (even if you may feel like a second-class job-seeker).

A payroll tax liability-responsibility shift from umbrellas to agencies dangerously throws the baby out with the bathwater. It must be stopped.

Although still in the red, freelance tech hiring shows ‘improvements,’ finely balanced on next Wednesday’s Spring Statement 2025.

An off-payroll rules update by HMRC is far from the full story. But the subtext is clear – the reformed IR35 rules aren’t going anywhere.

Off-target. Opaque. Overly complicating an already complicated landscape. Spring Statement must scrap or shelve ‘deemed employer.’

Four umbrella regulation areas get opened up, next to two new points, and one very uncertain part with potentially ‘huge impact.’

Greg Smith MP: My hope is the former HMRC inspector makes huge adjustments to scrutinise a scandal that this government cynically wants him to avoid looking properly into at all.

Top 10 announcements chancellor Rachel Reeves must make three weeks from today to boost the flexible workforce – FCSA.

A new off-payroll working rules impact-assessment holds the HMRC line of not facing up to IR35’s damage.

Pursuing an income tax demand against a bipolar taxpayer with a court-confirmed suicide risk, who was discriminated against, isn’t HMRC’s best look.

A personalised overview of the pressing issue of P9 coding notices (includes decoding your tax code for meaning).

As HMRC rapidly blacklists scores more tax avoidance schemes, the focus shifts to whether FCSA should become keeper of a ‘naughty list.’

What April 2026’s requirement on agents to HMRC-register means if you're a limited company in the market for tax advice.

A ‘cog in the wheel’ who spun ‘legal alternatives to using insolvency practitioners’ to distressed IT firms is disqualified, after £7.6million in assets goes unaccounted for.

With the IR35 ball soon back in some contractors’ courts, blanketing should ease, but the compliance burden for many individual limited company workers will increase.

REC: No New Year let up in economic uncertainty, ahead of April tax rises, is staying the hands of business.

Unless you’re Michelle Appiah, an appeal of her employment tribunal victory makes much-needed sense.

One change to Business Asset Disposal Relief is already tripping up directors, ahead of another in April that will sting an estimated 264,000.

We need contractors to answer 10 off-payroll working questions, to help us convince the chancellor it’s time for an IR35 fix – IPSE.