Contracting News

There’s a slow tightening of the screw on the self-employed that might as well have eight consultancy giants at the handle end, and government policy as the torque. The PM or his chancellor should stop this billion-pound accumulation of UK self-harm dressed up as reform.

Contractor-turned-umbrella-company-body-CEO Chris Bryce outlines what’s deliverable, affordable and tangible in the new chancellor’s first budget, ranging from MSC reform and a statutory employment status test to banning the brolly bypass and eliminating the IR35 exemption ruse.

First Point Group, Bowers Partnership, VIQU IT and Robert Walters tell ContractorUK why the PM’s dislike of video interviews doesn't map onto professional tech contracting, where virtual is already the default — and, one recruiter argues, an IR35-neutral ‘leveller,’ rather than a mere ‘convenience.’

Urged to intervene against ‘HMRC cruelty’ in MSC cases, and U-turn employer NICs changes, chancellor John Healey is being called by SG, Re Legal and Caroola to fix the default of 'Inside IR35' when he delivers Budget 2026 on October 28th, even as FCSA says no OPW changes are coming.

Not every umbrella that underpays HMRC is doing the same thing wrong — and Joint & Several Liability doesn’t treat all three scenarios the same way. Nevertheless, ‘Can we trust it?’ is now the key brolly question being asked by contractors’ recruitment agencies and end-clients.

HMRC is consulting until Sunday on plans to make Direct Debit mandatory for VAT and PAYE payments, hitting contractors paid on agency terms of 30-60 days. Dedicated tax reserve accounts will surely come into their own. Either way, respond to HMRC.

HMRC’s recent focus on ‘reckless’ tax offences is a blunt instrument that risks tarring legitimate contractors with the same brush as tax evaders, warns SG Accounting’s Daniel Mepham.

After June's heatwave-linked dip, IT contractor demand is back in growth — its best month in nearly three years. First Point Group, SThree and Morgan McKinley reveal what's driving it, but it’s clearly not being felt by everyone.

UK IT contracting isn't shrinking, but it is getting pickier. SThree's Nicholas Tsappis explains why cybersecurity, AI and enterprise transformation are pulling in specialists, how IR35 is reshaping the way contractors get engaged, and which four sectors now expect more than technical skill alone.

As LinkedIn users herald a ‘quiet comeback’ in outside IR35 contracting, Reed's head of contract IT hiring Kelly Macey sets the record straight, and explains what's actually behind 2026's rise in outside IR35 roles.

Auto enrolment quietly sorts pensions for employees. Contractors get nothing of the sort, and fewer than one in five of the self-employed now saves into one at all. ContractorUK asked 278 contractors when they finally started, how IR35 shapes the route in, and what "enough" actually looks like.

Got an HMRC loan charge settlement letter? Here's what to check before you sign — including the £70,000 cap and how an untaxed income estimate could fall from £11,000 to just £3,000.

IR35, employment status, security clearance: IPSE's Joshua Toovey outlines the five tests Andy Burnham's government must pass in its first 100 days to earn contractors' trust.

Sir Keir Starmer's property-buying reforms appear locked in, but new PM Andy Burnham's instincts point somewhere else entirely. Freelancer Financials demystifies what both visions could mean for your next contractor mortgage, remortgage, or move up the ladder — and says what's still just speculation.

Markel Tax’s David Harmer unpacks how a mix-up between day rate and drop rate underpins an employment tribunal's ruling, with six key takeaways for contractors concerned about worker status and IR35.

There's a certain confidence in billing someone for money they don't have. As contractors, we spend half our lives chasing clients for payment on work we've actually done, often months after the invoice went out. HMRC, meanwhile, is exploring whether it can charge us tax on income that hasn't arrived yet.

Fresh from the FCSA Forum, Sapphire's Chris Bloor explains why Matthew Taylor's latest Fair Work Agency message matters for the contingent labour supply chain — and what agencies, end-clients and contractors should do now to shape zero-hours reform before the consultation closes on August 25th.

