IR35: Committing to One Client

Q. My wife works as a part time Doctor Locum providing non-vatable GP services to local Clinics. She tends to work a few hours a week and her life is based around our young kids that require school/nursery drop offs. She has recently liked one particular Clinic that has offered her regular shift work amounting to 4 hours a day on 3 days a week. She really likes this place and has decided to only work for this single client. My wife has a LTD company and contracts direct with the Clinic with no agency involved. Strangely the client has no contract or T&Cs with my wife as all is based on verbal agreement. The only paperwork clients are interested in is medical paperwork (GP Performers list , Medical Defence Payment, CRB) I have read previous articles on the dangers of IR35 and committing to a single employer for a considerable length of time (~2 years). Should she be committing to one client in respect of IR35? Secondly should my wife have some sort of Supplier Agreement in place with the Clinic to give herself greater IR35 protection? Or is this risk offset by her part time working arrangements as described above?

A. From an IR35 perspective, length of service is neutral. The danger is that the longer a contract continues for the easier it can sometimes be to become integrated into the client’s organization. As long as all of the key IR35 status tests are in place and reflect positively with regard to IR35, and a contractor can maintain their independence, there is no reason why a contract has to end after 2 years. This is a common misconception and is often confused with the 24 Month Rule concerning claiming travel and subsistence expenses.  If there are no written terms, it would be advisable to put some in place, as an IR35 compliant contract can help to put an IR35 defence on the right footing, although this will also depend on the actual working practices, which should be considered alongside the contract. Example draft contracts can be downloaded here.

This answer is provided by Qdos Contractor.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Very pleasant. Excellent price for what I needed. I will be a returning customer.

Rhino Review

Mr Paul D

Great staff. Customer focused and a team who recognise and understand their customers 100%.

Rhino Review

Vijay S

Fantastic accountants who helped me submit my last 2 years personal tax returns! I really rate this company!!!

QAccounting Review

Natalie

Fantastic service.

Rhino Review

Marco G

Been with QAccounting for several months now, very good service, very personal and the best prices I have seen.

QAccounting Review

Muhammed A

I switched over to QAccounting a few months ago and haven't looked back. I get to speak to my own client manager and accountant, the prices were the best I had seen, and I paid exactly what it said online (no extra costs). Very happy with QA.

QAccounting Review

Jeremy H