Public sector contracting

[bracken]

I had the "request for evidence" letter arrive on my desk this morning. Now I remember why i avoid public service clients...

Do let us know how you get on...last time I was asked for evidence (around 15 months ago), it took them ages to confirm that they were happy with it and in the meantime, I got cold-feet and didn't renew. Only as I was serving out the last week of the contract did they say that everything was fine by which time I'd already committed elsewhere.

Good luck!

B

[Murder1]

I know of a number of people turning roles down with HSCIC due to the CL1 framework, predominantly when as part of the recruitment process they're being asked for their national insurance numbers and to complete the BET's.

The public sector look set to shoot themselves in the foot with this it would appear.

[CheeseSlice]

I know of a number of people turning roles down with HSCIC due to the CL1 framework, predominantly when as part of the recruitment process they're being asked for their national insurance numbers and to complete the BET's.

The public sector look set to shoot themselves in the foot with this it would appear.

Does anyone know if completing the BET is basically writing HMRC an invitation for conducting an IR35 review (assuming a medium/high risk score)?

I know BETs hold no legal bearing on IR35 status, but I get the feeling the public sector may be complying with some kind of information sharing agreement with HMRC for new contractors completing BETs. A sort of low-hanging fruit method of selecting contractors to launch investigations.

[Murder1]

Does anyone know if completing the BET is basically writing HMRC an invitation for conducting an IR35 review (assuming a medium/high risk score)?

I know BETs hold no legal bearing on IR35 status, but I get the feeling the public sector may be complying with some kind of information sharing agreement with HMRC for new contractors completing BETs. A sort of low-hanging fruit method of selecting contractors to launch investigations.

The completion of the BET's is a stipulation of the CCS (Crown Commercial Services) who are in charge of the CL1 framework. From what I've heard is on completion of the tests should you land in the medium to high ris k category you need to provide evidence of your IR35 status, be it QDos stating the contract and working practices are IR35 compliant or by some other method.

Whether these details are actually passed on anywhere I'd doubt it (but will go away and check) as I'll be amazed if the data isn't provided under the data protection act.

[bracken]

From what I've heard is on completion of the tests should you land in the medium to high risk category you need to provide evidence of your IR35 status, be it QDos stating the contract and working practices are IR35 compliant or by some other method.

I've just been through this, came out Med / High on the BET and ticked the box stating that I was outside of IR35...process maybe different with other govt depts but I didn't need to provide any supporting evidence on completion of the test but I'm prepared to provide it if they subsequently ask for it (which they no doubt will).

B

[Murder1]

I've just been through this, came out Med / High on the BET and ticked the box stating that I was outside of IR35...process maybe different with other govt depts but I didn't need to provide any supporting evidence on completion of the test but I'm prepared to provide it if they subsequently ask for it (which they no doubt will).

B

I purchased the QDos public sector pack and came out as Medium risk, but as part of the pack QDos provide a covering letter to say they've assessed your IR35 status based on the contract and working practices and therefore despite being Medium risk they're happy with regards to my IR35 status. I've heard in some cases if you score Medium/High on the BET's then without a review of sorts you may well get asked at some point to provide evidence to confirm your IR35 status. All very strange.

I emailed the agent two days ago to request confirmation on their data protection and retention policy with regards to any of this information (i.e. is it passed directly onto HMRC) and as yet haven't heard back - will post an update when I do.

[DaveB]

The completion of the BET's is a stipulation of the CCS (Crown Commercial Services) who are in charge of the CL1 framework. From what I've heard is on completion of the tests should you land in the medium to high ris k category you need to provide evidence of your IR35 status, be it QDos stating the contract and working practices are IR35 compliant or by some other method.

Whether these details are actually passed on anywhere I'd doubt it (but will go away and check) as I'll be amazed if the data isn't provided under the data protection act.

Just to clarify, the BET's are mandated by CCS but actually administered by the hiring department. How they actually handle them seems to vary, but in general they seem to treat it as a box ticking exercise. If you score low on the BET they don't ask questions and if you score Med/High and provide independent evidence like the QDOS review and others that you are outside IR35 they accept that as well. Fundamentally this is being managed by HR staff who don't understand what it's about or how to interpret it.

The overall attitude of the HR people involved is that it is another annoying piece of admin that has to be done with the minimum effort. So far the only people I've heard of who have fallen foul of it in any way are those who refused to fill in the forms and were either not hired or had their contracts terminated as a result. Everyone else seems to have carried on as before and I've not heard of any instances of HMRC becoming involved.

[TheLordDave]

I started a thread relating to my contract review with qdos if anyone is interested, in business/contacts sub forum. If it doesn't get resolved I will be walking rather than accepting a forced inside decision.

[Murder1]

I started a thread relating to my contract review with qdos if anyone is interested, in business/contacts sub forum. If it doesn't get resolved I will be walking rather than accepting a forced inside decision.

Was this the one regarding your contract being assessed as being inside IR35 despite someone else having a similar contract assessed as being outside?

Have you been able to sit both contracts side by side and see if they really are identical?

Also if they are identical have you raised the question with QDos as to why one has been assessed as being outside and yours inside?

[Murder1]

I've had this back from the agent who handled my CL1 contract with regards to their data protection and retention policy:

I can confirm all information will be shared with the parties involved in your CL1 contract. Capita Business and [INSERT AGENT NAME HERE] are the Data facilitators, and CCS are the Data holders. When information is passed to the different parties involved I can confirm [INSERT AGENT NAME HERE] will ensure we follow the data protection act as confirmed on your Candidate Registration form.

With regards to [INSERT AGENT NAME HERE] keeping your personal information on file, we will hold this information for 10 years in an offsite secure storage. If at any point you wish for your data to be removed for our system please let us knows and I can ensure we follow your request.

Standard stuff, but doesn't really answer the question of whether HMRC can request any or all of the information held by CCS as part of any contract application or whether or not they're effectively one and the same anyway.