The unknown of October 30th and an opaque Employment Rights Bill are keeping IT 'recruitment and investment plans on hold.'

The CV & Interview Advisors previews its Thursday webinar on how to find contracts that are both unadvertised and high-paying.

One of the many wrongs of the Kiernan Hughes-Mason case is how candidate criminal history checks got characterised.

Sky Sports rugby pundit tackled by the ‘growing trend of UT clashing with FTT on IR35,’ sidelining what happened -- in favour of the hypothetical contract.

Tech job adverts specifying the pay in words, rather than numbers, aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

Concerned for their wellbeing, Australia just gave employees a right to disconnect. Maybe the UK should do the same, but for its freelance consultants too.

Five bites of the cherry to get its subsistence expenses deductions approved have now failed for the brolly.

Four out of four advisers fear the smart money of Rachel Reeves’ first fiscal statement is on an increase to corporation tax for limited companies.

A former ‘best IT contractor recruitment agency’ talks of repositioning and restructuring, in wake of its profitability taking a ‘significant’ dent.

Better outcomes, value for money, and improved prospects. That, at least, is the three-fold pledge of the chancellor’s now-underway rethink on retirement savings.

Delays, a reluctant Revenue, and extra work for contractor accountants -- all things that a frank impact assessment of hiking the tax return threshold should have said.

Labour looks set to crackdown on CJRS fraud, meaning Laser Byte Ltd won’t be the last to get bitten in court by HMRC.

Taxman says seven avoidance schemes (all employment tax-related) should be avoided, even though contractors often have ‘little choice’ but to use them.

Public rail body run by ex-Revenue boss Sir Jon Thompson hits the buffers, for not managing contractor IR35 status correctly.

As able as it may be at causing belligerent responses, HMRC won’t be keyboard-warriored into changing procedure backed by statute.

Two appeal faults in a row due to a chartered adviser’s mistakes mean we’ll now never know if the Sky tennis pundit’s IR35 status would have been called ‘in’ or ‘out.’

The only certainty of the ‘will-she-won’t-she’ pensions raid furore is the wisdom in maxing out your allowance now, while it remains generous and intact.

The end of 2025 is the first time contractors will get their day in court against HMRC and its 2007 legislation, ahead of a June 2026 ruling, and resolution by January 2030. Hopefully.

Survey shows not even one in three contractors agree with what end-clients say matters most when workers contemplate a freelance tech role.

July’s REC Report on Jobs shows the ‘subdued’ IT contractor market, with a lack of confidence and renewals, as approaching a grim milestone.

A sceptical agent’s Excel test is a sign of things to come -- but don’t take it personally, our job is to work out if what you say about your skills is true.

The Growth & Skills Levy is one of a few steps in the right direction. Ministers understanding not everyone’s a permie is key to avoid taking us back to square one.

A rethink on limited company workers is underway by large and pragmatic end-users, even if it is still shy of a policy shift.

A tiered evolution of Mini-Umbrella Companies is here, with arrangements as opaque as the consequences for contractors who find themselves embroiled.

Engaging contractors inside IR35 might still be all the rage. Yet the economic impacts are very real, and may even be unsustainable.

AI bosses question the intelligence of canning a £1.3billion computing investment, aimed at keeping Britain out of the ‘tech slow lane.’

Treasury exchequer secretary James Murray is the new broom to sweep away the wrongs of Lucy Frazer and her rotten Tory government. And 131 parliamentarians are there to see that he does exactly that.

Freelancer and Contractor Services Association CEO Chris Bryce on what new chancellor Rachel Reeves should and shouldn’t unveil on October 30th.

Top advisers put UK IT contracting on warning, even as they call Labour to replace the Tories’ OPW rules with ‘old’ IR35 of 2000.

Software firm tells ContractorUK it gave free coffee and snacks to MSPs, cloud marketplaces and telcos, but not customers. Or at least it tried to.

Limited companies is where this new government should concentrate simplification efforts, because CT itself isn’t the problem.

A threshold increase in April has still probably not been taken advantage of by every eligible contractor on under £80k.

