It’s been an interesting few days of media spotlight on our sector – from agency workers missing out on pay and rights, to the House of Lords’ criticism of excessive HMRC powers in relation to the 2019 loan charge. The common thread of both these stories centres around contingent workers either not knowing or not fully understanding the nuances of their specific situation – either their status and accompanying rights, or the consequences of how they are being remunerated. And whilst there will be differing opinions as to the reasons why there is a lack of clarity for the workers (ignorance vs exploitation), there is growing political pressure for businesses to address the issue.
It seems likely that one of the Taylor Review recommendations, Key Facts Statements, might be brought in next year, requiring certain information to be provided to all workers from day 1. Although such a development will inevitably mean more work, many compliant businesses already produce very clear information so the potential impact might not be as significant as it may seem.
FCSA has been lobbying for intermediaries that pay workers’ remuneration to be included in any Key Facts Statements policy development, meaning that promoters of loan schemes, offshore schemes, disguised remuneration schemes would all be caught. And in turn also meaning that two current media stories are effectively dealt with and should not (in theory) recur.
Overall, it seems to me almost inevitable that key facts statements are coming, so savvy businesses might want to start giving this some thought for their 2019 plans.
