Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department takes to help ensure that (a) companies and (b) other organisations accurately determine whether someone is self-employed for tax purposes under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 guidance.

To help customers make an informed decision on a worker’s status for tax, HMRC provides comprehensive online guidance that explains the relevant factors and tests and how to apply them.

HMRC also provides its digital Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool to support employers and workers determine the employment status of an engagement.

The Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 contains a number of provisions related to appeal rights and determining disputes. In 2021, the Government introduced a disagreement process to allow workers to challenge the status determination they have been given under the off payroll working rules with their engager.

The Government keeps all tax policy and legislation under review. HMRC regularly reviews its guidance products and amends or adds to them where this improves the content or customer experience.

For example, HMRC has recently published guidelines for compliance to help organisations comply with the Off-Payroll Working rules contained in Chapter 10 of Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.