Contractor calls IR35 a wake-up call and a business opportunity

Good points Third Way.

If IR35 is the answer, then it certainly was a particularly stupid question. However, it seems to me that in hind-sight we in the contracting sector (and I mean contractors, agents and clients) had become a pretty complacent bunch. IR35, the new agency regs, and all the other mischief that the Govt has chucked at us adds up to a good kick up the backside, even if there are uncertainty and risks that didn't exist before.

My recent experience is that clients are starting to change their attitude on IR35. They are coming to realise that they can't have it both ways (which incidentally is the real reason why we got IR35 - remember it was initially targeted at clients who wanted to force their staff into sub-contracting so they could avoid all the responsibilities of employment). Clients can have control + employees + higher costs + inflexible workforce, OR they can have less control + contractors + reduced costs + flexibility. Other combinations not allowed!

Agents will realise they'll have to start adding value to what they do for both clients and contractors. The best contractors and contracts will gravitate towards the agents that provide the best service, also something I’m now seeing happening.

And contractors will have to buck up their ideas as well. And it's happening. At my present client site, for instance, we contractors have been kick-started by IR35 and nearly all of us are working on schemes, products and services to develop our businesses to an extent and with an urgency we’d never have considered before now.

In short, there are no such things as problems; only opportunities. IR35 is a massive opportunity and I intend to take it!