However, shortly after the Equality Act came into force last October, the Law Society argued that the wording of the legislation made compromise agreements "unenforceable" as it meant that a claimant's lawyer could not be considered to be an independent adviser. Under the legislation, the claimant is required to receive advice from an independent adviser before entering into a compromise agreement to ensure that vulnerable employees do not sign away their claim accidently or too cheaply. While the Government initially said that there was no problem with the legislation, it announced in its response to the Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation in November that it would amend the Act to address the concerns that had been raised by lawyers. The Government has now published the amendment, coming into force on 6 April 2012, which alters the wording of the legislation to make it clear that someone acting on behalf of the claimant, such as their lawyer, can act as an independent adviser for a compromise agreement but someone who is acting on behalf of another party involved in the agreement cannot.
IR35
IR35 FORUM
8 June 2011 An IR35 Forum has been established to commit to making clear improvements in the way IR35 is administered. The Forum was established following the government's announcement at Budget 2011 and followed the publication of the Office of Tax Simplification's (OTS) review of Small Business Tax. The role of the IR35 Forum includes providing advice on improvements in the administration of IR35, and in a transparent manner to assist HMRC in identifying specific areas for improvement in the administration of IR35. The members of the Forum include taxpayer representatives and professional advisers with expert knowledge and experience of how the legislation operates in practice and how it affects key taxpayer groups. The first meeting of the Forum took place on 11 May, the details of which can be read by following the links below. Terms of reference
Members of the Forum Minutes 11 May 2011
FORUM MINUTES – JUNE 2011
3 August 2011 We reported a few weeks ago that an IR35 Forum has been established to commit to making clear improvements in the way IR35 is administered. The minutes from the second meeting which was held on 29 June have now been published. Minutes 29 June 2011
CIPP Policy News Journal
09/10/2012, Page 221 of 234
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