Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to support freelance financial service providers following the recent IR35 changes which stipulate they will now be classed as employees of a company.

The off-payroll working rules (sometimes known as IR35) only affect people working like employees and through a company. They do not affect the genuinely self-employed and do not focus on specific trades or professions.

The announced extension to the private sector, and the recent reform in the public sector, do not change the employment status of freelance financial service providers. As in all cases, whether they are employed, or self-employed, depends on the facts of their working arrangements.

The recent changes to the off-payroll working rules in the public sector, shifted responsibility for assessing the individual’s employment status from the individual’s company to the public authority. At Budget 2018, the Government announced its plans to extend this reform to the private sector.

HMRC will provide further detailed guidance and support, to help business and individuals implement the reform, before it takes effect in April 2020.