Determining IR35 Status - EU clients

[a l e x]

I think I am affected with all of that as well... No idea how to ask a client about the SDS for the IR35 purposes.

[northernladuk]

I think I am affected with all of that as well... No idea how to ask a client about the SDS for the IR35 purposes.

Do you know enough about Ir35 to challenge it? If not then it doesn't matter asking about it.

[a l e x]

Do you know enough about Ir35 to challenge it?

In the court? Definitely not.

[Pring]

I think I am affected with all of that as well... No idea how to ask a client about the SDS for the IR35 purposes.

It's difficult isn't it, as you don't want to spook them! Two other things I've been wondering:

• If the overseas client isn't aware of the Legislation is the worker required to inform them?
• If the overseas client then fails to make any determination, because they see no advantage to doing so given they're essentially out of liability anyway, is there any potential fallback to the worker?

[WordIsBond]

It's difficult isn't it, as you don't want to spook them! Two other things I've been wondering:

• If the overseas client isn't aware of the Legislation is the worker required to inform them?
• If the overseas client then fails to make any determination, because they see no advantage to doing so given they're essentially out of liability anyway, is there any potential fallback to the worker?

There isn't any legislation yet to enable an accurate answer to this question.

Based on the draft legislation, if there's an obligation on the worker to inform the overseas client, I've missed it.

Based on the draft legislation, there is no obvious fallback to the worker, but I wouldn't trust to that.

Elsewhere, I wrote this:

They can argue that if there is no enforceable liability on the client because the client is outside the UK jurisdiction that the situation devolves to what it is for UK employees of foreign companies. UK employees of foreign companies are personally liable to pay their income tax and their employee NI. Foreign companies don't have to withhold tax and make payments to the UK even if they have a UK employee.

I don't think the legislation as written permits this but I can see them arguing it and you'd have to defend it. Keep good evidence that you are outside of IR35 even with a completely foreign chain.

I don't think they'd have a strong case if they argued that, but I am not a lawyer, and I wouldn't want to have to defend it. I'd rather keep ironclad evidence that I'm outside, rendering the point moot. If you have an overseas client, and no UK agency, it really shouldn't be heard to amass enough evidence that you aren't under enough SDC to be inside. You should have a contract review and should be able to get sufficiently good contract terms to keep you outside.

That's better than ending up arguing over whether poorly drafted legislation means there's no liability for you.