No notice Period???

[nomadd]

I've never really bought that argument. Lots of commercial contracts have notice periods, and it's not unusual for a supplier to be paid for that notice period even if the service wasn't provided.

If you'd been offered say a 2 week notice period, and the client wanted to get rid of you early, and you don't immediately find another gig, that's a couple of thousand pounds income you've negotiated away. All because of the tiny possibility it could be the deciding factor in an IR35 investigation that may never happen. And it may well be (as happened to me recently), the client will want you to work your notice period.

WHS^

The subject of notice periods has been debated to death many times on here... Still, my own personal take: fairness. I always insist on a 4 week notice period, both ways. If the client and agency won't agree to that - which always means they want something one-sided in their favour - then I politely decline.

The IR35 argument is pure hogwash. And I should know, I've been through 3 tax inspections in the 22 years I've been contracting. They all passed without incident.

[malvolio]

WHS^

The subject of notice periods has been debated to death many times on here... Still, my own personal take: fairness. I always insist on a 4 week notice period, both ways. If the client and agency won't agree to that - which always means they want something one-sided in their favour - then I politely decline.

Which is fine if you can pick up work at the drop of a hat. Quite a few contractors can't these days

The IR35 argument is pure hogwash. And I should know, I've been through 3 tax inspections in the 22 years I've been contracting. They all passed without incident.

Which begs the question, what are you doing wrong to warrant so many investigations?

[Fred Bloggs]

Which bit of a "no notice contract is that you cannot leave for the duration of the contract" do you not understand? Or have issues with? If you really do have to bail out for good reason mid contract, you would either negotiate with the client or, rather more sensibly, use the substitution clause in your expensive IR35-friendly coontract. That's what it's for.

So stop thinking like a permie

Couldn't have put it better myself.

[nomadd]

Which begs the question, what are you doing wrong to warrant so many investigations?

...And two VAT inspections as well. Must be my scar, or something.

Still, walked away "clean" on all occasions, so my accountant must be getting something right!

[malvolio]

...And two VAT inspections as well. Must be my scar, or something.

Still, walked away "clean" on all occasions, so my accountant must be getting something right!

No, he's getting something wrong. You get investigated because something in your returns doesn't add up, there is a major year-on-year variance in your returns, or you are consistently late, or you appear to be claiming as an expense something outside normal parameters. The best way to stay outside an IR35 investigation is not to get investigated in the first place.

[nomadd]

No, he's getting something wrong. You get investigated because something in your returns doesn't add up, there is a major year-on-year variance in your returns, or you are consistently late, or you appear to be claiming as an expense something outside normal parameters. The best way to stay outside an IR35 investigation is not to get investigated in the first place.

No, he isn't. And you can't stay "outside" a visit from the IR, just because you want to. If only!

Have you been contracting for 22 years...? No, thought not. If you had, you'd be used to "little brown envelopes" dropping on your doorstep once in a while.

I've never been late with PAYE, returns or VAT once in 22 years. Yes, there is variance in my earnings, as I take breaks from contracting. And no, no weird expense claims.

The inspections are just a result of having been in business for so long. They used to be much more frequent. And way back then, there were no where near as many contractors as there are today. The IR now seem to have run out of inspectors, as my last inspection was probably 12 or more years ago.

Still, all contractors need to be ready for "a visit". It can simply come out of the blue at any time. You don't need to do anything to "trigger" it. And it doesn't need to be part of an IR35 investigation. Your location, the size of the local IR office, and random chance all play a part. But, as I say, it could happen to any business - including contractors - at any time. So be prepared (as I'm sure you are.)


As I say, all mine have passed without incident.