Reports for Agency on work tasks

[JeremyCK]

Bit of a weird request by the Client who are really a front end agent to the actual company I’m doing work for.

they have requested that I complete task details and progress reports quite detailed actually with details of failures etc…

What is worrying is that I am working through my own Ltd Company, so that request sounds more like an employee action not a director their own Ltd company.

also this is restricted defence work so that is also a concern as names of tasks and their progress are requested which I wouldn’t think I can divulge.

[northernladuk]

Might have spent a bit more time creating a clearer picture for us here.

So you are outside IR35 working for a small consultancy who have body shopped you to a defence company? The defence company gave you an SDS? You've got SC clearance? Who holds that?

They have requested? They being the consultancy/agency? Does this C/A do any work or are you purely bodyshopped? Do they deliver a work package or do no actual work for the end client? If the latter I can't see why they want that level of detail. Bearing in mind your SC clearance, have you queried why the want this? Wouldn't have been out of place to mention divulding details about the client if they are an agency might be a problem and see what they say?

What is worrying is that I am working through my own Ltd Company, so that request sounds more like an employee action not a director their own Ltd company.

You aren't understanding your company properly, you are representing your LTD doing the work, doesn't matter if you are a director or not. Even if you are a consultancy selling your services, providing certain reports won't affect your IR35 status. I have a weekly catch up with all my suppliers and regular service reviews so easy to argue that a supplier can still give updates without it being an IR35 problem. Devil is in the details though and you need to find this out. If it's progress update and they are going to tell you to drop this work and deliver that piece off the back of your report then yes, you are in bother. If it's just to check how work is going it might not be. Up to you to find out.

So before you can get a definitive answer you need to give us more detail.

[JeremyCK]

So you are outside IR35 working for a small consultancy who have body shopped you to a defence company? The defence company gave you an SDS? You've got SC clearance? Who holds that?

Outside IR35, SC Clearance (held by the front end Agency, SDS from the front end Agency)

They have requested? They being the consultancy/agency? Does this C/A do any work or are you purely bodyshopped? Do they deliver a work package or do no actual work for the end client? If the latter I can't see why they want that level of detail. Bearing in mind your SC clearance, have you queried why the want this? Wouldn't have been out of place to mention divulding details about the client if they are an agency might be a problem and see what they say?

They don't do any work for the defence company, so have queried that I can't provide such level of detail - happy to generally go through high level progress though.

You aren't understanding your company properly, you are representing your LTD doing the work, doesn't matter if you are a director or not. Even if you are a consultancy selling your services, providing certain reports won't affect your IR35 status. I have a weekly catch up with all my suppliers and regular service reviews so easy to argue that a supplier can still give updates without it being an IR35 problem. Devil is in the details though and you need to find this out. If it's progress update and they are going to tell you to drop this work and deliver that piece off the back of your report then yes, you are in bother. If it's just to check how work is going it might not be. Up to you to find out.

This is called Progress Details, hence why I'm not willing to provide this, but as said I'm happy to generally describe how it's going.

[northernladuk]

Outside IR35, SC Clearance (held by the front end Agency, SDS from the front end Agency)

But if you aren't doing work for the agency then they aren't the fee payer are they? You are just body shopped on to the defence client? Not part of a consultancy or package of work? Is there a difference between a front end agency and a normal agency I'm not getting here?

And how can the agency hold your SC Clearance? They've got to be ListX to do that don't they? And how is the client letting you work on secure defence information withouth holding your clearance?

I'm completely flumoxed here so must be me that's got all this wrong.

They don't do any work for the defence company, so have queried that I can't provide such level of detail - happy to generally go through high level progress though.

I'm confused as well. I can imagine that detail as part of a deliverable the 'agency' is providing but if they aren't then I'd refuse until the explain why. Ask them if it's OK to mention this to the client as it's clients secure information you are divulging. Something doesn't sound right. More digging needed.

This is called Progress Details, hence why I'm not willing to provide this, but as said I'm happy to generally describe how it's going.

Again, I can imagine some level of feedback on delivery but if they don't have a finger in the pie it's going to be general feedback, not detail of the work you are doing.

I've got a feeling either I'm completely not understanding this or someone isn't telling you the full picture.

Lets see if someone else comments that might have a better grasp on this than I do.
malvolio knows a lot about SC so maybe he has a better clue.

[JeremyCK]

okay, need to clear this up (perhaps I had the work package part confused) so they Do provide a work package for the end client.



I actually work through another Agent who are the agent Between myself (Ltd) and the end client (the other Agency)

[northernladuk]

Riiihgt.. starting to make sense now. Might want to delete that description BTW as it identifies your 'front end agent'.

So the front end agent is your client and they deliver a piece of work to their client. So would seem to make sense they want you to update them on the work you are doing on behalf of them as they are responsible for what you are delivering. It's the successes and failures of their product you are delivering so why shouldn't they ask?

Just having a further dig through their blurb they seem pretty unapologetic about them just getting a bunch of contractors together to provide a solution. This was the desired outcome for all agencies when the IR35 thing hit. Stop being a body shop and use the contractors as flexible consultancy so avoiding IR35 plus pocketing consultancy rates not body shop rates. Next to none managed it but they seem to have pulled it off. Be interested to see the quality of the SoW and if what they offer is a thinly veiled bodyshop or they've managed to get a good solution.

[David71]

And how can the agency hold your SC Clearance? They've got to be ListX to do that don't they?

FYI1: No they don't.
FYI2: A company isn't 'ListX' as such. Any 'ListX' status is specific to location, so Company A might have a ListX site, but the other company locations aren't 'ListX'. if a company has no ListX site they can still be a UKSV sponsor and 'hold' clearances.

[Lance]

sounds like the 'front end agency' is not an agency, but a consultancy.

EG. Cap Gemini, BT, DXC. All of whom are SC sponsors in their own right.
But they are not agencies.

[northernladuk]

sounds like the 'front end agency' is not an agency, but a consultancy.

EG. Cap Gemini, BT, DXC. All of whom are SC sponsors in their own right.
But they are not agencies.

To be fair to the OP the front agency he's talking about stated the fact they gathered contractors from the market to offer a solution to their clients. So not a consultancy that had a product they manage to the client and not an agency that body shopped individuals. Just a gang of contractors put together. I'd be interested to see how they operate and manage their product. Set up like this could work in multiple ways and not seen any consultancy/agency actually make this work.

[northernladuk]

FYI1: No they don't.
FYI2: A company isn't 'ListX' as such. Any 'ListX' status is specific to location, so Company A might have a ListX site, but the other company locations aren't 'ListX'. if a company has no ListX site they can still be a UKSV sponsor and 'hold' clearances.

Interesting but still, strange that this pseudo agency/consultancy model can hold the clearances. Sounds like they've done their homework and got a clever niche.