The Taylor Review of modern employment practices was published recently and has since been the subject of media speculation and a great deal of discussion within the recruitment industry.
The review recognised the importance of a flexible workforce and the vital role that agency workers play in the British economy, which has been central to the success of the jobs market in recent years.
As a company which provides services to flexible workers including umbrella contractors who have a contract of employment as well as those who operate as self-employed, we understand just how complex the current landscape is. The review goes some way to acknowledging the complexity and also offers numerous recommendations, many of which the industry would welcome.
One thing which the review does which we believe is of crucial importance is recognise not only the importance to employers of a flexible workforce but the benefits to the worker. There is often an assumption that job security is best but the way we work has changed. Many people embrace the opportunity to work more flexibly and want to pick their own assignments, working hours and how and when they carry out their work.
The review calls for transparency on pay and greater clarity regarding worker status. One recommendation is that “control” should play a greater role in determining status. This could be an improvement on HMRC’s current approach which is based on “supervision, direction or control.” It is a complicated picture and how this might work in practice would certainly need to be explored further and more detail provided so that useful consultation on this could take place.
Another recommendation that has been welcomed by umbrella companies and the recruitment sector as a whole is the call for the government to look at how the Apprenticeship Levy could be used to benefit those working through agencies.
The levy has had an impact on the sector and the FCSA, who have previously called for this to be looked at. This is what they had to say on this recommendation, “This is good news for umbrella firms and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the Government on behalf of our members requesting that intermediaries are exempted from the Levy because their payroll is artificially high. The Levy has been one more cost to be borne and another tax on a sector that has had more than its fair share of extra burden in recent years so I welcome any review.”
