Reply to: IR35 application to IT projects is flawed.

[JamesBrown11]

I think it's the way you put it. You're coming across as having a superiority complex

Maybe because English is not my 1st language.
It's not superiority complex, but anxiety to retro tax (and maybe a bit of paranoia).

[JamesBrown11]

I agree it good to make clear your not an employee, but this just opens you up to derision.

Is that you in the middle here?

I bet your (non-)colleagues snigger about your "uniform" behind your back

It's more like this:



Blue+white with company logo, grey trousers.

[JamesBrown11]

What are your chances of an extension though?

Not interested in any extensions as the tech stack is ancient and I don't want my skillset to rot. End of Feb I will assess the situation and continue only if official SDS statement is made and it says outside.

[Paralytic]

Mine is not that extreme. Really don't know what's so funny in differentiating from client's employees.

I agree it good to make clear your not an employee, but this just opens you up to derision.

On site I'm wearing a uniform which I've designed myself. Uses my business logo, company name and colors.

Is that you in the middle here?



I bet your (non-)colleagues snigger about your "uniform" behind your back

[KinooOrKinog]

Mine is not that extreme. Really don't know what's so funny in differentiating from client's employees.

I think it's the way you put it. You're coming across as having a superiority complex

[cojak]

Mine is not that extreme. Really don't know what's so funny in differentiating from client's employees.

What are your chances of an extension though?

[JamesBrown11]

Mine is not that extreme. Really don't know what's so funny in differentiating from client's employees.

[oliverson]

[adubya]

On site I'm wearing a uniform which I've designed myself

Anyone interested in a group discount ?

[eek]

Differentiate yourself as much as possible from employees.

On day1 I've had a lengthy discussion with the client, where I introduced them to IR35 laws and upcoming changes. Made it clear upfront that I will do whatever is necessary to NOT look like an employee.

On site I'm wearing a uniform which I've designed myself. Uses my business logo, company name and colors.
I'm also wearing a lanyard saying CONTRACTOR (white on red so that it draws attention) with attached client's FOB.
I get in late (10-11am), leave early (3-4pm). Do the remaining hours remotely. Overall 37.5 hrs/week, but on my own schedule.
Most of the time I do attend standups. I'm not REQUIRED to, but I want to know what others are working on.
I use my own equipment (necessary to do the work, ie. laptop, keyb+mouse, headset). I also use client's monitors, toilet and water cooler, but that is just for convenience.
Also bi-weekly sprint retro/planning, same thing, not REQUIRED to but I believe it's necessary.
I work remotely whenever I want to, but I try to minimise that to 2 days/week, as I find it easier to liaise/discuss face-to-face.
Also convinced agency to put 'Cannot be supervised/controlled by end-client in any way' type of term into the contract.
One time tried to get a substitute for one day, but couldn't find any at short notice. Still I believe this shows that at least I tried.

... and now after 2 months EVERYONE hates me (including PM, envious employees, contractors with no balls, and agency for trying to sub) but I couldn't give a tulip. It's me who's at risk of paying £100-200k in retro tax, not them! I am also aware client might eventually stop putting up with this and terminate.

I am waiting for SDS by 28th Feb. If I don't get it or it says inside, I will terminate, take March off and assess situation in April.

You really are either very special or trolling.

[JamesBrown11]

Differentiate yourself as much as possible from employees.

On day1 I've had a lengthy discussion with the client, where I introduced them to IR35 laws and upcoming changes. Made it clear upfront that I will do whatever is necessary to NOT look like an employee.

On site I'm wearing a uniform which I've designed myself. Uses my business logo, company name and colors.
I'm also wearing a lanyard saying CONTRACTOR (white on red so that it draws attention) with attached client's FOB.
I get in late (10-11am), leave early (3-4pm). Do the remaining hours remotely. Overall 37.5 hrs/week, but on my own schedule.
Most of the time I do attend standups. I'm not REQUIRED to, but I want to know what others are working on.
I use my own equipment (necessary to do the work, ie. laptop, keyb+mouse, headset). I also use client's monitors, toilet and water cooler, but that is just for convenience.
Also bi-weekly sprint retro/planning, same thing, not REQUIRED to but I believe it's necessary.
I work remotely whenever I want to, but I try to minimise that to 2 days/week, as I find it easier to liaise/discuss face-to-face.
Also convinced agency to put 'Cannot be supervised/controlled by end-client in any way' type of term into the contract.
One time tried to get a substitute for one day, but couldn't find any at short notice. Still I believe this shows that at least I tried.

... and now after 2 months EVERYONE hates me (including PM, envious employees, contractors with no balls, and agency for trying to sub) but I couldn't give a tulip. It's me who's at risk of paying £100-200k in retro tax, not them! I am also aware client might eventually stop putting up with this and terminate.

I am waiting for SDS by 28th Feb. If I don't get it or it says inside, I will terminate, take March off and assess situation in April.

[Jolie]

Duration is a tricky one but I'd be inclined to agree that if any project is going to take more than 24 months (when employee rights fully kick in) then you should be hiring permanent staff, not freelancers.

A long project will need different resource at different times so it's possible to package the work up into a B2B friendly statements of work but there will always be roles that are needed to see the whole thing from start to end, not just at the management end. Consistency is key in large projects.

Depends on the specialism. I am usually the only person on site who can do the work. All of my contracts have gone over 2 years, I have been with one of my clients now for several years. They would not be able to get a permanent employee to fill my position, especially at the level required. I had this conversation with them and we both agreed to change to specific projects within the contract that have a defined start and end date, with a fixed fee on completion. I truly believe that a lengthy contract is not on its own a defining aspect of permanent employment.

As for the Agile/Scrum scenario, again depends on the setup at the client. I am currently in a 2 week scrum. The client specifies what problem they need a solution for and I work with the PM to define the stories. I have to visit the site to understand the needs to the client in order to develop the solution, then take that back to my office and work.

[krytonsheep]

I struggle to understand how HMRC envisage companies engage with IT contractors post April 2020 for such projects?

I would guess to meet the tax collection targets set by introducing the reform, they envisage most permie-tractors will either be switched to working inside IR35 or employed as a permie / FTC.

agile team

Any client using agile should really be paying an additional agile tax, which is distributed to any contractors that have to attend a stand up

[pictavia]

This has been discussed before but if there are employees in the agile team along with contractors and both have the same line management arrangements then it would be hard to consider a contractor in this situation as self-employed.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Modern complex cloud-native systems can't be delivered in two years like the olden days; even quite straightforward projects look like 3-5 years. Nevertheless, IR35 rollout will make us unemployed. Unless the government fixes this dog's dinner soon permanent employment in the IT sector will all go offshore

FTFY I'm not much of a tinfoil hatter conspiracist really but I do sense the malign influence of international capitalists in all this.