Opt out of Conduct of employment agencies 2003 act?

[malvolio]

...You have got to remember that the PCG fought long and hard to get this opt out and sadly it appears that for all the good work the PCG have done over the years, they have shot themselves in the foot with this one....

The near 50% of members who don't use agencies and/or have their own staff or subbies and who asked for the opt out may not agree with you on that one. Primarily, the opt out wasn't negotiated to benefit individual contractors

[Wanderer]

The near 50% of members who don't use agencies and/or have their own staff or subbies and who asked for the opt out may not agree with you on that one.

Uh huh, but if this 50% of PCG members don't use an agency and don't act as an employment business (and subbing work out doesn't make a contractor an employment business) then the agency conduct regulations don't apply to them in any way shape or form so the presence or absence of an opt out provision has no relevance to this 50% whatsoever.

Primarily, the opt out wasn't negotiated to benefit individual contractors

I agree - the only party I've ever seen an opt out benefit is the agency, there is no value to a contractor or a client.

[SueEllen]

I agree - the only party I've ever seen an opt out benefit is the agency, there is no value to a contractor or a client.

And solicitors who have to re-write dodgy contracts due to the additional clauses from the opt-out.

[malvolio]

Uh huh, but if this 50% of PCG members don't use an agency and don't act as an employment business (and subbing work out doesn't make a contractor an employment business) then the agency conduct regulations don't apply to them in any way shape or form so the presence or absence of an opt out provision has no relevance to this 50% whatsoever.

Except without the opt out they would have been in scope since the regs would then apply to any supplied worker...

[Boo]

And solicitors who have to re-write dodgy contracts due to the additional clauses from the opt-out.

Solicitors, accountants and agencies...

... the PCG's natural constituency, in fact.

Boo

[quackhandle]

Just an update on the hassle I had with the agency (rhymes with Dan derson) over the conduct regs as I have ended the contract early. They have been the worst pimp I have worked with. It took a while to get a copy of the contract back from them as I suspect they didn't want me to have it until after I'd been with client more than one calendar month as I would have had to have given four weeks notice! WTF! And they said the opt out contract was IR35 friendly! Four weeks' notice is like a permy. Thankfully I could give 1 week notice and walk away.

Won't be using them again in a hurry. I could have pushed them more to provide me an IR35 friendly Opt In contract but I doubt they would have budged, everything in the contract was nailed down to be basically in favour of the agent. Lesson learnt here I feel.

qh

[gman81]

TAX

An agent told me that not opting out would mean I am indicating I wish to be treated as an employee and therefor would be required to pay a higher rate of TAX. How can this be true?

[cojak]

An agent told me that not opting out would mean I am indicating I wish to be treated as an employee and therefor would be required to pay a higher rate of TAX. How can this be true?

It isn't true, I don't have it to hand but if you google opt in you'll find the rules that you can wave under the Agent's nose.

Which may not get you the contract, but you would be legally correct.

Who is the agency telling you this?

[northernladuk]

Just an update on the hassle I had with the agency (rhymes with Dan derson) over the conduct regs as I have ended the contract early. They have been the worst pimp I have worked with. It took a while to get a copy of the contract back from them as I suspect they didn't want me to have it until after I'd been with client more than one calendar month as I would have had to have given four weeks notice! WTF! And they said the opt out contract was IR35 friendly! Four weeks' notice is like a permy. Thankfully I could give 1 week notice and walk away.

Won't be using them again in a hurry. I could have pushed them more to provide me an IR35 friendly Opt In contract but I doubt they would have budged, everything in the contract was nailed down to be basically in favour of the agent. Lesson learnt here I feel.

qh

Sorry to hear your pain but can I just point out that four weeks is no relation to a permie. The same with paying yourself your dividend monthly is like a permie. 4 weeks is used in permie land (so is one week and so is 3 months) because it is a nice clean calendar month, this does not mean we can not use it in contracting. We can also have a clean month and still be nothing like a permie.

[gman81]

It isn't true, I don't have it to hand but if you google opt in you'll find the rules that you can wave under the Agent's nose.

Which may not get you the contract, but you would be legally correct.

Who is the agency telling you this?

Am I correct in that opting in or out of the agency regs does not affect the invoicing/payment/tax process at all?