The October edition of hrlaw@trowers reported that IR35 was going to be repealed in April 2023. Since then we have a new Prime Minister and a new Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the government has announced that this repeal will no longer go ahead.
This will be welcome news for employers, many of whom will have spent considerable time putting in place arrangements to ensure that they don't fall foul of the IR35 rules. Those contractors who have been brought on board as employees will remain employees and there will be no shift back to contractor status.
In the meantime it's worth checking that all your IR35 arrangements are operating effectively. When IR35 was initially extended to the private sector in April 2021 HMRC promised a light touch approach to enforcement penalties for the first 12 months, unless it had evidence of deliberate non-compliance. However, from 6 April this year its approach has become more stringent so it's essential for employers to keep on top of their IR35 compliance.
