Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on workers covered by IR35 rules.

While no specific impact assessment has been made of the potential effect of COVID-19 on individuals affected by the off-payroll working rules (commonly known as IR35), the Government has recently announced that the reform to the off-payroll working rules for people contracting their services to large or medium-sized organisations outside the public sector will be delayed for one year, from 6 April 2020 until 6 April 2021. This is part of the additional support the Government is providing for businesses and individuals to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19.

It is right for the Government to do whatever it can to support all parts of the labour market at this time. The Government remains committed to introducing this policy in order to address the unfairness of non-compliance with the existing off-payroll working rules. However, it also recognises that the reform is a significant change for both businesses and contractors. Delaying the reform will support them, as they will not need to implement and adjust to the reform until next year.

The Government very much values the contribution of flexible workers to the UK economy, but it is also under an obligation to ensure fairness between individuals who work in a similar way. The Government has published a factsheet which provides further information on the reform: https://bit.ly/2Uu50k8