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SSP Is Changing in 2026, And It’s Going to Hit Agencies Harder Than They Expect Most recruiters think of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) as background admin — inconvenient, yes, but predictable.April 2026 will challenge that assumption. Under the Employment Rights Bill, SSP rules are changing in ways that will affect every employer, including employment businesses […]
Since the introduction of the Chapter 10 tax rules (IR35) agencies and hirers have faced tax risks when engaging limited company contractors (PSCs) except where the client is a small company (as defined). Many shifted to working with umbrella companies as a result. However, the environment is once again set to become tougher. Where you […]
The 30-second fix You’ve sourced a brilliant candidate. The client’s warm. You’re on the brink of a placement. And then…You hesitate to send your terms of business. Sound familiar? It’s a common fear in recruitment. “What if the client walks?” “What if I kill the vibe?” The result? Delayed terms, risky conversations, and worst-case scenario: […]
Why the proposed scheme could be a disaster HMRC’s latest proposal on umbrella companies still misses the mark As pressure mounts around tax avoidance and payroll compliance in the umbrella company sector, HMRC has proposed a new plan that could have wide-reaching consequences for recruitment agencies. While the initial idea of making agencies run PAYE […]
Agencies may no longer be required to run PAYE, but they could still be on the hook for unpaid tax. The recruitment rumourmill reports that HMRC appears to be shifting its stance on the tax treatment of contractors employed via umbrella companies, despite new legislation expected to be published in July. Instead of treating recruitment […]
The Employment Rights Bill will soon pass into law, soon followed by regulation of the umbrella sector, impacting the current umbrella model as we know it.
The government has now published its plans for applying proposed zero hours rules to agency workers.
The government has now published its plans for applying proposed zero hours rules to agency workers.
Sometimes size matters and from April this year, small businesses are simply getting bigger. This means that hiring businesses once classified as medium-sized may no longer be, at least for IR35 purposes.
In a recent case a first tier Employment Tribunal decided that a social worker was a worker and that the party responsible for paying the worker was the employment business supplying her to a client.  The decision is surprising because the supply contract was with the worker’s personal service company (PSC), and has given rise to the claim in some quarters that it is the harbinger of employment rights for contractors working inside IR35.
