HM Treasury confirmed last night that the introduction of the IR35 reforms to the private sector will be deferred until April 2021. The move is part of a larger set of measures the Treasury has announced to protect the UK economy following the outbreak of Coronavirus.
IR35 legislation was originally introduced in April 2000 to ensure that workers who provide their services through an intermediary – such as a limited company, personal service company, agency or partnership – but who would be an employee if they were contracted directly, pay the same amount of tax and National Insurance as employees.
Changes to this legislation for medium and large organisations operating in the private sector were due to change on 6 April 2020, but will now happen on 6 April 2021. More information and guidance on the reforms will now be provided later on in the year. For now, we hope this is positive news for our Members during a time of uncertainty.
