Office location and IR35

[northernladuk]

Wiiiiiiiillmslooooooow.

[jamesbrown]

I guess it's just one of those trivial pointers like having a company website, stationary or spending some money on a trademark.

Ultimately, any bang-to-rights permietractor could pay for those those things and it wouldn't make the blindest bit of difference.

Being able to choose your work location, unconditionally (rather than just a couple of days of WFH) would be the main pointer, IMHO. The other stuff is just fluff that helps to pad out an already strong case. I can't see it making a borderline case fall one way or the other.

[ladymuck]

WHS. Definitely not a need/requirement.

If it's not a requirement and not needed, why is it included?

Does the location have to be an office and how is 'office' defined? I often use The Workroom to rent a table at one of a few restaurants in London to work from. It's better than Starbucks any day, much nicer facilities and no need to buy a cup of brown sludge every few hours to avoid being kicked out.

[Qdos Contractor]

It's one question in the SDC section of the working arrangements questionnaire and a supplemental one to whether or not you can decide where you provide services from. It's not a major point to worry about.

WHS. Definitely not a need/requirement.

[jamesbrown]

OP: I definitely wouldn’t be spending money artificially to check that box. Waste of time. If you can choose location, that’s good enough as far as that aspect of control goes.

[jamesbrown]

It's one question in the SDC section of the working arrangements questionnaire and a supplemental one to whether or not you can decide where you provide services from. It's not a major point to worry about.

OK, makes more sense if it’s two separate questions. The first one is more important (ability to choose location), the second is just a minor in-business thing.

[DaveB]

It's one question in the SDC section of the working arrangements questionnaire and a supplemental one to whether or not you can decide where you provide services from. It's not a major point to worry about.

[jamesbrown]

The QDOS question is asking about if the company has an office which they can provide services from that is NOT the contractors house. It does not say it can't be a shed in the garden mind you.... But it is clear that it's after a separate business premises. I completed the QDOS questions a few years ago when with the civil service - the latest questions are quite different in places.

Hmmm. Well, I can’t really see what they’re getting at TBH. It’s good to be able to deliver from a location of your choosing, but that’s about it really. Choosing a home office is fine. Perhaps they are trying to wrap this up with a minor in-business factor, a bit like having a website, but it sounds a little silly to me. If you’re a member of IPSE, I think you have access to some shared office spaces.

[Wilmslow]

Sounds a little far-fetched to me. What did they actually say? The ability to deliver from a location of your choosing is not unimportant, but the rest is window dressing.

The QDOS question is asking about if the company has an office which they can provide services from that is NOT the contractors house. It does not say it can't be a shed in the garden mind you.... But it is clear that it's after a separate business premises. I completed the QDOS questions a few years ago when with the civil service - the latest questions are quite different in places.

[ladymuck]

That does sound a bit odd. Never had a requirement like that as part of the feedback. Granted, I've not used Qdos for contract assessment for a while.

[jamesbrown]

Sounds a little far-fetched to me. What did they actually say? The ability to deliver from a location of your choosing is not unimportant, but the rest is window dressing.

[Wilmslow]

QDOS assessment - long and short of it is that it is pointing to the need for a separate office and business address than the home address.

There are a couple of options ranging from virtual office address for mail only, hot-desking through to renting a desk. Not huge money - mailing address is £50, hot-desk is £100 and a physical desk is £250. Local firm 10 mins walk from home. It helps that for current gig I can be remote 2/3 days a week.

Anyone else been there and what did you end up doing?