Tilson - Good news for Contractors, Staffing Companies and their Clients
The Tilson Employment Tribunal case has had plenty of coverage onwebsites dedicated to Professional Contractors and Freelancers,including ours.
Our view is solidly that this case is good news for Professional Contractors, Freelancers, Staffing Companies and Clients.
Recently two articles appeared on Contractor Calculator and ITContractor that also had some opinion on this case.
Dave Chaplin from Contractor Caculator made the point that in hisview now that (in certain circumstances ) Contractors may try to getemployment rights from their end Clients if they work within a contractcaught by IR35, all end Clients may look to engage Contractors oncontractual terms that are outside IR35.
Gerry McLaughlin of IT Contractor made the point that end Clientsmay not want to hire Contractors at all because of the Tilson case andfor fear of having Contractors aiming to get employment rights.
I guess everyone wants to make some news headlines but in between all this what is the real story ? Well here is our version:-
1. Andrew Tilson did not use his own Limited Company and thereforethis case does not mean that all inside IR35 contractors will haveemployment rights. We think that each case needs to be seen on itsmerits. But it may well mean that disgruntled Contractors may try toget employment rights, and it may mean that Clients will look carefullyat the way they engage Contractors.
2. This case can only be good for Contractors who want to be realcontractors, rather than be employees. At the end of the dayContractors are needed by clients, nothing has changed with this, theyfulfill a valuable role. It is up to each Contractor to use this casepositively.
3. This case can be used positively by contractors to help themnegotiate contracts that are outside IR35, its a big advantage if usedlike this.
4. Staffing companies can use this case with their End Clients tohelp them towards accepting real working arrangements that areconsistent with an outside IR35 contract. It is now in the EndClient's interest to do this and Staffing Comapnies could be seen in agood light helping End Clients adapt and protect themselves.
5. End clients who recognise the dangers of Inside IR35 Contractsmay now be proactive with engaging contractors on terms outside IR35,and adapt their working practices accordingly. They may get theemployment rights protection that they seek, and may even find theirspecialist contractors doing a good job for them, free from the shaklesof control found in employment contracts.
In summary the Tilson case is positive for clients that really wantindependent contractors and contractors who really want to run theirown business.
For those end clients that really want employees and those"freelancers" who really want employment, this case may well mean thatthey get what they want too.