IR35 Conference: 10 off-payroll event takeaways

What the UK’s 8th annual IR35 Conference heard yesterday, even if you had to be in the room to find out who said what exactly.

1. UK recruiters and organisations that use them to hire skilled, off-payroll contractors have “settled into an uneasy rhythm” about IR35.
2. Almost “nobody” is “happy” with the April 6th 2017 and 2021 rules, but it’s “pretty accepted” that both HMRC frameworks are “here to stay”.

These are two of the top 10 takeaways from yesterday’s 8th Annual IR35 Conference – and fittingly, the eight others are below.

‘Solid day for IR35 learnings’

The conference was held at London’s Danubius Hotel and featured the insights of 11 experts on status and IR35 off-payroll working. The Chatham House Rule event consisted of speeches, presentations, panel debates, and open mic Q&As with the audience.

As an IR35 insurer, Kingsbridge sponsored this 2025 conference. Speaking after the event, where he was among the 11-strong expert line-up, Kingsbridge’s very own Matt Tyler called it a “solid” day for IR35 learnings.

‘Interesting takes’

Then, choosing his words more carefully, the IR35 consultancy manager said a few of the “takes” he heard on the OPW rules were “interesting”. They feature below as the last two takeaways from the 8th annual IR35 conference.

3. Status Determination Statements are all over the place

A court case featuring inside IR35 SDSs that weren’t reflected with correct tax deductions for the PSCs might have put HMRC on high alert.

Yesterday at the conference, clients were advised that they can outsource the SDS process if they wish, but must stay involved as the SDS is ultimately their responsibility.

End users were also warned of ‘SDS red flags’ from agencies saying “Please don’t show me” the SDS, or “I can get rid of it for you”.

‘Don’t just take a recruiter’s word for it’

SDSs aren’t always passed down the supply chain and end users too often “take a recruiter’s word for it” and don’t check the SDS.

An SDS for a single, specific role is acceptable to HMRC, saving end users from having to run multiple SDSs for all PSCs in that role.

An end user said their HR team completes both the Status Determination Statement and CEST with input from line managers.

‘Home and dry’

End users were advised that they’re “home and dry” if they take ‘reasonable care’ in assessing IR35 status and producing the SDS. The advice relates to the HMRC liability for tax, NICs and Apprenticeship levy payments staying the client’s unless RC is taken (in which case it shifts to the fee-payer, typically the agency).

4. Unsympathetic A-listers & unaware ministers

Ahead of Jeremy Vine (currently set to go to court over his IR35 status later this year), another BBC presenter won a mention yesterday.

Due to BBC servers buckling in 2000 under the sheer weight of people ringing in about IR35, apparently Evan Davies wasn’t happy. The conference heard that “perhaps” the Dragons’ Den presenter “would be more sympathetic if he were ever to be caught by IR35”.

‘Deputy PM Angela Rayner MP got in a row after saying Employment Rights Bill covers self-employed’

Also appearing not entirely freelance-friendly, Angela Rayner MP was said at conference to recently not realise that the ERB won’t help the self-employed. The deputy PM was heard to have had “quite a row” after saying the Employment Rights Bill would offer self-employment protections.

Despite now hoped to value the £366 billion contribution of the solo self-employed, Rayner’s party has “kicked SWS into the long grass”.

‘Labour’s Single Worker Status in too-hard-to-do box’

Indeed, Single Worker Status is in the “too-hard-to-do box”, yet “prosperity and productivity” are how to spur Labour to plough on with its consultation (TBC).

The ERB may receive royal assent this summer, and the Fair Work Agency which may force engagers to award rights is 20 months away.

Meanwhile, the UK’s 4.2m self-employed and their partners are still “grappling” with OPW, even if the rules are now eight years old.

‘Self-employed waving for recognition, not rescue’

The ‘Holy Grail’ is to get the UK government to realise contractors and other self-employed are “waving for recognition, not rescue”. A starting point is to show that the action of “taxing an employee without employment rights doesn’t sit within the Labour movement”.

5. HMRC

To stay on top of OPW compliance, end users tend to review PSCs’ IR35 status ‘every six months, upon change to roles, or across a 25% sample’. Before HMRC was able to approach end users to look at PSCs in one fell swoop, just six tax officials were tasked with policing 600,000 PSCs.

Ahead of the 2025/26 tax year (from Apil 6th 2025), HMRC apparently realises that the identity of the end user is typically the ‘contracted out’ conundrum.

‘Golden file’

To stop a tax inspector in their tracks, a “golden” file of information is the best reply an end user can give to an initial HMRC enquiry letter under the OPW rules. Despite requesting a reply within a week, the HMRC letter should be sent back within 48 hours with this dossier or stash of ‘reasonable care’ evidence.

Outside of the Danubius’ Denis Compton Suite yesterday, an attendee disagreed, saying a big file gives the taxman an invitation to “find holes”. Better for a client representative to talk to HMRC to get to the bottom of what it wants or cite the specifics HMRC is keen to see.

‘Paint nice easy pictures for HMRC’

A recruitment sector stakeholder sounded more behind the former option – a file or dossier chock full of OPW ‘due diligence’ and reasonable care evidence. The recruitment stakeholder said that, in their experience, “you need to paint nice easy pictures for HMRC”.

