Hey,
A very short while ago I was offered a contract which I was told many times was definitely outside IR35. Did the usual contract check etc which also came back Outside IR35, and did my own CEST which also came back outside although it is unreliable at the best of times. Although I requested the SDS before starting I was told although it was outside the client wasn't legally obliged to provide one yet (should have rang alarm bells).
Annoyingly I also turned down a potentially long term also outside contract on the basis I agreed to this one first and didn't want to let them down by cancelling before starting.
Anyway, started the contract and on day 1 am told the decision was not in fact set in stone. Meeting set up for a week later where i'm told they've deemed it inside IR35, by using a blanket CEST assesment (everyone got the same CEST output with the exact same timestamp) with answers which mostly weren't relevent to my situation so they clearly were just trying to get everyone inside. Clearly I don't want to go outside > inside at the same client regardless of amount of time there so I will have to be off on the 3rd. A grand total of a month after starting, being cut short by 2 months.
The agency backtracked heavily once I raised this with them. Despite even having it in writing in an email them saying its outside, they then tried the 'oh but its only outside until its inside, we can only go by what the client say... etc etc' washing their hands of it.
So the legal status of using a blanket assesment aside. Do I have any comeback whatsoever on being sold this contract on an outside basis only to be told its inside just after starting? Is this just part of the risk, I should have done more due dilligence and I need to suck it up?
A very short while ago I was offered a contract which I was told many times was definitely outside IR35. Did the usual contract check etc which also came back Outside IR35, and did my own CEST which also came back outside although it is unreliable at the best of times. Although I requested the SDS before starting I was told although it was outside the client wasn't legally obliged to provide one yet (should have rang alarm bells).
Annoyingly I also turned down a potentially long term also outside contract on the basis I agreed to this one first and didn't want to let them down by cancelling before starting.
Anyway, started the contract and on day 1 am told the decision was not in fact set in stone. Meeting set up for a week later where i'm told they've deemed it inside IR35, by using a blanket CEST assesment (everyone got the same CEST output with the exact same timestamp) with answers which mostly weren't relevent to my situation so they clearly were just trying to get everyone inside. Clearly I don't want to go outside > inside at the same client regardless of amount of time there so I will have to be off on the 3rd. A grand total of a month after starting, being cut short by 2 months.
The agency backtracked heavily once I raised this with them. Despite even having it in writing in an email them saying its outside, they then tried the 'oh but its only outside until its inside, we can only go by what the client say... etc etc' washing their hands of it.
So the legal status of using a blanket assesment aside. Do I have any comeback whatsoever on being sold this contract on an outside basis only to be told its inside just after starting? Is this just part of the risk, I should have done more due dilligence and I need to suck it up?
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