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Contracting News

Contracting News

REC: No New Year let up in economic uncertainty, ahead of April tax rises, is staying the hands of business.

Unless you’re Michelle Appiah, an appeal of her employment tribunal victory makes much-needed sense.

We need contractors to answer 10 off-payroll working questions, to help us convince the chancellor it’s time for an IR35 fix – IPSE.

My belt and braces step-by-step is best if you’re a tardy contractor already due a £100 HMRC penalty.

At a time of tumbleweed, and goal-setting, consider switching to Energy to tap into a £24bn-and-growing industry.

By potentially overlooking the importance of control, the footballing legend let a couple get past him.

Criticisms that still dog Sir Amyas Morse’s work are already Ray McCann’s to squelch, as he begins a ‘skewed brief’ that makes a ‘sham’ of Rachel Reeves’ promise.

Premium Bonds can see ‘contracting contingency money’ go further than sitting in a savings account.

‘Bamboozled, frustrated and ready to give up’ IT contractors reminded that Christmas is partly behind a new low of four-and-a-half years.

A look by someone who’s sold up already at whether April 6th 2026 regulation is going to trigger umbrella mergers, acquisitions by recruitment agencies, or neither.

The FCSA warns the Treasury’s James Murray MP that without intervention on multiple fronts, the UK’s temporary labour supply chain could collapse.

The Stevenage-based umbrella is warning of a copycat, potentially preying on contractors, agencies, and its own reputation.

A holding of horses might be required for IT contractors seeking a fresh start, especially amid today’s less-than-stellar market.

Previewed and revealed: the ‘hot’ IT contractor skills of next year, their current rates, forecasted rates, and why they’ll be critical.

IR35, tax and umbrella company advisers are hoping the chancellor uses her second fiscal package to ‘steady the ship’ -- by rescinding April’s employer NIC changes.

The interesting (court) case of the would-be contractor unreasonably denied freelance work serves as a cautionary client tale for 2025.

In wake of Gary’s Lineker settlement, Bauer & Cottrell provides crucial Christmas reading for contractors wanting an HMRC-free new tax year.

Autumn Budget brought a glimmer of hope that ‘LTD’ will be back in business in 2025-26, if only because the taxman’s new tanks are parked on the lawn of everybody else.

The taxman pulls no punches in his latest MSC appearance, so potentially bob and weave, don’t just read.

The National Insurance ‘shock’ to employers is so ‘sharp’ that lockdown was the last time IT contractor demand was weaker -- REC.

While the crystal ball is as opaque as it gets, it’s clear that the contractor-friendly lender is meeting a need, at least psychologically.

Just as umbrella company regulation is doing, the taxman’s talk about his avoidance list appears to be taking the gloss off it.

Photo, headline and job title are key, to entice agents to click beyond their premium product showing you only in ‘snapshot.’

Far from the demise of brollies, new legislation from April 6th 2026 will see many operators thrive.

When the IT contractor who shows up for work isn’t the UK citizen/PSC director who landed the role.

Legislation will have the final word, but we can already say the speculation, misinterpretation, and mischaracterisation appear to have no bounds.

Contractors may be the sole beneficiaries of Labour’s umbrella company regulation plan (which won’t be consulted on).

The cheered-on Covid Corruption Commissioner is set to back strictness for taxpayers and leniency for the taxman (not vice versa), as seen in Ark Angel Ltd v HMRC.

Nineteen ‘exceptional’ companies, six ‘highly commended’ providers, and two individuals. All just got acknowledged as going ‘the extra mile’ for UK IT contracting.

Rigour mortis will surely set into the umbrella industry before April 6th 2026 -- potentially the point of death for umbrellas as we know them today.

The temporary tech jobs market gets a ‘glimmer’ to offset the ‘dire’, but it’s hardly thanks to the chancellor.

There’s no final bill or liability admission. But the Welsh government agency set up to sustainably manage the environment clearly didn’t manage off-payroll worker status properly.

A seemingly small Autumn Budget announcement is actually a big concern, and it’s not even the nearly double-figure rate that’s unsettling.

The definitive guide to eight ‘easy target’ areas the Labour chancellor is hitting to raise many extra billions.

A day looks like a long time in leaky Budget politics, or so suggests the global market reaction to Rachel Reeves being at the helm.

A ‘smiling,’ ‘slashing’ and ‘butchering’ Rachel Reeves 'squeezes the juice from business while not giving enterprise much to get on with business.'

Rachel Reeves unveils a Budget to ‘restore economic stability’ and ‘rebuild Britain.’

Change for contractors and contractors’ workplaces is incoming -- next year, October 2026, and potentially even today too.

Vindicated for its 'reasonableness,' an NHS supplier won’t have to pay our unsympathetic taxman a £250,000 penalty for a late VAT return.

The first Labour Budget in 14 years is imminent, but what’s expected from chancellor Rachel Reeves and what do contractors need to see unveiled?