The Gabem Umbrella Companies Blog:
Home of Umbrella Company Gossip Online
4th February 2009: HMRC "to bare its teeth"
Recruiter magazine arrived this week and inside was a great article by KPMG's John Chaplin. In it he talks about the importance of industry compliance in the face of fresh HMRC investigations and the changes that HMRC are making to the tactics and team they have investigating overarching employment contracts.
I have to say it's refreshing to hear an authority like John bring up the matter of compliance (something very close to our hearts here at Gabem), as although I know I go on about it, it seems to be something that our industry has a habit of keeping quiet about, it's our elephant in the corner so to speak.
Now more than ever there is a need to talk about it as HMRC appear to be stepping up their game. According to John, HMRC's new approach brings together "...the right personnel, greater sector knowledge, national resources in place and the support of some senior investigators...." making this "....a serious threat to those providers who are not compliant."
Now this may all point towards our industry, but the rest of the article seems to focus soley on agencies, and the indication that HMRC will be going after them as equal targets for investigation. It's a clever tactic as it puts pressure on the agencies to consider their own suppliers - Umbrella companies and self-employed payment companies - and ensure they are compliant to reduce their own risk.
Gone are the days that they can just "keep their heads down", they need to check out the companies they work with, and re-think any thoughts of commission payments or finders fees until they can be absolutely certain that the company they work with is compliant.
Hugo
04/02/2009
