When I started contracting I was advised by my accountant to use a limited company so I did and for a while things were good.
Following the stress of an excruciatingly drawn out IR35 investigation which was eventually dropped by HMRC I decided that I had had enough, closed the company and started to work through an umbrella company instead.
I am on my third umbrella company and have had problems with all three but at least I know that I will never be hounded by HMRC (apart from the time my umbrella left me on emergency tax for waaaaay too long leaving me with an unexpected huge tax deficit to make up).
I just want an easy, legal and stress free administration service for my contracts and tax and I am happy to forego the potential additional monetary rewards of using a limited company. I don't want to have to jump through hoops or pretend to be who I am not, but just keep everything transparent so my conscience is clear.
Now my latest umbrella is yet again trying to force a change of employment contract without giving any explanations of what the changes are or what the reasons are apart from "to comply with (unspecified) legislation" and "because we have spent alot of money on legal advice". What a shame that expensive legal advice did not come with an explanation!!!
So, now I realise, after about the 3rd time this has happened in about the same number of years, that instead of being on my side and keeping me abreast of the latest developments in employment legislation they would rather I just agree whatever they put in front of me. They are not a valued business partner adding value but simply are out to use me.
Only inertia and knowing that the grass is probably not greener stops me from leaving.
But now I have started to investigate what this new legislation is I find that it is the new Agency Workers Regulations ... what a pile of crap! Now I have to pick my umbrella based upon their approach to this new legislation or find a different solution. Even if I went back to using a limited company I would still have to comply with it!
So, what ARE the options now?
1. Limited company - hassles of IR35, responsibilities, VAT returns, annual returns, insurances, general administration, tax investigations, self assessment again (groan), probably no additional take home as IR35 caught and would be sole shareholder anyway AND still affected by the Agency Workers Regulations!!!
2. Umbrella company - less hassles, responsibilities and administration. Concerns over compliance with the new Agency Workers Regulations and possibly being dragged into misrepresentation of the business practices and the penalties that could be associated with that. Various constant niggles about business practices of the umbrella, the online portal, regular unexplained changes to contracts that they have no wish to explain.
3. Self-employed - impossible to contract via agencies due to some law or other I cannot remember the name of.
What else is there?
I just want to be able to go to work, do a good job and pay a company to do a good job managing the tax and legal matters in an honest, straightforward, legal, transparent and mutually beneficial way.
Is that REALLY too much to ask?
Help! My current contract expires in August so I need to decide by then what to do after that ... possibly sooner if I am offered an extension.
</despairing rant>
Following the stress of an excruciatingly drawn out IR35 investigation which was eventually dropped by HMRC I decided that I had had enough, closed the company and started to work through an umbrella company instead.
I am on my third umbrella company and have had problems with all three but at least I know that I will never be hounded by HMRC (apart from the time my umbrella left me on emergency tax for waaaaay too long leaving me with an unexpected huge tax deficit to make up).
I just want an easy, legal and stress free administration service for my contracts and tax and I am happy to forego the potential additional monetary rewards of using a limited company. I don't want to have to jump through hoops or pretend to be who I am not, but just keep everything transparent so my conscience is clear.
Now my latest umbrella is yet again trying to force a change of employment contract without giving any explanations of what the changes are or what the reasons are apart from "to comply with (unspecified) legislation" and "because we have spent alot of money on legal advice". What a shame that expensive legal advice did not come with an explanation!!!
So, now I realise, after about the 3rd time this has happened in about the same number of years, that instead of being on my side and keeping me abreast of the latest developments in employment legislation they would rather I just agree whatever they put in front of me. They are not a valued business partner adding value but simply are out to use me.
Only inertia and knowing that the grass is probably not greener stops me from leaving.
But now I have started to investigate what this new legislation is I find that it is the new Agency Workers Regulations ... what a pile of crap! Now I have to pick my umbrella based upon their approach to this new legislation or find a different solution. Even if I went back to using a limited company I would still have to comply with it!
So, what ARE the options now?
1. Limited company - hassles of IR35, responsibilities, VAT returns, annual returns, insurances, general administration, tax investigations, self assessment again (groan), probably no additional take home as IR35 caught and would be sole shareholder anyway AND still affected by the Agency Workers Regulations!!!
2. Umbrella company - less hassles, responsibilities and administration. Concerns over compliance with the new Agency Workers Regulations and possibly being dragged into misrepresentation of the business practices and the penalties that could be associated with that. Various constant niggles about business practices of the umbrella, the online portal, regular unexplained changes to contracts that they have no wish to explain.
3. Self-employed - impossible to contract via agencies due to some law or other I cannot remember the name of.
What else is there?
I just want to be able to go to work, do a good job and pay a company to do a good job managing the tax and legal matters in an honest, straightforward, legal, transparent and mutually beneficial way.
Is that REALLY too much to ask?
Help! My current contract expires in August so I need to decide by then what to do after that ... possibly sooner if I am offered an extension.
</despairing rant>
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