Skanska Assessed Contractors Outside IR35 – Then Managers Revolt

Skanska Assessed Contractors Outside IR35

According to OffPayroll.org.uk Skanska assessed Contractors using highly respected accountancy firm Qdos. Most contractors tested outside IR35.

However, some of the managers revolted at this and said that answers contractors put in were wrong.

Now Skanska have said that half of the answers in the test must be standard. These are in crucial areas which will help push contractors inside IR35.

Questions on Skanska Assessed Contractors Outside IR35

1. Why did Skanska get cold feet after their managers’ revolt?
2. What are HMRC’s rules on blanket assessments?
3. Why are the Government allowing Blanket Bans when they don’t allow Blanket Assessments?
4. So, why will the IR35 changes cause massive disruption to UK companies?
5. Why Skanska assessed Contractors will now leave.

Why did Skanska get cold feet after their managers’ revolt

Indeed it could be called a half blanket assessment. According to HMRC rules there can only be a blanket assessment of contractors if everything about their contracts and working practices are exactly the same.

Skanksa appear to have got cold feet after their manager revolt. That’s even though Qdos assure the results.

If blanket assessments are not allowed by HMRC surely this applies to all of the test. Skanska have got a half blanket assessment. Surely there should be no blanket assessments for any of the questions if blanket assessments are banned.

What are HMRC’s rules on blanket assessments

According to HMRC’s own guidelines Skanska would not be taking ‘reasonable care’ here and so would become liable for extracting their contractors tax and National Insurance. That’s even if some other party has already done so. By doing this half-blanket they are loading the liability onto themselves.

Many firms don’t realise this. And one wonders if this is something that HMRC would enforce. After all they are allowing companies to get around blanket assessments by pushing their contractors into PAYE via their agencies or via an umbrella company.

This means that contractors who would pass HMRC’s own CEST IR35 test are being forced to pay far more tax than they should.

Why are the Government allowing Blanket Bans when they don’t allow Blanket Assessments

The Government are claiming that it is after reviews of their working practices that companies are deciding that a new business model without PSC contractors would be best for them.

Like hell they are!

They are only doing this out of fear of fines from HMRC if they get their assessments wrong. Our big companies were perfectly happy with the business model they had where they mixed permanent staff and contractor son projects.

They felt they had the optimum mix. Now fear of HMRC fines are causing them to adopt a sub-optimal business model.

Why will the IR35 changes cause massive disruption to UK companies

Now there is going to be massive disruption to all of the country’s major companies to extract a trifling sum of tax.

This will be during the time of massive disruptions due to Brexit and the coronavirus.

The Conservative Party are supposed to be the party of business and are normally against Government interference in the marketplace.

This is massive Government interference in the marketplace which will cause severe disruption to all the UK;s top companies.

It will also cause them to have a disadvantage in the marketplace against their foreign competitors. This will lead to lower profits and less tax being paid – by all of our top companies.

This is a disaster!

Why Skanska assessed Contractors will now leave

And, it doesn’t help if managers at companies step in to help push contractors inside IR35 when they were assessed as outside previously.

This will be a huge own goal for their companies. One hopes that, when many of their contractors refuse to take the new inside IR35 contracts and leave Skanska UK that board members will look at this decision by their management.

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