The UK government has published the outcome of its review of the off-payroll working reforms.

In summary:

• There will be ‘light touch’ enforcement for the first year of the new regime, with penalties levied only in cases of deliberate non-compliance;
• End-clients will have a legal obligation to respond to requests from agencies and/or workers concerning their size (and, therefore, whether the new regime applies to an engagement); 
• Where the end-client is overseas and has no UK presence, the existing ‘IR35’ regime will apply to the engagement (i.e. responsibility for applying the off-payroll working rules will sit with the worker’s personal service company and not with any other entity in the labour supply chain);
• As previously announced, the new withholding obligations will apply only in relation to payments made on or after 6 April where the relevant services were also provided on or after that date;
• Also as previously announced, in the absence of suspected fraud or criminal behaviour, HMRC will not use the outcome of status determination statements issued under the new regime to enquire into historical determinations made by workers and their personal service companies;
• HMRC’s programme for educating and supporting clients, intermediaries and workers to understand and meet their obligations under the new regime will be maintained and expanded; and
• HMRC will review the impact of the reforms, including how status determinations are being made, six months after implementation – this should provide an opportunity for any practical issues to be identified and addressed.

In our view, HMRC have responded to many of the concerns raised by KPMG and other stakeholders during the review.  

Further changes to the new off-payroll working regime prior to 6 April now appear unlikely.  

It’s therefore important for organisations to finalise their preparations based on the position as we currently understand it.

You can keep up-to-date with developments on off-payroll working reform through KPMG’s Employers’ Club and our dedicated off-payroll working reform page.

If you would like to talk through the implications of the review’s conclusions – or what the off-payroll working reforms mean for your organisation’s preparations more generally, please get in touch with Matthew Hunnybun, Partner and Head of People Services, KPMG in the UK, Colin Ben-Nathan, your usual KPMG contact, or email employersclub@kpmg.co.uk.