Q. I may be offered a 3 year IT contract. What do I need to do to stay out of IR35?
A. Having a lengthy engagement would not automatically mean you are caught inside of IR35. In order to determine where your status lies with regards to IR35 we would suggest having a contract and working practices review. There are key employment status tests which would need to be considered for example; as an independent contractor you should not be subject to the same level of supervision and control as the clients own employees, you should be able to provide a substitute when you are unable to perform the services and you should also not be integrated within your client’s organisation – this is however by no means exhaustive. You may seek further advice on this matter from companies like Qdos who will be able to give you an independent review of your IR35 status and give you further advice on how to ensure that you are working IR35 compliantly.
If your contract spans April 2016 be sure that it is compliant with the new rules proposed for that date onwards. I think one problem is that nobody really knows how these will work yet so try to retain as much flexibility as possible.
I was reading your statement in regards IR35 and the regards the use of a substitute but what happens when the company you are working is bound by security clearance. And that goes for bringing in the companies laptop because the item (ie Laptop) is restricted from being used caused the work you’re dealing with is highly classified.
Regards
Ian Stokes