Contractors, we at Clarity Umbrella Ltd just got cloned. For the second time. JSL is one thing, but Companies House needs to get serious.

JSL is bedding in largely as HMRC intended almost 100 days in, with both due diligence and PSL scrutiny on the up, but 'Bills of Exchange' and patchy smaller-agency awareness show the compliance job is far from finished, says Parasol director Ashley Oliver.

A record heatwave, a Red Extreme Heat Warning and even the World Cup combined in June 2026 to end IT contractor demand's brief return to growth, with VIQU IT and Reed exclusively telling ContractorUK that the summer slowdown has arrived weeks early

As the government moves to guarantee workers' hours, umbrella contractors and end-clients face an unexpected shake-up to the balance between flexibility, security and IR35 risk. Not that limited company contractors will mind much, says FCSA's head of strategic policy and advocacy Andy Chamberlain.

Greg Smith MP, Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG co-chair: the ‘independent’ HMRC Loan Charge Review — run by a former HMRC official — is unravelling as fast as Keir Starmer's government. A clear-out of those who broke their promises, and those still claiming it wasn't compromised, must accompany the review natural justice demands.

Former HMRC inspector Danny Batey on everything contractors need to know about the taxman's IR35 compliance activity, as government confirms no review of OPW, no plans for Single Worker Status, and no imminent review of employment status.

The IR35 reality now that HMRC won't be appealing — a decision that spares contractors further uncertainty — is more measured than headlines imply. 

The Revenue just dropped its clearest roadmap yet for crypto enforcement. While Autumn Budget 2026 may be a step too soon, preparations for scaling tax compliance are surely underway because, to HMRC, confusion and complexity breed risk.

The FDE market is no longer the exclusive preserve of a handful of headline AI firms. With the right technical and client-facing skills, IT contractors with a ‘founder mindset’ can capitalise on a lucrative role that is quietly reshaping enterprise technology delivery.

App Accounting Group contractors getting their 10 days against HMRC is an important milestone. Yet answers at the FTT hearing to the core MSC questions seem as far off as resolution day.

Fewer updates from HMRC about arrangements to avoid generate more questions about its resources, alongside doubts that every wheeze deserves a black mark, and hints that not all schemes face repercussions.

Focusing on just figures if probed by HMRC over VAT is a fool’s errand. Far safer to evidence, explain and justify EVERYTHING because soon, the taxman will be done probing mid-sized firms.

Don’t squander a critical opportunity to give your ‘input,’ because the government says it is committed to ‘ending’ a-gone-awry aspect of contractors’ work that UK contracting wouldn’t exist without — flexibility.

Out of the latest tax fraud to hit the UK contractor supply chain comes some potential good for almost all of us, except ‘Bills of Exchange 2.0’ promoters, of course.

Even the sympathetic-sounding, ultimately powerless taxman knows that for contractors on the receiving end of West 28th Street’s demands, it all hinges on enforceability.

Here's something nobody really prepares you for when you set up a limited company: what happens when you want to stop.

A thinning career ladder. A distorted labour market. Slower-growing businesses. And even reduced project budgets, leading to fewer external roles. Who says jobless, detached 18-24-year-olds aren’t a contractor’s problem, too?

If it’s a pay instrument HMRC won’t accept, the liability still exists, cueing up a domino effect of PAYE, NICs, and VAT exposure for anyone banking on bills of exchange.

I became a contractor nearly eight months ago, and I've lost count of how many people have asked me whether I'm worried about the lack of security. Right now, I'm more curious about theirs...

With a clearer-eyed taxman pursuing limited company look-ins, rest assured it’s ‘only’ late recorders, retrospective preparers, fluctuaters, reversers, and overlappers in the HMRC crosshairs.

It’s probably about right to assert that ‘The wind is in our sails when it comes to getting late payment sorted.’ Just beware the gaping holes in the masthead.

AI-generated identity fraud looks set to overrun recruiters with its ‘speed and scale,’ yet somehow, the conversation about synthetic contractor risk is stopping short of the supply chain’s last line of defence.