Reply to: IR35 Understanding

[TheFaQQer]

£40+VAT with QDOS gets the helpline and 3 contract reviews. PCG don't do contract reviews so how can you tut-tut and tell them to look at the PCG?! Having QDOS Club membership and PCG membership is perfectly valid.

That seems a reasonable approach to take.

So reasonable, in fact, that it's exactly what I do.

[malvolio]

£40+VAT with QDOS gets the helpline and 3 contract reviews. PCG don't do contract reviews so how can you tut-tut and tell them to look at the PCG?! Having QDOS Club membership and PCG membership is perfectly valid.

With regards to the £15K costs, you would have to spend £99 with QDOS to get that cover (plus the reviews etc.).

The arguments for and against £99 QDOS cover vs £220+VAT PCG membership has been discussed many times and yes they are not like for like and so it is difficult to compare.

PCG don't do contract reviews, although you do get discounts from the people that do. You can also access an online questionnaire that should help you decide if a review is actually needed in the first place (betcha hadn't noticed that one...)

Other than that, you can quickly learn enough about them to make a sensible estimate yourself. You can get authoritative peer-group advice on any you aren't sure about via the fora. You also get unlimited access to the free legal helpline and the free tax helpline, you get cover for jury service and even some lost revenue cover if your agency goes bust.

So QDOS is cheaper if all you want is the review and the PEI cover. You miss out on a lot of other things though.

[Lewis]

You're not comparing like for like, which is why I agree the QDOS product is actually pretty good. The PCG is a bit bigger and a bit more wide-ranging than that.

And I may be wrong and will stand corrected if so, but your £40 will not cover the probable £15k cost of an investigation; by the time you add in that cover, you're back on par with PCG again.

£40+VAT with QDOS gets the helpline and 3 contract reviews. PCG don't do contract reviews so how can you tut-tut and tell them to look at the PCG?! Having QDOS Club membership and PCG membership is perfectly valid.

With regards to the £15K costs, you would have to spend £99 with QDOS to get that cover (plus the reviews etc.).

The arguments for and against £99 QDOS cover vs £220+VAT PCG membership has been discussed many times and yes they are not like for like and so it is difficult to compare.

[MikeC1408]

Will take a look at both.

Thanks

[malvolio]

The QDOS Club is £40 p/year for 3 contract reviews, helpline, sample contract plus more. It's a no brainer if you ask me (if you want to get a contract reviewed). You can then still join the PCG for extra insurance if you wish. Correct me if I am wrong but the PCG don't do contract reviews.

You're not comparing like for like, which is why I agree the QDOS product is actually pretty good. The PCG is a bit bigger and a bit more wide-ranging than that.

And I may be wrong and will stand corrected if so, but your £40 will not cover the probable £15k cost of an investigation; by the time you add in that cover, you're back on par with PCG again.

Couldn't agree more. I may join at some point in the future but I've gone for the QDOS insurance for now, having been put off by the PCG seemingly being rammed down my throat on so many threads on this board...

OK, fair enough. Your decision, obviously. An awful lot of people would disagree with it though

[salazie]

£99 gets you IR35 insurance and 3 contract reviews... I've had one done, it was pretty thorough and picked up on some contradictory details in my agency contract which would have gone against me in an investigation.

[Lewis]

Tut tut tut...

Nothing against QDOS, but you should also take a look the the PCG - and read their first-timers guide while you're there. It will answer a lot of questions, some of which you probably haven't got to yet! www.pcg.org.uk

The QDOS Club is £40 p/year for 3 contract reviews, helpline, sample contract plus more. It's a no brainer if you ask me (if you want to get a contract reviewed). You can then still join the PCG for extra insurance if you wish. Correct me if I am wrong but the PCG don't do contract reviews.

[salazie]

I am a member, but I do have to admit that just sometimes the phrase 'Have you considered joining the PCG?' is a little overutilised in these forums.

Couldn't agree more. I may join at some point in the future but I've gone for the QDOS insurance for now, having been put off by the PCG seemingly being rammed down my throat on so many threads on this board...

[malvolio]

The problem is you have to be fairly explicit, since someone new to contracting won't know who the PCG are and what they actually stand for, or they simply see them as just another service provider like QDOS and the rest. So we have to keep on pushing the message.

Plan B - which I also have a small hand in - is to get the PCG so firmly established as a trade presence that explicit advertising for members won't really be necessary: in the same way that you associate big business with the CBI, you should associate contracting (or freelancing) with the PCG. But I suspect that won't happen very quickly.

Then again, we're well over 15k members now, so something's working!

[boredsenseless]

Nope, shan't...

BTW, do I take it you're not a member yourself? I wonder if you have ever considered.......

I am a member, but I do have to admit that just sometimes the phrase 'Have you considered joining the PCG?' is a little overutilised in these forums.

You are right though in that the non-commercial element of the PCG makes it more attractive than those run purely for profit.

[malvolio]

Nope, shan't...

BTW, do I take it you're not a member yourself? I wonder if you have ever considered.......

[hugebrain]

Pretty please?

[malvolio]

Please can you PCG people reduce the amount of advertising you put in this forum?

No - at least not until the mods request that we do.

It's not advertising and it's not spam (at least, not intentionally!), it's a consistent attempt to make sure that people who are new to the contracting game are aware of the existence of the one non-commercial body that can actually help them make a success of their new career. If having seen it they don't want to join then fine, but until then we'll keep reminding them we exist.

[hugebrain]

Please cut down PCG spam?

Please can you PCG people reduce the amount of advertising you put in this forum?

[malvolio]

Just a figure plucked from the air as I was typing the question.

Just wanted to check my understanding of IR35 was correct as I'm a contracting newbie.

Will be joining the QDOS Freelancers club to get my contracts reviewed.

Thanks

Tut tut tut...

Nothing against QDOS, but you should also take a look the the PCG - and read their first-timers guide while you're there. It will answer a lot of questions, some of which you probably haven't got to yet! www.pcg.org.uk