Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reforms to off-payroll working rules do not result in contractors being subject to role-based blanket IR35 assessments that incorrectly classify them as operating inside IR35.

Organisations must take reasonable care when making status determinations for the off-payroll working rules. The Government is clear that determinations must be made on a case-by-case basis, although it is acceptable to make a determination for a group of workers where the terms and conditions of contracts and working practices are the same.

HMRC’s dedicated education and support team will be delivering an enhanced programme of targeted support ahead of April 2021. This will include working with client organisations to make sure they are able to correctly determine their contractors’ status for tax.

The Government has also already ensured that from April 2021 client organisations are required to introduce a client-led status disagreement process where contractors can raise their concerns with their client organisation if they disagree on how they have been categorised.

HMRC will also commission independent research into the impacts of the reform six months after it has taken effect, which will look at how status decisions are being made. This research will be presented to Parliament.