commerce : consultancy and IR35

In many industry sectors consultants are widely used to complement the skills of the employed workforce.

When dealing with consultants, care must be taken to ensure that the principal has some control over the consultant and that the principal secures ownership of any intellectual property that the consultant creates on behalf of the principal during the consultant's engagement.

The flexibility of the consultancy arrangement needs to be preserved to ensure that the consultant is not deemed by the Inland Revenue to be an employee of the principal. Appropriate indemnities in respect of PAYE and National Insurance should always be obtained.

The effect of IR35 needs to be assessed when dealing with company's formed for the purposes of offering the services of the owner manager of that company. Whilst it is not possible to guarantee that a contract is "IR35 proof", we can advise on the most up-to-date strategy in order to provide the optimum benefit for all concerned.