Reform UK abolishing IR35

[malvolio]

I do see your point and don't disagree if you're referring to only "taking on contractors as we understand them" which I presume you mean outside IR35. I had presumed that SS was referring to a slump in roles in general across "contractor" types which can circumnavigate the complexity\impact by doing what the banks do, maybe your reference to "agency-style umbrella" refers to that.

It's a bit more nuanced, but broadly speaking I'm saying that clients, or at least their Human Remains experts (oxymoron alert) are tending to only want to hire people as employees (regardless of vehicle) rather than as short term providers of specific expertise. They've stopped thinking of temporary project delivery teams, and are putting that back to the bigger consultancies - not just the Big4 but also platform specialists. Hence the need for the individual contractor expert has all but faded away. Just nobody has told the recruitment business yet...

Irritating in a big way, since that flexible, comparatively cheap and highly professional resource is exactly what companies need to weather the Starmer/Reeves storm.

But as long as HMT guides the Chancellor's decisions and as long as HMT can't think past the 19th century model of work, it's not going to change.

[SussexSeagull]

It's a bit more nuanced, but broadly speaking I'm saying that clients, or at least their Human Remains experts (oxymoron alert) are tending to only want to hire people as employees (regardless of vehicle) rather than as short term providers of specific expertise. They've stopped thinking of temporary project delivery teams, and are putting that back to the bigger consultancies - not just the Big4 but also platform specialists. Hence the need for the individual contractor expert has all but faded away. Just nobody has told the recruitment business yet...

Irritating in a big way, since that flexible, comparatively cheap and highly professional resource is exactly what companies need to weather the Starmer/Reeves storm.

But as long as HMT guides the Chancellor's decisions and as long as HMT can't think past the 19th century model of work, it's not going to change.

I think you are right about work going to the big consultancies, although not so much with smaller businesses as they can't always exercise the economy of scale, and that is the main driver of the lack of contract opportunities. The fact that the ones that do still appear are increasingly inside IR35 is very much the fault of the changes to IR35 implementation.

That said some have worked out it is a way of getting round the increase in Employer NI contributions for getting in entry level people.

None of this is new under the current Labour government.