Staying in the same public sector contract after April 2017

[northernladuk]

I don't know why you bother posting sometimes.

The run away and hide in the private sector point only works for a small proportion of contractors that already have a widespread skillset

The more useful point to make is that they need to be breaking the relationship with bad departments that are choosing to try to punish contractors instead of accurately reflecting the law.

We had a rather interesting development yesterday in that the one of the friendly civil servants let slip that they are reporting everyone that leaves over this so even running away is a dangerous move now.

Run away and hide in private sector? You mean go find other work like a decent contractor/business should? The only people hiding are the ones desperate to stay in the PS because they know nothing else.

Widespread skillset? Small proportion? I don't think so. Flip that and that leaves you with some people with a skillset/experience only their PS client will take.. i.e. like an employee?

People are wanting options but many are just too blinkered/ingrained in the PS that they can't face the fact they are contractors and should be looking across all sectors for work. They want options to face the crap that is going on, one of them is to go and look for work in the private sector like the rest of us. Not sure why that option invokes your ire. It's a perfectly valid option.

[seeourbee]

Terrible assumption to think that all contractors can work in all sectors. Nonsense in fact.

[northernladuk]

Terrible assumption to think that all contractors can work in all sectors. Nonsense in fact.

I don't think I assumed that, just proposed the opposite end of the spectrum to bobspud. The reality is in the mess somewhere in between. Some can, some can't but surely if you are a business and your sector is getting royally screwed the thing to do would be to start looking outside your comfort zone and adjusting to suit. Why sit on your hands saying 'I can't do that' when it's all going to ratcrap around you?

I'd also tend to agree more if you were talking about IB's, pharma's and the like. Getting pigeon holed or breaking in to a new sector can be a problem. PS and Private must have a lot of transferable skills though that doesn't mean you can't go private. Might be a bit of a slog to get your foot in the door but it's either that or sit there and wait for HMRC to come calling?

[LondonManc]

Easier said than done just moving to another PS client when everyone is already jumping ship.
So it looks like time on bench for some folk which means bringing no money in and paying no tax at all rather than taking an alternative route to stay in work and pay tax on what you earn. No work the country is going to the wall 🙈😂

The reality is that you have to weigh up the merits of staying in work versus the chances of a retrograb. If HMRC declared that moving under an umbrella or to a FTC would nullify a retrograb, then they'd get far more traction on people diving into umbrellas and paying appropriate tax for the inside IR35 roles.

The big issue here, though, is that UK plc is strapped for cash and hitting the target that they can - the already known taxpayers.

[seeourbee]

IT is an industry that has very transferable skills. Which is where I suspect your coming from. But it certainly doesn't apply to all professions, which is where I'm coming from.

[northernladuk]

IT is an industry that has very transferable skills. Which is where I suspect your coming from. But it certainly doesn't apply to all professions, which is where I'm coming from.

Yup. I can appreciate that. The scales have been balanced

[SussexSeagull]

I think quite a few people who thought they were set for life contracting in the NHS closed shop are in for a surprise when they try and break into the Private Sector.

[LondonManc]

I think quite a few people who thought they were set for life contracting in the NHS closed shop are in for a surprise when they try and break into the Private Sector.

Correct. Perhaps they'll have to actually go perm in the public sector and enjoy proper employment benefits.

[SussexSeagull]

Correct. Perhaps they'll have to actually go perm in the public sector and enjoy proper employment benefits.

I suspect many will just have to settle for another role inside IR35 when the merry go round settles.

[LondonManc]

I suspect many will just have to settle for another role inside IR35 when the merry go round settles.

True. It may well simply limit them geographically to what they can take.