What do you think about the agency workers regulations?

[TykeMerc]

I skimmed over this initially thinking it wouldn't apply to me but suddenly something becomes very clear to me:

We will have one of two options:

1. Work for the agency/umbrella/consultancy (pretty much as a permie). Agencies and umbrellas will become more like consultancies.

2. We will work through our own LTD companies like big boys in a proper business to business relationship.

Unless there is a proper contract and watertight working practices, there is a real danger of option 1 kicking in. So agencies and clients will make damned sure that people take either option 1 or 2. There will be no more of this grey area in between with bulltulip clauses in our contracts. Agents and clients simply won't allow it for fear of option 2 contractors coming knocking on their doors wanting permie benefits later on. And that means that option 2 puts youquite clearly outside IR35.

Therefore, when 2008/104/EC, the EU's "Agency Workers Directive" is implemented into UK law, from October 2011 IR35 is STONE COLD DEAD. There will be no such thing as a "disguised employee" any more. You will either have a cast iron B2B contract or you will be a permie! There will be no ambiguity, the clients, agents and umbrellas will make absolutely certain of that. There is no way they will want you coming back and claiming employee benefits if you were engaged on a B2B contract.

I came to a similar conclusion when I read through the thread.

For that matter employees of larger consultancy firms than mine such as IBM, CSC, HP/EDS etc, etc, etc which are supplied to clients sometimes via intermediary companies would also be caught if I am.
If the deciding differentiating factor is that the intermediary is a recruitment company maybe they could set up partner companies to supply specialist resource on contract to bypass that particular piece of idiocy.