Balancing Two Clients

[jamesbrown]

Balancing multiple clients on a T&M basis is unwieldy. It can work, but not routinely. If you want to adopt this as a business model, you need to think about structuring the contracts as FFP where you're paid for milestones and deliverables, within a prescribed timeframe, but not for prescribed hours or availability. However, this isn't a superficial change; it's a completely different way of working (and may be difficult to achieve for the average BoS contractor).

[WordIsBond]

Much more achievable if you can work from home at least most of the time. See if client 2 gives you an offer. Then you negotiate with existing client from a position of strength. "I've had an offer, and I think this could be a win for everyone. You need me around, but you could probably get by with 2 days a week, and they could, too. Is this something you'd be willing to work with me on?"

Yeah, if you do this long term IR35 might be an issue, but chances are they'd never investigate you, and their new version of the employment status test, if they ever do it, is likely to give a lot of points for multiple clients. And if you have good contracts and good working practices, you could probably beat IR35 even if you do it a long time. Not only that, you might get yet another part time contract somewhere else, to run concurrently or replace one of these.

[northernladuk]

Yeah, if you do this long term IR35 might be an issue, but chances are they'd never investigate you, and their new version of the employment status test, if they ever do it, is likely to give a lot of points for multiple clients. And if you have good contracts and good working practices, you could probably beat IR35 even if you do it a long time. Not only that, you might get yet another part time contract somewhere else, to run concurrently or replace one of these.

Hmm..you been drinking?

[WordIsBond]

Would it help if I said I don't remember?

Few people are ever investigated. Those represented by IPSE never lose. "Part and parcel" would not necessarily be easy to prove, even if you've been around a long time, if it is one of multiple clients, and you're doing a lot of work from home. Well-run businesses often establish long-term business relationships with their clients/customers.

And if they really do come out with a new and improved ESI test, it certainly should give points for having multiple concurrent clients, which is a factor which has turned up in case law more than once. Like many other things, it isn't a silver bullet, but it makes it a lot harder for them to prove you are a disguised employee.

[northernladuk]

Would it help if I said I don't remember?

Few people are ever investigated. Those represented by IPSE never lose. "Part and parcel" would not necessarily be easy to prove, even if you've been around a long time, if it is one of multiple clients, and you're doing a lot of work from home. Well-run businesses often establish long-term business relationships with their clients/customers.

And if they really do come out with a new and improved ESI test, it certainly should give points for having multiple concurrent clients, which is a factor which has turned up in case law more than once. Like many other things, it isn't a silver bullet, but it makes it a lot harder for them to prove you are a disguised employee.

But now you are getting in to a general discussion about the effectiveness about IR35 which has nothing specifically to do with the OP's position. You are taking the stance that you might get away with it so pretty much ignore it, others don't. That's a long running argument for other threads. Not this one.

[WordIsBond]

I don't think so. I think given the difficulty of winning any IR35 cases, they are less likely to take on the more difficult cases, and a guy with multiple concurrent clients is less likely to have trouble.