MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Can anybody point me towards an example of a simple IR35 compliant contract? Does such a thing exist or will I have to pay for one?
Well worth paying for one, I should have thought, as the costs of getting it wrong potentially far outweigh the cost of buying one.
Just have two revenue generators in 'your' company, solved.
don't really know what you're looking for?
if you're self employed and work for a few different companies/people/organisations, you won't fall foul of ir35.
if you're looking for some way to go self employed and work for one employer, this is just what ir35 was brought in to address.
You need far more than just having two clients to get away with it, that's just one if the things they look at when deciding whether to investigate you further.
As per Rockhopper having two clients is nowhere near enough. I know the service must be with my company, not me, I know that there's no holidays and that it should be for a set time period etc. I could put together some of the right words but would prefer to see a working example that's all.
I don't like paying too many legal fees but perhaps thats the best option.
a cynic might suggest that is a characteristic of an employee rather than a company, and this suggests you are indeed IR35!I don't like paying too many legal fees...
Well the cynic would be wrong then. I should not be troubled by IR35.
As a one man limited start up what I don't have is an endless pot of money to pay all the "recommended" fees/insurances etc. A collection of legal words is not complicated and if you have seen examples then you have further peace of mind. At this stage I do not need to worry about pages of corporate contracts. It maybe the case I have to spend money on a contract but I would rather be feeding the family.
Mudshark thanks.
+1 for what mudshark said. The other responses above are prefect examples why you should talk directly to Qdos / Bauer and Cottrel / equivalent and bypass the internet completely when asking for IR35 information.
IANAL (or a tax accountant); this is not advice:
I believe that the IR35 regs are set out to capture those in 'disguised employment', i.e. using a Ltd 'service company' for receipt of payment - thereby incurring corporation tax rather than e.g. PAYE. Think footballers and executives.
If you operate (as many do) as a one man Ltd, my suggestion would be to operate as much as if you were a larger company as you can. While the product is essentially you, any contracts should include reference to the right of substitution, severance clauses etc, to formalise the arrangement that a commodity is being bought (the service you provide), not the employment of an individual. Likewise, operating as a business might be expected to, e.g. bidding for work in several places, invoicing clients, chasing payments, having a letterhead and biz cards, serving multiple clients, etc all helps.
When you attend a client's premises, do things like sign in as a visitor, make sure you aren't in the tea club or lottery syndicate and the like (cos that's what employees do - you're not one!). Don't go to the Christmas party (even if that one from accounts is eyeing you up).
HMRC have guidance [url= http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35/guidance.pdf ]here[/url] which includes a confidential advice line. I've not used this one, but their other departments, have actually been very helpful.
All that said, I suspect that even the best contract will not help if you should be caught by IR35. However, if you are outside IR35 then paying for a contract might give you peace of mind (or someone to blame...). The cost of that peace of mind might be well worth sleeping soundly - you've got enough else to worry about!
edited - ho hum - just a repost of cleverer link above ..... sorry
Tax liability cover seems a sensible precaution for long-term contractors.
http://shop.qdosconsulting.com/freelancer/products-services/tax-liability-cover-tlc