IR35 CEST tool help :(

[scoobysnacks2021]

Hi Folks can you please help. I'm racking my brain around around the CEST questions I have to fill in order to remain outside IR35 and get the contract generated

The scenario is I have not received the contract yet but the CEST tool needs to be complete first.
Can you please help me with what I should answer?

A Do you complete the work personally ALL of the time?
Yes / No?
B. Do you always perform all of the services?
Yes / No?
C. Is the work also carried out by other individuals employed by you in order for the services to be
fulfilled?
Yes or No?
D. Could you provide other resources/personnel to complete the project/tasks?
Yes or No?
E. Do you provide alternative resources for the work you do?
Yes or No?
F. Is there a substitution clause in the contract, whereby you can send someone else instead? <- this is the most difficult as there is not contract yet
Yes or No?
G. Would the client accept a substitute provided by you?
Yes or No?
H. Would the client put certain requirements in place on the skills the substitute possesses?
Yes or No?

Thankyou!

[hobnob]

Deleted duplicate post. (Weird message from website after first attempt.)

[hobnob]

Take a look at this website:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-em...status-for-tax

You can go through their questions and see the outcome. That will tell you the "right" answers. However, you also need to tell the truth. E.g. if the client won't accept a substitute then you need to say that.

[ladymuck]

I would have thought the client would fill this in? They're the ones who know what working practices they expect and what terms they may impose.

In an ideal world it would be collaborative.

[scoobysnacks2021]

I would have thought the client would fill this in? They're the ones who know what working practices they expect and what terms they may impose.

In an ideal world it would be collaborative.

yes but they don’t provide their part until I complete the survey first . Such a backwards process. What is the normal route for those questions above as a layman ?

[malvolio]

yes but they don’t provide their part until I complete the survey first . Such a backwards process. What is the normal route for those questions above as a layman ?

To be brutally frank, you can't accurately or honestly answer any of those questions, since they are all dependent on the contract you haven't seen and, more critically, answers to the last two which are outside your control anyway. So basically you can answer whatever sounds right, you wind up with an outside gig and when it's proven to be wrong it's the client that gets to pay the bills.

That, however, is not the best way to play it!

[northernladuk]

To be brutally frank, you can't accurately or honestly answer any of those questions, since they are all dependent on the contract you haven't seen and, more critically, answers to the last two which are outside your control anyway. So basically you can answer whatever sounds right, you wind up with an outside gig and when it's proven to be wrong it's the client that gets to pay the bills.

That, however, is not the best way to play it!

This. Absolute joke they are asking you to do it. Makes a shambles of what is a pretty poor system to start of with. G and H are just complete guesswork as you don't know what the client will do. Bearing in mind RoS was one of the pillars as well and has been considered a sham for a long time it's daft they are asking you what the client might do without even seeing a contract.

[Lance]

This. Absolute joke they are asking you to do it. Makes a shambles of what is a pretty poor system to start of with. G and H are just complete guesswork as you don't know what the client will do. Bearing in mind RoS was one of the pillars as well and has been considered a sham for a long time it's daft they are asking you what the client might do without even seeing a contract.

fill it in, send them (client) the answers, and ask them to confirm that they agree

[ladymuck]

fill it in, send them (client) the answers, and ask them to confirm that they agree

That is basically the only way forward. Get them to sign agreement or indicate where they disagree and take it from there.

[jamesbrown]

That is basically the only way forward. Get them to sign agreement or indicate where they disagree and take it from there.

Exactly this. What you want is a copy of the CEST completed from both perspectives with the same answers and signed by both parties.