Grant Thornton UK has launched its own ‘Off-Payroll Workers’ (OPW) client solution designed to help organisations prepare for legislative changes set to increase their tax obligations in respect to contractors, often referred to as IR35.
In April 2020, the responsibility for determining the employment status of OPW will shift to the end client in the private sector, following the same earlier change in the public sector in April 2017, meaning businesses could now be liable for PAYE tax and National Insurance Contributions on their population of contractors.
Grant Thornton’s tool guarantees a decision every time and includes a risk rating flag highlighting the potential for challenge to the status decision, a database to store and monitor the status of the new and existing OPW population, and notifications for periodic reassessment of each OPW while they continue to be engaged. When an OPW is deemed to be employed the tool provides practical guidance, including the agreed payroll operation and dispute resolution process.
Grant Thornton’s offering builds on the firm’s experience with IR35 in the public sector, where blanket approaches to the legislation change in April 2017 have resulted in significantly increased costs of engagement and reduction of supply chain, particularly in areas such as IT and finance, where workers prefer to operate as freelance consultants.
