The results of the CIPP survey to inform the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) consideration of the employment status process are now complete, and the report issued to the OTS.
The Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) has now turned its attention to reviewing the process for determining employment status. At the beginning of December 2014 they issued a call for evidence and the CIPP Policy team published a survey to its members to help inform OTS thinking.
The results of this survey have now been collated and the response has been issued to OTS. Key findings to emerge from this research were:
The overwhelming opinion is that the current law is very grey when determining employment status. The education sector seems to have a clear issue determining the status of some workers. Almost two thirds of respondents say that the decision regarding employment status rests with the engaging business. There is a strong feeling that the tax system does not manage these problems very well. Opinion is divided as to whether the tax system is compatible with employment law in this area. Tax is not, on the whole, the main driver when engaging people; rather it is usually a combination of factors. There was a cautious welcome to the idea of a statutory employment test.
The Policy team would like to thank everyone who responded to this survey. You can view the full response here .
Reduced red tape for business
5 January 2015
The Government has published a new report on its efforts to reduce red tape for businesses.
The announcement by Business Minister Matthew Hancock highlights a strict One-in, Two- out rule, which obliges government departments to find a double cost saving for any new regulation imposed on business.
Among the claimed improvements benefiting employers are:
the introduction of Early Conciliation , helping employers and employees settle issues quickly, avoiding the expense, risk and stress of going to an Employment Tribunal. This is saving businesses £24 million per year support for small businesses to make it easier, quicker and simpler to engage with HMRC and to help them to get their tax right, first time. On the other hand, one of the new measures scored as adding £18.8 million is nevertheless badged as helping employers. This is the introduction of controls on charges in qualifying schemes used for automatic enrolment. According to the Government, “this measure is being introduced to ensure that members’ retirement savings are not eroded by high or unfair charges. It also supports the Automatic Enrolment programme and will help maintain trust and confidence in pension providers supporting it. The measure will be implemented to allow some combination charging structures which help new providers enter the market, to ensure that there is a diverse competitive market for workplace pensions.”
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 80 of 521
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