IR35 and interviews

[cannon999]

Thoughts? If a client wants my opinion re new hires how does that sit with the IR35 legislation? To be honest same goes for 'helping' juniors with work. I am here to deliver software - nothing else is written into my contract. Would you refuse?

[SimonMac]

Thoughts? If a client wants my opinion re new hires how does that sit with the IR35 legislation? To be honest same goes for 'helping' juniors with work. I am here to deliver software - nothing else is written into my contract. Would you refuse?

Depends are you a bum on seat / body shop type of contractor, or are you a consultancy who's focus is to get the client to be in a position to not need you in the future.

[cannon999]

consultancy who's focus is to get the client to be in a position to not need you in the future.

Have you actually read what you have written here? What kind of consultancy would focus on not being needed by the client in the future? I don't want useless IR35 bumper sticker quotes.

[jamesbrown]

I wouldn't overthink this. Providing an opinion to the client on the basis of the expertise you were hired to provide is not an IR35 pointer. If you were being asked to engage in a substantive selection process, and that wasn't part of your statement of work then, sure, that is more problematic w/r to D&C, but offering a straightforward opinion is a non-issue. It's easy to not see the wood for the trees w/r to IR35. Just stay on the right side of (as many as you can) of the major factors of RoS, MoO and D&C. Obviously, this assumes that YourCo is responsible and liable, not the supply chain above you.

[jamesbrown]

Oh and, to be clear, if the title was a pointer to your participation in the selection process itself (reviewing CVs, interviewing short-listed candidates), then don't do that.

[courtg9000]

Depends are you a bum on seat / body shop type of contractor, or are you a consultancy who's focus is to get the client to be in a position to not need you in the future.

Unless the client is a right snotter you want your client to need your consultancy in the future. That's called repeat business. That's an indicator to new clients that your consultancy is actually any good. What your consultancy dosen't want is a BoS extension.

If the client is of course a right snotter unless you are that desperate for the dosh, you want to be out of there sharpish.

[northernladuk]

Have you actually read what you have written here? What kind of consultancy would focus on not being needed by the client in the future? I don't want useless IR35 bumper sticker quotes.

There is a line between making yourself not needed and consulting with the client to grow. It's not as simple as focus on not being needed. I think you are taking Simons comment far too literally. It's a very long discussion to explain the two but if you flip it to the other extreme if your focus is on ringfencing the work to make yourself invaluable you could be pushing yourself in to an inside position by becoming part and parcel. Again.. another comment that could be taken far too literally but it's still a position to consider.

Many factors to that comment to consider especially with regard to what you are delivering. As an exmaple, when I do a service transition piece for the client I'll deliver templates and a process. You could argue that helps them get someone else to do the work in the future but I believe it's part of good delivery. Many suppliers will implement processes and templates that can then be reused so you've effectively help them build a function they can use in the future. I don't worry about it as they will still need good transition resources in the future so don't see it as putting myself out of work.
If you are a coder then the path to not being needed by the client is very different.

So I wouldn't take the comment as literally as he's put it and think about it in terms of what you deliver. It might be that this is never the case for you but it certainly is for me (to some extent)

[northernladuk]

Thoughts? If a client wants my opinion re new hires how does that sit with the IR35 legislation? To be honest same goes for 'helping' juniors with work. I am here to deliver software - nothing else is written into my contract. Would you refuse?

To me it depends on the situation and expectation of the client. I have absolutely no qualms helping with interviews and mentoring. I actually enjoy both it so would find it very hard not to do. If done off my own back and I have a choice I don't mind doing it. I'm technically consulting with the client to offer my expertise to get them to an end point so easily arguable in most cases. I would draw the line at hires that have absolutely zero to do with what I am doing and train staff from other areas on knowledge I am not using in the gig. That's providing a training service, helping within my scope of work is consultancy within the scope of the SOW.

Every human interaction can be classed as helping. If someone asks you how to get cold water out the machine are you stepping outside IR35? Major suppliers mentor client staff and help so it's not of the world of inside only. It's business which is still outside IR35.

There is also the point that saying no makes you look unhelpful so is not good for business in the long run.

If you don't like doing it then you have a right to say it's not part of the work, if you enjoy it I think there is plenty of wiggle room for doing it as part of the work you are delivering. In most cases I'd get on with it and not worry about IR35.

That said, if you were a newbie that didn't have a clue about IR35 I'd say don't do it just because it needs a bit of nouse to know why you are doing and and what is right/wrong to keep on the right side of IR35. You aren't a newbie and are more than aware so I'd say just keep your eyes open but get on with it.

[Lance]

Thoughts? If a client wants my opinion re new hires how does that sit with the IR35 legislation? To be honest same goes for 'helping' juniors with work. I am here to deliver software - nothing else is written into my contract. Would you refuse?

Does your SoW include a deliverable that matches what they're asking? Sounds like it doesn't so are you going to do this for free? Or are you going to charge them as software delivery for something that isn't? And if the latter are they happy with that?
I always have handover in my SoWs and handover may include helping the client find suitable resource.

Anyway..... If they have made an outside determination for you, why do you care? It's their problem.

[cannon999]

Oh and, to be clear, if the title was a pointer to your participation in the selection process itself (reviewing CVs, interviewing short-listed candidates), then don't do that.

Yes that is exactly what the client wants. My technical knowledge is required to assess the candidates.