There have been a few cases in the public eye recently relating to employment status, such as the Amazon drivers case which we discussed in April (see article here). This indicates that the ground on which status is based could be shifting, so why is that important for recruiters?
Understanding employment status is key to engaging any candidate engaged other than as an employee; it will determine the employment rights the individual has, and will define what responsibilities and liabilities fall to the hirer or recruitment business concerned. If status is misunderstood or incorrectly allocated, this can lead to risk of employment claims and tax liabilities including under IR35 if the worker is a contractor.
Ideally, everybody wants peace of mind, and nobody wants a claim to arise down the line. Maximising profit means avoiding trouble, and this in turn means that understanding status is a key factor.
So, to put it simply, getting employment status right is important to anyone in the business of supplying or hiring candidates on any basis other than pure employment. This extends to dealing with another business that engages candidates on a non-employee basis, for example hirers and umbrella companies. Understanding this goes to the root of the recruitment supply industry and, even if you don’t know it, is at the core of any successful business that engages non-employed workers.
Whilst the subject is knotty and complex, it can be broken down and explained without getting too technical. So join us on our Live webinar on Employment Status on Thursday 8th June at 11am to find out more.
If you are unable to make the live webinar, a recording of the session will be available shortly after.
We have a whole series of webinars available surrounding the important and complex compliance areas within the recruitment industry. These have been broken down into comprehensive and informative sessions which also look at key areas of risk, the dos and the don’ts in each case, with a view to helping you secure your balance sheet.
Don’t just get by, get ahead!
Adrian Marlowe, CEO, Lawspeed
Lawspeed group corporate clients benefit from immediate up to date advice on staff engagement and related regulation; employment status; client, IR35, PAYE and umbrella contract templates; contract review/negotiation; self-employment and CIS contract templates; trade membership and government representation; accreditation services and a state of the art digital contract management platform.