If the best time for the Tories to realise IR35 reform has been damaging was yesterday, the next best time is today -- as the opposition.

The Points of View presenter has his own point of view thrown out by the FTT, cueing up a full blown hearing into his IR35 status.

IT contractors may know it as a fintech company, but an arrangement HMRC says to withdraw from is among six of the newly ‘named and shamed.’

Some 8.5million Windows devices with Blue Screen of Death reminds companies they can’t always know who they’ll need from IT, with what tech skills, or when.

Scratching beneath the surface of what Sir Kier Starmer’s new government probably wants Single Worker Status to achieve.

Bolstering economic growth across the UK bodes well for IT freelancers -- we must now hope for differentiation, collaboration and frankly, more contract skills support.

The new Employment Rights Bill to ‘upgrade’ worker protections is unsettling the many non-inside IR35, who are workers but don’t want protecting.

Tech teams must balance AI use with GDPR compliance, or risk possible repercussions under data protection rules.

Little wonder 60% of the £39.8bn tax gap is down to small biz, what with IR35 reform; going ‘LTD’ because a mate told you to, and the HMRC disconnect.

‘Political noise’ blamed for hirers hitting the hiring brakes, with the screeching most painfully felt by IT operations, helpdesk, and software development candidates.

Imagining a world without the Intermediaries legislation (reformed or original), quickly reminds us that it’s probably ‘better the devil you know.’

What’s happened to TV’s Adrian Chiles, and what seven things contractors can do to avoid a similar fate. 

APSCo tells ContractorUK what the professional contract labour market should make of Sir Keir Starmer as the new PM.

We’ve got an anti-Tory result with no great enthusiasm for Keir Starmer. That’s what the people are really saying - and it’s a verdict IT freelancers will find hard to disagree with.

Sir Keir Starmer ejects Rishi Sunak from No 10, vowing to ‘restore Britain to the service of working people.'

As a new political dawn breaks, let’s not be rose-tinted about the future of IT contracting under the architects of IR35, but it’s clear a bum deal is now behind us.

Contractor Voice on HMCs – being brought out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Whichever party wins on July 4th a PPC pledge by the Liberal Democrats is one to lose, if the UK really wants to eradicate late payments.

Why Rachel Reeves saying ‘we will take on the tax dodgers’ sounds good in principle, but also has small companies quaking in their (HMRC-compliant) boots.

An already ticking dormancy clock for some PSCs should now sound deafening, due to a likely change of colour at Number 10 on July 5th.

A timely excavation of one of the (crumbling) cornerstones of late payment policy in the UK, which is meant to help contractors get paid on time.

Signing a commonsense commitment (following this government’s nonsensical approach), is the first step to getting your future MP to do their bit to right a wrong ruining 40,000 lives.

An exploration of getting the taxman totally off your back if you max out on contributions.

Hays finds that despite many feeling apprehensive about AI, most IT contractors will undergo Artificial Intelligence training -- before it ‘really takes hold.’

Two highly technical grounds of appeal succeeding for the taxman don’t make the UT’s decision necessarily right, according to IR35 advisers who have no less than six misgivings.

How to cope and get hired in a yoyo-ing market, where ghosting, rejection, and no callbacks are taking a toll.

Two political parties say the Single Enforcement Body is back in contention, which probably won’t disappoint contractors -- or a few Labour Market Enforcement officials.

PSCs face the odd prospect of having to put their divi deets on an ‘employment page,’ so HMRC can deepen its IR35 insight.

Four ways the physical helps the mental -- ideal if you’re an IT contractor stuck behind a screen.

A Labour pledge to rethink the government’s OPW rules would be a marginally bigger vote-winner than a vow to repeal, but the manifesto favourite, SWS, ‘could remove IR35 altogether.’

The victors on July 4th must end the ‘us versus them’ of IR35 reform repeal, in favour of a more nuanced path forward.

An Ed Davey-led government says it would review the Tories' OPW rules ‘to ensure self-employed people are treated fairly.’

Companies are ‘still stalling on hiring decisions,’ but the knock-on negative appetite for IT contractors is now reducing, month-on-month.

