September 4, 2008

IR35 Defeat In High Court

An appeal case involving a Special Commissioners decision against an IT contractor has been heard in the High Court with the decision upholding the earlier ruling.

Government Crackdown On Travel Expenses

The Government has begun its crackdown on what it views as 'widespread abuse' of travel expenses by some umbrella companies and employment agencies.

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Employment Rights

A compromise reached between the Government, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the unions in May 2008, and subsequent discussions between european employment ministers, has seen agency workers set to acquire the same employment rights as permanent members of staff.

Many European countries, particularly those with less labour market flexibility than the UK, have long pushed for a temporary or agency worker to receive the same rights, including pay, as a comparable member of permanent staff from the outset of an engagement.

Successive UK governments opposed any measures fearing that the country's highly deregulated and flexible labour market might not benefit from granting statutory rights to agency workers. 

While temporary workers are now set to receive employment rights, the UK government was successful in lobbying for a 12 week period to elapse before these rights can be claimed rather than from day one.