Publications

Employment Status: The Tax Rules (3r^d Edition)

Author: David Kirk

Published: Claritax Books [link to Claritax page as before – perhaps clicking on picture should do the same], November 2013

“I have read ‘Employment Status’ a couple of times from cover to cover – and found it of tremendous help in several practical situations.” (Paul Lynam, Lynam Tax.)

Determining whether someone is employed or self-employed can be difficult, and reaching the wrong decision can be hugely expensive. Anyone trying to research it on his own will come up against a spider’s web of different tests, and incoherent and often contradictory judgments from over 140 cases that have been fought in the courts since 1890.

In this practical book, the author guides the reader through this maze. To explain things clearly he divides the tests into the three groups suggested by the leading judgment from which most others follow. He also lays out the courts’ authorities on any particular subject in order of importance, with the higher courts’ verdicts first, so that the reader can easily see where any particular judgment fits in to the scheme of things.

As this is a tax book, it also covers issues of territoriality, and people other than employees who are caught in the PAYE net, such as officers, agency workers, and those with personal service companies; it concludes with special rules and considerations for people working in particular businesses.

New for 2nd edition

The second edition has been significantly expanded, including an additional chapter giving much more extensive coverage of the practicalities of dealing with HMRC on employment status cases. There are also numerous additional case reports, including the Court of Appeal judgment in the ITV case, the Supreme Court ruling in Preston, and a range of other cases from the various courts. The second edition also includes fuller coverage of the treatment of officers (with new cases and narrative), and an extra section dealing with the offshore intermediaries proposals.

Reviews

“A very good guide to employment status.” (Taxation, January 2013.)

“The text is written from a practical viewpoint, the author explaining problems that various tax cases have produced, or not covered, with advice as to what action to take should the reader be faced with particular queries.” (AccountingWeb, March 2013)

Chapter Headings

1. The taxing statutes and their interpretation
2. Employed or not?
3. Mutuality of obligation
4. Control
5. Economic reality
6. Other factors affecting employment status
7. Officers
8. Agency workers
9. Managed service companies
10. Other intermediaries (IR35)
11. Special cases
12. Dealing with HMRC on employment status cases