The original ‘golden file’ advocate went on to say if HMRC hasn’t heard back by day seven, it will suspect the end user is “scrambling”. But the party worried about giving inspectors holes to find said “rubbish”, because the Revenue knows people are busy.

6. Be like Brenda. Or at least, be prepared if you be like Brenda…

Ryan Dawson, IR35 project manager at Kingsbridge, wasn’t at yesterday’s 8th annual IR35 conference. But told last night of some of the issues raised, he said little-known HMRC guidance may interest some of the contractor attendees.

‘IR35 dispute with end-client’

“Notifying HMRC of a continued IR35 dispute with your end-client is an interesting one.

“In ESM10015a, HMRC points out that if a worker considers they’ve been taxed incorrectly, they can submit a Self-Assessment tax return to reflect this dispute and make claims to HMRC for taxes they feel have been overpaid.

“Income tax and employee NICs must be dealt with separately because only income tax is handled through the SA system and completing the tax return will generate a refund request.

“Brenda’s example in the manual would seem to suggest that if, on consideration of the facts and evidence, HMRC concludes that Brenda was incorrectly treated as a deemed employee (i.e. inside IR35), a closure notice will be issued which confirms this.

‘Word of warning’

“And the ESM makes clear any other amendments required to the return to complete the enquiry [would be made].

“Brenda’s income tax and NIC repayments will [then] be released. Crucially, this release of tax and NI would be to Brenda, given that her requested refund was made via self-assessment and to the NICs office.

“But if you’re a limited company contractor, a word of warning before you take action here.

“To conclude whether liabilities have been overpaid, it will almost certainly lead to an HMRC investigation being opened, which of course is something every business ultimately wants to avoid”.

7. Clash over IR35 status tests terms

As mentioned, Kingsbridge’s Matt Tyler was at the IR35 conference. Agreeing last night to waive the BFI event’s protection of speaking on a non-attributable basis, he said IR35 status tests differed in the terms that some of the speakers used.

Speaker ‘A’ said that under the off-payroll working rules, the three central factors tested for are:

• Supervision, Direction and [sic] Control
• Substitution
• Mutuality of Obligation

Speaker ‘B’ was similar, but not identical when they specified the IR35 trio as:

• Control
• Personal Service
• Mutuality

Speaker ‘C’ said towards the end of the IR35 conference that the determinative three factors are actually:

• Control
• Financial Risk
• Nature of Working Relationship

8. Your limited company bank account is NOT going to shift ‘inside IR35’ to ‘outside IR35’

He may have 15 years’ experience assessing the ‘nuts and bolts’ of both the Intermediaries legislation and the OPW rules, but Tyler is taken aback at how fired up the IR35-affected can get.

‘Spirited’

“One reasonably spirited debate yesterday afternoon arose around a few hirers believing that contractors should be doing more to help them (end users) with IR35 status”, began Tyler, citing in-business ‘badges’ like a limited company bank account and website.

“And a limited company contractor immediately responded with the view that it’s completely up to the end-client to provide the determination.

“The actual truth of the matter lies somewhere in the middle – although definitely more towards the end client’s side. Whether the contractor is ‘in business on own account,’ as the test is known, is a test that is indeed used to determine a contractor’s IR35 status.

‘In-business on own account not decisive’

“But it’s most certainly not a decisive factor. This particular test takes a look at the nature of the contractor’s business as a whole, considering aspects such as whether the contractor has other clients they provide services to, whether they carry business insurance (which is also an indicator towards financial risk), and whether the contractor has items such as marketing material or a hosted website to advertise their business.

“As I tried to highlight around the conference’s fringes yesterday, all these ‘in-business’ factors are, ultimately, fairly minor status tests. Contractors absolutely should, where possible, evidence that they’re running a genuine business, but the honest truth is that the heavy hitters from an IR35 perspective are most certainly going to be decided by the client and how they choose to engage with contractors”.

‘Get better, and don’t shy away’

For any still unsure at the sidelines, at five o’clock yesterday when the Conference closed, there was an 11th takeaway-cum-wakeup call:

“IR35 is like Sisyphus, rolling the boulder up the hill. Except it’s not a myth. So, accept that it’s hard and get better at it”.

Kingsbridge’s Mr Tyler sounded more understanding than the main stage speaker who cited Greek mythology on a Thursday afternoon in Regent’s Park.

“This BFI event was invaluable to numerous supply chains”, he says. “Nobody is going to be up-to-speed with the IR35 off-payroll working legislation if they shy away from getting the advice of experts and obtaining the views of their peers”.

How Kingsbridge can help

Navigating IR35 legislation and ensuring compliance can be challenging for contractors and businesses alike. At Kingsbridge we offer tailored support, including expert guidance on IR35 status assessments, compliance strategies, and risk mitigation. Our team is dedicated to helping contractors and businesses understand and adapt to the evolving tax landscape.

We also offer a range of flexible business insurance options to support contractors, including Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, and Employers’ Liability cover, as well as add-ons like Cyber Insurance and Director and Officer’s Liability.

To find out more, get a quote or contact us today.