Have I dug my own grave?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Thanks for the clarification, I'm clearly not as up to speed on this as I should be. I will find out about the gym / canteen but I do think they are open to everyone.


D&C
Well there is a project manager but I'm pretty much left to get on with things myself. What do you mean 'pretty much'? Does the PM give you objectives for the week? Do you have a meeting with him every morning and review what needs to be done? Could you do the work you do without direction from the PM?

I also work one day a week from home. Something which does concern me is an email I was copied on last week which stated everyone should be in the office between 9-5.30. That was sent by the department head. I'm tempted just to ignore it. So not the strongest defence in the world. Do any of the permies work from home?

RoS
Well it's written in my contract but I've not used a substitute as yet. I think this would be very unlikely considering I work in a Investment Bank and the on-boarding process takes weeks. If you know that, in reality, you would be unable/not allowed to use a substitute then this is an indicator that you would be inside IR35

MOO
I have been working on the same project since October last year and have had one renewal in that time. I would like to think this is my strongest defence. I have no plans to stay longer than 2 years.

[I]You need to understand a little more about mutuality of obligation - the duration of the contract is irrelevant - it's whether or not they are obliged to offer you work and whether you are obliged to accept it.[/I]

It's difficult to make a judgement without all the facts but my gut feeling is that the contract has been written to put you outside IR35 but your working practices would put you inside or, at the very least, borderline.

Going to the company gym and canteen would indicate that you had integrated into the workforce and would be an indicator but not a determining factor in an IR35 investigation

[pacontracting]

Investment banks are funny ones. The offices in London are usually so large that items like gyms and canteens are usually outsourced and available for anyone, employees, contractors, guests and so on.

Most banks tend to work the same. They either bring in contractors to alleviate additional workload, or they bring them in for a specific project. I tend to specialise in data centre migrations so I'm usually brought in to perform a function on the project then leave. The migrations are usually large and may last up to 18 months. Do I consider myself inside IR35. Definitely not. Is that a mindset or based on specific evidence. Probably both - but don't underestimate the importance of this mindset.

Contractors brought in to alleviate workload are a little different. They are usually brought in for six month contracts and if the workload is still crazy, then extended. Some of these contractors start getting what I call 'Permie' responsibilities e.g. they are assigned to an asset class and become the point of contact for that asset class. They can also be designated as a departmental approver and so on. These types of contractors are starting to get integrated into the organisation and so may need to look carefully at their status. Once you start behaving like a premie and taking on premie responsibilities - you probably are inside.

That being said, there are still no specific rules to say 'apply these and you are inside'. The Business tests are simply a risk test and in reality, most contractors will probably be high or medium, who work in IT in banking. I usually go by the rule that if I didn't turn up tomorrow, would the core running of the business of my client be affected or would I have to be replaced. By core running, I mean non-project related as projects, by their definition, are transient (they have a start date and ideally a stop date) and after the stop date, the resources assigned to the project will disappear).

Of the three areas the courts look at for IR35, here is my take for IT in investment banks:

1/ Substitution - unlikely due to background checks.
2/ Control - the more senior you are, the less control. I am generally free to work from home and have no set work hours etc. That being said, someone more junior may have more control set on them, especially support / prod management.
3/ MOO - to me, this is MOO WITHIN the contract. Can the client tell you not to come in to work and so you can't invoice. Do you have the option to tell the client you are not available. In my experience, most investment banks will send a blanket statement out to all contractors not to work over the Christmas period (and other times bur not as common). This can range from 2 weeks up to 4 weeks (second week in Dec to 1st in Jan). To me, this is the main area where Investment Banks ensure the contract is outside IR35 across the board.

[Unix]

IR35 is de-facto repealed, there is more chance of you being hit by lightining than being investigated for IR35.

"In May 2009 the Professional Contractors Group received a reply to a request under the Freedom of Information Act to HMRC, asking just how much tax revenue IR35 had in fact raised for the exchequer. The FOI reply revealed that in the tax years 2002/03 to 2007/08, IR35 directly raised just £9.2 million. This equates to an average of around only £1.5 million per tax year, less than 1% of the expected amount. It is not clear whether this includes the NI contribution, or is just income tax.

In September 2011 a Freedom of Information Request revealed that the number of cases reviewed had fallen from 158 (year ending April 2007) to 12 in year ending April 2010 and 23 in year ending April 2011. The same document also gives the "tax yield received for the requested years" as having fallen from £1,906,619 to £219,180. No details are given for the costs of the investigations or the costs of collecting the tax. It is not clear whether this figure relates to the revenue raised from investigations, or the total revenue from IR35. No figures were given for the cost of administrating the tax, or the cost of the investigations."

Anyone who tells you different is likely to be selling something IR35 related.

[TheFaQQer]

IR35 is de-facto repealed,

Is there a credible link to show this?

there is more chance of you being hit by lightining than being investigated for IR35.

Apart from the statistics which show that to be untrue, is there a credible link for your assertion?

So the people who say that there is an increase in the staffing of the investigation units are lying, right?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

IR35 is de-facto repealed, there is more chance of you being hit by lightining than being investigated for IR35.

Anyone who tells you different is likely to be selling something IR35 related.

[TykeMerc]

Lisa, Unix is the many times banned Kandr/Russell - He's just trolling and doing it in the professional forums as well.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Thanks Tykemerc I'll put away the troll snacks

[Unix]

Is there a credible link to show this?

Apart from the statistics which show that to be untrue, is there a credible link for your assertion?

So the people who say that there is an increase in the staffing of the investigation units are lying, right?

This is my opinion based on the stats that IR35 investigations have dropped significantly and the expected yield was an order of magnitude less than expected. I think it's kept around as a deterrent.

[TheFaQQer]

This is my opinion based on the stats that IR35 investigations have dropped significantly and the expected yield was an order of magnitude less than expected. I think it's kept around as a deterrent.

The quote you have above refers to 2011 statistics. Is there a more recent statistic available?

[Unix]

The quote you have above refers to 2011 statistics. Is there a more recent statistic available?

No, but why would it suddenly start to yield loads of tax when it didn't before. In my view it's a failed piece of legislation.