PBR: Darling may set umbrella expenses

[TykeMerc]

the problem AIUI is with overarching contracts. I.e. they want to disallow the idea that you are employed by the umbrella, and take each contract as being a separate short employment. You would then be expected to live near your place of work (= client site) or pay for your lifestyle choice with your own money, same as any other employee.

Out of interest why should an Umbrella employee travelling to customer sites be treated any differently from an employee of a consultancy whose home is officially their base? Those employees are entitled to tax free expenses reimbersal and travel at 40p for the first 10k miles 25p per mile thereafter in effectively exactly the same way as Umbrella contractors.

There really isn't a lot of difference between say a CSC/IBM/Accenture tech, BA, Architect, PM etc and an Umbrella employed contractor other than the permie has better security, paid holidays/sick/training/pension/redundancy and gets a lower rate. An employee of a consultancy might be on a clients site for any length of time, but their official base location doesn't get questioned by HMRC if they're on a long engagement.

[Beefy198]

if umbrella users are effectively "employees" then why should they pay emplyers NI??

If the contractor doesn't pay it then the umbrella would have to vastly increase their fees.....

Anyway, there's a reason that agencies will often offer an 'on the books' rate and an 'off the books' rate - because if you're not on their books they don't have to pay it and acknowledge that you do.

[NetwkSupport]

what about bringing in a law for temporary (contract workers) so that they can have a more transparent flexible tax policy?

I dont see myself as a disguised employee creaming tax benefits, the way i see it we should have more flexible taxation or expenses

i have more risk applied to my work than a permie - no health care, sick pay, holiday pay.

[expat]

if umbrella users are effectively "employees" then why should they pay emplyers NI??

In case you haven't got it, they are employees, and they don't pay employer's NI. The umbrella does that. Obviously there is only one place where the umbrella is going to get the money to do that....

[expat]

We pay employers NI and employees NI so if Darling is going to remove the right to travel expenses and say we are shouldnt they stop us paying employers NI?

We're in a recession and they squeeze some more out of us umbrella users!

the problem AIUI is with overarching contracts. I.e. they want to disallow the idea that you are employed by the umbrella, and take each contract as being a separate short employment. You would then be expected to live near your place of work (= client site) or pay for your lifestyle choice with your own money, same as any other employee.

[NetwkSupport]

Wait, so should the umbrella/client pay the employers NI by taking it off the monies you receive as PAYE? Oh wait.......

if umbrella users are effectively "employees" then why should they pay emplyers NI??

[the_duderama]

Wait, so should the umbrella/client pay the employers NI by taking it off the monies you receive as PAYE? Oh wait.......

[swamp]

The PBR will be about winning the June election 2009.

[ratewhore]

I don't expect anything in the PBR to help me. It will all be about the redistribution of wealth in support of 'fairness'...

[Bagpuss]

When the sun shines, we’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
Can I stand under your umbrella
I want the tax from your umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Tax from your umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Tax from your umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Tax from your umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

[NetwkSupport]

Voicing its disapproval, the Treasury says such contracts allow “some temporary workers to gain tax relief for travel expenses not available to others working in similar circumstances.”

We pay employers NI and employees NI so if Darling is going to remove the right to travel expenses and say we are shouldnt they stop us paying employers NI?

We're in a recession and they squeeze some more out of us umbrella users!