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ISSUE 2
nurseries that don’t appear to have much to do with the employer or the workplace and look like avoidance. Broad promises of significant savings are made when the reality may cost a small fortune as a failed sacrifice. There are promises of grocery salary sacrifice to save the National Insurance contributions on the amount foregone, however, the provision of the shopping voucher is subject to benefit tax and Class 1 NIC within payroll – so whether or not there is a saving, employers are having the wool pulled over their eyes by some organisations seeking a quick buck. With all the rain in England – you need an Umbrella The major talk around 10 years ago was that we would all be working in the gig economy, that we would look up on our mobile where and who we are working for today and have it be entirely our choice when we want to be available. Although the proportion of workers “HMRC are investigating a number of promoters of these ‘Tax Avoidance schemes’. Its list of 77 is long yet not full or comprehensive.”
operating through the gig or casual model has increased, the general position on steady employment hasn’t changed that much. While 9-5 may no longer be the norm for many, for the majority working for a single employer on the whole remains prevalent. Now an area with some sharp practices that HMRC has increasingly been alarmed at is the umbrella market, used by some main employers and especially by agencies for agency staff. Of course, all these organisations will work in a fully compliant way, some have even formed their own professional organisation to accredit. The surprising aspect is how often these types of arrangements fall within elements of the UK public sector organisation, not at main government department levels, but certainly in use by groups within the Health arena. So what is wrong with the umbrella? For a proportion, very little, although their operations can appear very confusing to the employee recipient with their employer being separate from where they work, and with all employment rights being funded out of their agreed service arrangement fees. With the cost of living crisis, and taxation at its highest levels - schemes promoting avoidance and potentially
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