Recruitment Agencies and QDOS?

[Paralytic]

This is correct. As soon as the client passes the Status Determination Statement to the next party in the chain, the liability moves too.

Assuming the determination has been communicated correctly and the client has taken reasonable care in making the status decision, the default liability will rest with the fee payer.

So if the client gets the determination wrong (in the eyes of HMRC), so long as they have taken reasonable care, the fee payer is held liable?

I wonder if we'll see agencies being nervous about accepting contractors on outside IR35 determined contracts. After all, working practices are a large part of HMRCs investigation and the agency will have limited input to that.

Or is it the case that so long as the agency has also taken reasonable care, it gets passed up again, to the PSC?

And then the contractor is found to not have taken reasonable care, since they're last in line and HMRC have said so?

[ladymuck]

So if the client gets the determination wrong (in the eyes of HMRC), so long as they have taken reasonable care, the fee payer is held liable?

I wonder if we'll see agencies being nervous about accepting contractors on outside IR35 determined contracts. After all, working practices are a large part of HMRCs investigation and the agency will have limited input to that.

Or is it the case that so long as the agency has also taken reasonable care, it gets passed up again, to the PSC?

And then the contractor is found to not have taken reasonable care, since they're last in line and HMRC have said so?

How can the contractor be found wanting? They have no input any more so surely they can never be held liable.

[Paralytic]

How can the contractor be found wanting? They have no input any more so surely they can never be held liable.

Exactly. So if the client has taken reasonable care, but HMRC want their money, who pays. Are agencies really signing up to that liability?

[BABABlackSheep]

How can the contractor be found wanting? They have no input any more so surely they can never be held liable.

Agency are saying the contractor needs to complete the QDOS questionnaire. Bit that confuses me ?

[Qdos Contractor]

Agency are saying the contractor needs to complete the QDOS questionnaire. Bit that confuses me ?

We position questions at the contractor to ensure we are getting a detailed and specific picture of both the working and business practices. We then review the contractor's submission and send it to the client for them to approve.

In many cases we are conducting a comprehensive audit of the client's organisation before the individual assessments are undertaken. As part of an audit we'll look at the situation at role level and make recommendations for how things can be improved in advance of the individual determination process.

[ladymuck]

Agency are saying the contractor needs to complete the QDOS questionnaire. Bit that confuses me ?

It's difficult to fill those in before your bum is on the seat. At present, it's not quite the done thing to have that conversation at interview.

Maybe one day, when I run out of friends to blag work from, I'll whip out the questionnaire and ask the interviewing manager to fill it in with me at the end of the interview