Government begins defence of IR35 on the eve of Judicial Review

On the eve of PCG's judicial review against the Government, the Labour Party has published a story on its website entitled 'Why is Labour introducing IR35?' after months of silence surrounding the issue.

The article states simply...

'IR35 means that companies cannot employ people as contractors when they should be treating them as employees.'

'This does not penalise self-employed people. It simply means that people who would otherwise be employed do not lose entitlement to benefits such as paid holidays, pensions, sick leave, redundancy entitlement and payment of their national insurance contributions. It also means that companies have to compete on a level playing field, employing their staff on the appropriate basis.'

'People who are self-employed and undertake work for a variety of clients or from their own office, among others, are not affected by these rules.'

It finishes by linking to a new document simultaneously released by the Inland Revenue explaining the detailed workings of IR35 and how to calculate your payment should you be eligible to do so.

As the Labour Party lent its political support, the relevant Government department, the Inland Revenue, was also upping its profile with invitations to journalists to attend pre-JR briefings. UKTECH had its name on the list for a briefing, but was informed - at the same time other journalists were being 'cold-called' and invited in - that there were no spaces available for the contractors' own news-site.

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Richard Powell, UKTECH