Would you be an IPSE member if it weren't for the insurances offered?

[DiscoStu]

Poll to follow.

[eek]

went for the andyW option as I prefer to pay more and have nothing to do with the bunch of incompetent chancers who seem to be the leadership.

And I'm sorry to be so blunt but the latest name change and the justification for it is to target a market which is better served by a union or anyone else with a track record of actually doing things. And before anyone says opt-out can I add my to the argument..

[JustinTime]

Poll to follow.

No, it's a pointless make-work scheme for spotty interns, and unemployed grads.
HTH.

Member benefit = cheaper shopping?

Really, is that the best that they could do? Really?

[TykeMerc]

went for the andyW option as I prefer to pay more and have nothing to do with the bunch of incompetent chancers who seem to be the leadership.

And I'm sorry to be so blunt but the latest name change and the justification for it is to target a market which is better served by a union or anyone else with a track record of actually doing things. And before anyone says opt-out can I add my to the argument..

Indeed, re-branding of an unsuccessful organisation that far from having benefited the contractor community has saddled us with a bit of legislation that makes life harder.

Not seen any value added by the PCG or whatever absurd naming convention they prefer now.

[Batcher]

Yes.

I don't go on the IPSE forums very much but I've had good advice on there in the past during my IR35 investigation.

As I've mentioned before, they saved me £52k from that investigation when HMRC had deemed me guilty of being inside IR35 and had helpfully sent me the payslips to return with a cheque.

For that reason alone I'm happy to put something back that might go to help some other independent, professional or self employed person fight HMRC.

I've never heard of anyone having two IR35 investigations so I would like to think I have a flag against my name and it won't happen again. I think it would be wrong to take the win and stop paying into the general pot that would help others following behind me fight IR35.

[SimonMac]

For those who just look it as insurance, are there alternatives?

[eek]

For those who just look it as insurance, are there alternatives?

Qdos Consulting - Taxation and VAT - Employment Law - HR - Insurance - Contractor Insurance - IR35 - PI Insurance

[TheFaQQer]

I would consider it, but I would have to think very, very carefully. I'm not entirely convinced that IPSE is really the organisation for the way that I work, and I'm absolutely not convinced by the level of condescension that comes across in some of their communications. Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen anything which discussed or addressed the 8% fee rise this year as well - it's probably on the IPSE forums somewhere, though.

£265 for the different insurances that they offer around business interruption seems quite reasonable, though - if I could find something competitive, then I wouldn't be with IPSE, it must be said.

As far as IR35 protection goes, I use Qdos anyway, so the only benefit is the insurance and the legal helpline. That said, the one time I rang the legal helpline about opting out and whether I could opt out now that I had been interviewed by the client and was about to sign the contract, they didn't know the answer

The rest of what they "do" hasn't made my life any easier that I can see - security clearance, ICT abuse, opt out...

[TheFaQQer]

For those who just look it as insurance, are there alternatives?

Qdos do a lot of them, but not all of the scenarios that are covered by the business interruption insurance.

That said, I'd be interested to know the numbers of people who have successfully claimed against the "contract didn't match reality" policy.

[Batcher]

Qdos Consulting - Taxation and VAT - Employment Law - HR - Insurance - Contractor Insurance - IR35 - PI Insurance

As I had the IR35 insurance with Qdos I contacted them initially when I got a letter from HMRC for a PAYE review (which I knew was a leader to an IR35 investigation).

After 4 years and 3 different Qdos people handling my case HMRC deemed me guilty. Qdos decided that the insurance didn't cover the £7k needed to take it to the commissioner for appeal and I would have to pay for that myself if I wanted to take the risk.

At the end of my tether I called PCG (as it was at the time) and they sorted it within a couple of months without having to go to the commissioners. HMRC said (paraphrasing) I was guilty but they would let me off on this occasion.

YMMV