While we are talking about Employers’ NI, there was a suggestion by HMRC that an ‘inside’ determination creates automatic costs for the client in the form of Employers’ NI. This might be true where there is a direct engagement, but that is the exception rather than the rule. In most cases there is a complex supply chain, which means the employers’ NI burden falls nowhere near the end-client. In many cases, an inside determination will result in the insertion of an umbrella company that will reduce the payment to the contractor so that it can pay the NI: in other words, it’s the contractor who gets landed with the bill.
This was quickly pointed out to HMRC, but it made us realise we need to make sure everyone is clear on this. If the government’s intention was for clients to pay additional NI for people they should really be employing, then this legislation is failing. In most cases clients are not paying it – individuals are.
This was quickly pointed out to HMRC, but it made us realise we need to make sure everyone is clear on this. If the government’s intention was for clients to pay additional NI for people they should really be employing, then this legislation is failing. In most cases clients are not paying it – individuals are.
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