Members of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) came out in force to feed into the trade body’s official response to HMRC’s latest consultation on the implementation of the reform of the off-payroll working rules. The consultation, which closed last week, sought views on how the extension of IR35 changes into the private sector should be managed. In total, 87 APSCo members attended three working groups: one in Manchester, one in London and another which was tailored for the trade body’s ‘L20’ group of largest members. In addition, APSCo had discussions with, or received written feedback from, 51 members and IR35 discussion slots at multiple members’ meetings and forums over the consultation period which also informed the response.
Common concerns which were shared by members throughout the process included where liability sits in the supply chain, when and how status determination should be made and communicated to recruitment firms and workers, the likely increase in demand for fixed term project/statement of work services and how recruitment firms can best prepare for the roll-out.
“APSCo members certainly stepped up to the plate in terms of engaging with the consultation and I’d like to thank all those who took the time to get involved,” said Tania Bowers, general counsel at APSCo. “While the professional recruitment community generally maintains that extending public sector rules to the private sector is still not a preferred option and remain concerned about the industry and its client base being ready for next April, through engaging with the consultation process, we can at least influence how these changes are implemented. We hope that HMRC has the good sense to consider, and take heed of, the concerns and advice offered by those who know what’s happening on the ground. We look forward to seeing how our insight will shape the draft legislation which is expected to be published at the end of next month.”