The UK Government introduced IR35 legislation in April 2020. So why is it an issue now?
IR35 is a term used to describe specific tax legislation designed to combat tax avoidance by workers and the organizations hiring them. The legislation aims to prevent people who would otherwise be employees of an organization from setting up a limited company as an intermediary and attempting to reduce their tax burden. HMRC declares such workers as “deemed employees.” If people are deemed employees, then the income tax and national insurance that would have been paid if they were directly employed would be owned. The legislation was updated in April 2021 so that businesses hiring deemed employees have to undertake a mandatory assessment of whether engagements fall within IR35. Crucially, the company receiving services is now responsible for the payment of the additional taxes if HMRC later decided a contractor should have been deemed an employee.
Helping organizations access talent
Most organizations have assessed risk exposure and taken an understandably risk-averse approach to IR35. As a result, many have resorted to turning engagements that contractors would have previously taken on into fixed-term employment contracts.
If an organization is looking to fill a job or role temporarily, then we believe this is the right approach.
But this is not always the right approach. For example, organizations undertaking transformations, mergers, or forming new PMOs do not actually want an employee (deemed or otherwise!). Instead, they need experts to guide them and deliver on a specific set of outcomes.
HotPMO are a Service Provider and Consultancy. We are not a recruitment agency. As a consultancy, we specialize in the PMO space and help organizations deliver the right things faster. We help form new Project Management Offices to fulfill specific business needs, and we support delivery by providing people, processes, and services to get transformations delivered. So whether you need one day of consultancy or 20 consultants to work on a major transformation, we provide you with a service with milestone commitments, service guarantees, and account management. Depending on the nature of the engagement, we will use a blend of our HotPMO staff and associate consultants. The way we structure our engagements means they are outside of IR35, as a matter of course.
Our engagement model
Our services engagement model is simple and is markedly different from how you may work with recruiters. We meet and listen to the challenges you are facing. We ask questions to understand better where the root causes lie. Then we draw on our experience to recommend tailor-made solutions that meet your needs. You won’t find us selling you generic frameworks or certifications. Each engagement is unique and designed around you and your team.
When you are looking to fill temporary or permanent roles, you will typically work with your HR team, an internal recruiter, and possibly one or more ‘preferred’ external recruitment agencies. The conversation will focus on filling a job specification. When you engage with HotPMO, the engagement is different. First, we talk with you directly and then formalize the engagement through your procurement team. If your engagement is not time-sensitive, your procurement team may prefer to run a competitive tender process. We positively embrace competitive tenders as it allows us to demonstrate how we can offer superior value compared to many of the larger management consultancies.
Providing the services organizations need today
HotPMO provides the services that organizations today are crying out for. In addition to consulting, coaching, and training engagements, HotPMO offers a model we like to call thin-slice services. We can support organizations by taking thin slices of delivery services and running them within your framework. This approach allows for maximum flexibility for organizations as they can rapidly scale or flex services based on their needs. For example, we can offer micro-services such as regular roll-up reporting services or timesheet administration. On a larger scale, we can provide fully formed PMO teams to support major programs, mergers, and transformation initiatives.
Our Commitment
HotPMO will provide our customers with Project and PMO services at competitive costs and with the utmost integrity. Our flexible in-house and associate teams come with account oversight and the level of professionalism that you would expect from a world-leading PMO services provider. In addition, our engagement model is designed to reassure, encourage collaboration and foster positive outcomes that will help your business deliver the right things faster.
