Following the shock announcement that Sajid Javid has resigned from Boris Johnson’s cabinet, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has shared its hopes for a delay to changes to off-payroll working as Rishi Sunak steps into his new role as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Commenting on the recent appointment, Tania Bowers, Legal Counsel at APSCo, said:
“While cabinet reshuffles always have the potential to surprise, I think it’s fair to say that the majority of our members will be shocked by Javid’s unexpected departure – particularly as we are just four weeks away from the next Budget.
“As he assumes his new position as Chancellor, we hope that Rishi Sunak will honour his predecessor’s pledge to take another look at incoming changes around off-payroll working. While a review into the reform is currently underway, there has been no suggestion that planned reforms will be postponed. However, APSCo maintains that implementation should, at least, be delayed pending a further impact review and completion of an assessment on employment status.
“The UK labour market is currently ranked fourth for competitiveness globally and is one of the best recognised in the world. However, the rollout of IR35 in the private sector has the potential to not only impact those individuals who have the entrepreneurial spirit to assume the risks and burdens of self-employment, but also those sectors of the economy which rely most heavily on independent contractors, such as banking, pharmaceuticals and technology. We hope that this fact will resonate with the new Chancellor, particularly given his strong background in business and finance.
“We are calling on the government to allow sufficient time for full review, which will result in a statutory definition of the self-employed and sub-groups within that definition, including Independent Professional.
“Such a definition would enable those highly skilled and well-paid contractors who operate via PSCs to be differentiated from those elements of the self-employed workforce who are lower skilled, and lower paid and are often more vulnerable. This will help to ensure that future policy changes directed at elements of the self-employed workforce are better targeted and more effective, without impacting the entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility and dynamism of the market.”
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