Reply to: No IR35 Delay at RBS

[Paralytic]

My solution is to require them to gross up my pay to cover the increased costs. So in addition to the reputational damage this is going to cause them, it costs them more £. Well played RBS.

How much extra have RBS agreed to increase your day rate by?

[ladymuck]

Well, I have 3 good possibilities on the go and I'm not really looking, given I planned on taking a few months off to see how IR35 panned out. To be fair, 2 of those are with previous clients. I do believe that a strong client base and a good network of contacts are key to acquiring work in the current climate. If you're still surfing Jobserve pressing F5 every few minutes, you're 10 years too late.

I have to say, there is some truth in this. My network has an uncanny way of dropping something in my lap at just the right time. That said, they don't come through every time and even I have had to take a job at RBS for a few months. It's not a place I would rush back to and I (fortunately) wasn't there long enough to make enough of an impression that I'd be someone they'd call on again.

[GhostofTarbera]

No IR35 Delay at RBS

They're thick as pig tulip aren't they? Do they really think all these 'wronged' contractors are going to turn up for work on Monday and bust a gut for the cause? Ha ha ha. Laughable. Now, what will happen is that nothing will get done as morale will be on the floor and all efforts will be on securing an 'outside' contract. Eventually they'll leave and months will be wasted trying to find another mug who will fill the inside role. Rinse and repeat until the penny finally drops.

Exactly this

My mate is a program manager at RBS his exact same workforce (contractor to permie) that regularly delivered projects on time every time (working crazy hours and weekends) now finish at 5pm, take holidays and sick leave and reported him to HR for suggesting the work a weekend


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[oliverson]

and where are all these 'other' gigs?
get a grip.

Well, I have 3 good possibilities on the go and I'm not really looking, given I planned on taking a few months off to see how IR35 panned out. To be fair, 2 of those are with previous clients. I do believe that a strong client base and a good network of contacts are key to acquiring work in the current climate. If you're still surfing Jobserve pressing F5 every few minutes, you're 10 years too late.

[BR14]

and where are all these 'other' gigs?
get a grip.

[oliverson]

I'm a Contractor at RBS, and a UK taxpayer. The point is that RBS is owned by the British taxpayer, and by declining to extend the IR35 reform, it is actively frustrating the Government's plan to help stabilise the job market, of which the IR35 extension was a key pillar: "Reforms to off-payroll working rules have been delayed by 12 months as part of the government's COVID-19 Economic Response Package" HMRC 18/03/2020.

I've spoken to some of the people involved with the decision at the bank - they are perversely convinced that the IR35 extension was for their benefit, and as they had already onboarded all contractors via Umbrellas, they couldn't reverse the policy. This is flawed on a whole bunch of levels, but it boils down to RBS not wanting to put in the effort to discern contract workers from workers who were taking advantage of the system. Baby / Bathwater / Out. As for the 'right thing to do' in this fragile time - another miss.

My solution is to require them to gross up my pay to cover the increased costs. So in addition to the reputational damage this is going to cause them, it costs them more £. Well played RBS.

They're thick as pig tulip aren't they? Do they really think all these 'wronged' contractors are going to turn up for work on Monday and bust a gut for the cause? Ha ha ha. Laughable. Now, what will happen is that nothing will get done as morale will be on the floor and all efforts will be on securing an 'outside' contract. Eventually they'll leave and months will be wasted trying to find another mug who will fill the inside role. Rinse and repeat until the penny finally drops.

[timmyd]

RBS IR35 Decision - Your taxes not at work

I'm a Contractor at RBS, and a UK taxpayer. The point is that RBS is owned by the British taxpayer, and by declining to extend the IR35 reform, it is actively frustrating the Government's plan to help stabilise the job market, of which the IR35 extension was a key pillar: "Reforms to off-payroll working rules have been delayed by 12 months as part of the government's COVID-19 Economic Response Package" HMRC 18/03/2020.

I've spoken to some of the people involved with the decision at the bank - they are perversely convinced that the IR35 extension was for their benefit, and as they had already onboarded all contractors via Umbrellas, they couldn't reverse the policy. This is flawed on a whole bunch of levels, but it boils down to RBS not wanting to put in the effort to discern contract workers from workers who were taking advantage of the system. Baby / Bathwater / Out. As for the 'right thing to do' in this fragile time - another miss.

My solution is to require them to gross up my pay to cover the increased costs. So in addition to the reputational damage this is going to cause them, it costs them more £. Well played RBS.

[LondonManc]

I have to say that RBS are doing what is right for them.

If your role there is genuinely inside IR35 and would be outside only if you and they (in reality more likely the agency "advising" both of you) are prepared to close one eye and squint, then RBS carries a risk.

May not be financial for 2020/21 but is reputational and will put RBS firmly in the "to be investigated" pile in April 2021.

RBS (and most other banks) are very slowly rebuilding reputations and a large tax enquiry is not going to do that.

They would rather face the ire of contractors who they know are creatures who find it hard to work together and who they know will be prepared to take on a job which another contractor has turned down on moral principle. In other words, they are counting on contractors being desperate for work. Are they wrong?

It's time to move into the new reality of contracting.

True; I think the major issue with the new way of contracting is the restriction on mobility of contractors, i.e. the lack of travel and accommodation expense claim ability.

[northernladuk]

'One guy'? I personally know of two 'contractors' who had been at Virgin Money in Gosforth for 7 and 10 years respectively. They were both so 'part and parcel' of the client they both had allocated parking spaces. There were permies with less 'service' who couldnt get an allocated space at the same time!

Walk in to AZ and I'll bet there are two or three people like this in eyesight at any point where ever you are.

[BolshieBastard]

This one guy ?

Let’s get him


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'One guy'? I personally know of two 'contractors' who had been at Virgin Money in Gosforth for 7 and 10 years respectively. They were both so 'part and parcel' of the client they both had allocated parking spaces. There were permies with less 'service' who couldnt get an allocated space at the same time!

Both of them were still at VM two years after I left although I gather they were finally told they had to 'move on' at that point.

When I was at Bank of America and they introduced the 48 weeks maximum stay then leave rule, the rumour was one contractor in the London office who'd been in situ for 10 years and given the news threatened to sue for employment benefits unless he was exempted from the new rule. Not sure if it was just a rumour though.

I know another guy who had been at Santander in Bootle continuously for 6+ years doing the exact same role. Im sure everyone could point to similar instances.

[KinooOrKinog]

I bet I could take a stab at who this guy is! Although I bet anybody who has ever contracted at RBS will say the same - it won't be the same guy, but we all know someone like that....

I could name at least half a dozen!

[ascender]

This one guy ?

Let’s get him


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I bet I could take a stab at who this guy is! Although I bet anybody who has ever contracted at RBS will say the same - it won't be the same guy, but we all know someone like that....

[GhostofTarbera]

BOOM!!!! THIS! All day long. F****** it up for everyone else.

This one guy ?

Let’s get him


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[jammer]

10 to 15 years!!!!!! Precisely these kind of people that should get ****ed by HMRC in my view.

BOOM!!!! THIS! All day long. F****** it up for everyone else.

[jammer]

Are companies really doing full U turns. It's only been a couple of days. It's taken them 6 months to put this in place so I'm finding the list of U turns on the new site a bit difficult to believe to be honest.

I expect some will but it seems awfully quick for large organisations to have switched back.

I was thinking exactly this. Also with an unprecendented execution of disaster recovery for some as well no doubt.