Off-payroll working: lessons from the BBC’s experience

A recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on the BBC’s engagement with personal service companies (PSCs) contains valuable lessons for the private sector in relation to the roll-out of new IR35 off-payroll working rules.

 

The NAO report (at bit.ly/2FbLguX) highlights the difficulties that the BBC had in determining the employment status for tax purposes of over 5 000 freelancers operating through PSCs when new rules for off-payroll working in the public sector came into force in April 2017. The rules will be applied to the private sector from April 2020 so the BBC’s experience will be relevant to private sector businesses both as a lesson as to how difficult it can be to apply the tests of employment status...