In response to the Taylor Report which suggested a number of changes to be made to the employment status framework, the government have launched a consultation document titled ‘Employment Status Consultation.’
The consultation has been launched in order to seek views on how to make employment status rules for employment rights and tax clearer for individuals and businesses. The deadline is set for 1 June 2018.
This is intended to help Government form an action plan into how employment status can be reformed, including tools which help determine employment status. The end result is to identify differences in status and rights between workers and employees and the codification of this.
The consultation description states,
“We’re seeking views on whether the options proposed in theTaylor Review of Modern Work Practicescould achieve more certainty and clarity for businesses when determining employment status, particularly in relation to the realities of the modern labour market.
“We are also seeking to understand the potential impacts and implications of those proposals. In addition, this consultation considers whether there are alternative approaches that could better achieve these aims. For tax, this consultation considers the tests that define the boundary between those currently taxed as employees and those who are taxed on a self-employed basis.”
Taylor Review – Modern Working Practices
The Taylor Review proposes the term ‘dependent contractor’ which should be used in order to distinguish those eligible for workers rights. The report states:
“The status of ‘dependent contractor’ should have a clearer definition which better reflects the reality of modern working arrangements, properly capturing those more casual employment relationships that are on the increase today – an individual who is not an employee, but neither are they genuinely self-employed.”
More details can be found on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) website.
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