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Royal Dutch Shell, commonly known as Shell, is an Anglo–Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. They have recently told their current IT contractors that they must take a 15% reduction in pay or be forced to leave. Shell have argued that due to market volatility, they

If this time 10 years ago you would have asked an IT contractor where the best place to find work is, 9 out of 10 would have said London, no questions asked. However if you ask them now, taking in to account the rise of digital and technology driven businesses in the North, many IT contractors

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have this week announced new rules which mean promoters described as ‘high-risk’ must make clear to clients that they are being monitored by the authority. Promoters of tax avoidance can now be subject to financial and reputational penalties that aim to stamp out arrangements designed to minimise tax. ‘Conduct Notices’ will

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) are calling for better guidelines when it comes to determining employment status, according to their latest report. At current there a number of different tests that determine whether you are self-employed or not for tax purposes, which this reports addresses. There isn’t a definition of self-employment in law, meaning businesses,

The oil and gas Activity Survey 2015 has concluded that oil and gas contractors in the UK could have a long term future in the North Sea if conditions are made right. The yearly survey published by Oil and Gas UK, has said that if the right conditions are created for further exploration and investment through

When you take the plunge in to contracting or freelancing you also become a business, to successfully promote yourself you have to think like you’re running your own small business. You are fully self-reliant on finding work for yourself, so selling yourself to potential clients and recruiters is key. One of the issues many independent contractors

There are numerous advantages to being a contractor, choosing your own hours, higher rates of pay and being your own boss, but a major disadvantage is securing mortgage funding. Below is a list of tips to help you: 1. Use a specialist mortgage broker The reality is that most lenders do not understand the contracting market and

HMRC has publicised its plans to make changes to the way records are reported for recruitment companies. New regulations published last week will now mean that all agencies will need to provide the Revenue with details of all ‘workers’ they are involved with. Recruitment companies will need to inform HMRC of information on contractors employed via

As you may be aware the Real Time Information (RTI) scheme came in to place on 6th April 2013. Employers have been required to submit Payroll information to HMRC on a monthly basis and on or before the day they make the payment under this scheme. However penalties for non-compliance are only just being introduced for

  Mortgage options for contractors have become more comprehensive in recent years. More lenders than ever before have realised the contractor workforce is growing, and have decided to alter their borrowing criteria in order to cater for them. Below are a list of ‘contractor-friendly’ mortgage lenders and a summary of what they offer: Roots Mortgages Gorilla

After the announcement by HMRC on 16 December 2014, we have all been anticipating the changes that will affect a contractor’s ability to claim for travel and subsistence expenses. Time is now up to share your views on the potential changes in the consultation document, so now we will have to wait for the outcome.  If

Earlier this week leading firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have come under intense criticism by a select committee of MPs. They have accused PwC of trying to promote tax avoidance “on an industrial scale”, this is following the leaking of hundreds of Luxemburg tax rulings. HMRC will be looking at putting a ‘code of conduct’ in place for