Can agencies be held responsible for using off-shore umbrellas as their default payr?

[why]

Have a question, can recruitment agencies that historically used off-shore umbrella payrolls be held responsible that is the mess we find ourselves in? Could we sue or otherwise regain monies lost due to unprofessional or down right lies\advice?

Example: won't name the agency (yet) but they used HALO which used Darwin Partnerships as their default way of paying contractors.

[Andy Hallett]

It depends whether they introduced the schemes to you.

Relevant reading is the Offshore Employment Intermediaries Legislation and Criminal Finance Act.

[DealorNoDeal]

I worked with a Spanish guy who was steered into one of these fake brollies.

He'd never worked in the UK before, and the agency was one of the biggest in the country (R***), so it never occurred to him that it might be a bit iffy.

After he returned home, HMRC got the Spanish tax authorities to chase him. They trucked up at his parent's house.

[eek]

I worked with a Spanish guy who was steered into one of these fake brollies.

He'd never worked in the UK before, and the agency was one of the biggest in the country (R***), so it never occurred to him that it might be a bit iffy.

After he returned home, HMRC got the Spanish tax authorities to chase him. They trucked up at his parent's house.

Do the Spanish Tax authorities use cobrador del frac?

[DealorNoDeal]

Do the Spanish Tax authorities use cobrador del frac?

Had to Google that one. Like HMRC, I think the Spanish tax office does most of it's own dirty work. It was certainly them that turned up at his parent's house.

It's just as well cobrador del frac don't operate here, otherwise that's who Felicitas would have used. Although, in their case, they'd probably have made a special request for grim reaper costumes.