Not reinventing the wheel is fine for just 5% of the business community; for the remaining vast majority, it’ll just perpetuate abject unfairness.

What the Tories and Labour claim they would refrain from unveiling -- like an emergency Budget, is currently all that UK contracting has to look forward to.

HMRC says that where car allowance payments have been or will be made for use of a qualifying vehicle, they may now benefit from a higher amount of disregard.

Skims, scams and schemes likely to land you in hot water with HMRC be like…

A new probe by the taxman might trigger you to work in the ‘Prefer Not to Say’ sector. Assuming you give any answer at all.

The Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader says the ‘IR35 scandal’ is part of the 'raw deal' for the self-employed, in line with calls by FCSA, cross-party MPs, and now IPSE.

FCSA: With General Election 2024 just 34 days away, no party with skin in the game can afford to ignore the burgeoning temporary labour market, and its 5.4million votes.

There’s a twist to IR35 reform but if parity matters, there’s also a rub, as there isn’t ‘any government department’ immune to the OPW rules.

Voting has started as to whether the contractor sector wants to wake up to Sir Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak in No 10 on July 5th.

A supposedly US firm is trying to fleece UK umbrella companies by seeking an initial line of credit for 'phantom' contractors, with convincing nods like ‘due diligence,’ IR35, and HMRC-risk.

A first-person account of a Teams call with a scammer, which hopefully proves third time’s a charm.

Top 10 considerations ahead of you working from the UK for a company based wholly overseas.

Contractor advisers: ‘If there was ever a hint or wake-up call to get due diligence in place now, this is it’ -- so ‘ignore it at your peril.’

Contractors ‘strongly advised’ to pull out of four avoidance schemes, newly ‘named and shamed’ by HMRC and accused of ‘destroying lives’.

Contrary to popular belief there’s actually a few ways to sweeten the bitter pill of moving from limited to umbrella. Or if not sweeten, make palatable.

The idea that the former midfielder can take the ban (not the ball) on the chin (not his head), is probably wishful thinking.

Replies to MPs not according with the status struggles we see day-to-day is proof that the taxman no longer lives in the real world.

Unlike demand, rates are holding up even as engagers seemingly resort to every trick in the book not to splurge on talent.

It’s essential to value your tech expertise but it’s wise to factor in budgets, trends, and tomorrow, too.

Complexities abound, but nevertheless running a UK limited company business from sunnier climes is indeed entirely possible.

More ‘due diligence’ on umbrella companies is useful - but the truth is that we need regulation and enforcement for things to actually change.

Five schemes of varying levels of sophistication get newly ‘named and shamed’, and three others are put under HMRC stop notices.

It’s been 17 years since they first struck, but the MSC rules getting a guidance refresh should help the contractors of today ‘understand, identify, and respond.’

How to politely place ‘Do Not Cross’ lines around your business, so ‘You Shall Not Pass’ achieves respect.

There’s no shortcut to the long, complex process of making contractor umbrella companies compliant, safe and viable.

Government claims to accept PAC’s recommendations despite one recommendation stemming from fears the taxman’s OPW approach puts off legitimate business activity.

Next time you hear the phrase the ‘party of business,’ you’d be forgiven for asking ‘which party is that then?’

This stance as an agency boss on regulating umbrella companies will banish me from the Christmas card list of the big staffing bodies.

Systematic issues plague the contractor umbrella market, making tools an inadequate fix and the devils to beware numerous.

A life coach shares top tips on turning stressful contract or client situations into water off a duck’s back.

The unfortunate, disorientating, guinea pig-like experience of Richard Alcock is grounds for government to ‘seriously consider other options’ -- IR35 advisers.

Buried in the government-speak, the worrying signs are that UK contracting is looking at the sister of CEST, and a new avoidance mission for HMRC.

It’s far past time for forceful action to purge the unscrupulous from the umbrella industry. But this government’s next move is probably to pass the buck.

Receiving a fixed regular fee irrespective of work done is now enough to satisfy the ‘uncomplicated’ MoO test.

Disappointed, insulted, and back in ‘wait and see’ mode, contractor umbrella companies at least know the future is a ‘due diligence’ requirement for agencies to police.