Recruiters: How We Can Help Your Teams Avoid Current Compliance Pitfalls

Tim Hunt, Strategic Planning and Sales Director, explains how we can help equip your consultants with the knowledge they need to place temporary workers, support clients and work compliantly.

Being in the business of recruiting temporary workers certainly has its upsides – but there are also challenges.

One of the most complex areas of concern is compliance as the rules around the supply of temporary labour are different to those you apply when hiring permanent employees on behalf of your clients, and they’re always changing.

Getting – and keeping – your consultants up-to-speed with the rules and regulations governing the recruitment of temporary labour, particularly in the construction sector, isn’t easy, but it is essential if you are to work compliantly and protect your business from expensive errors.

For our Business Development Team, training for consultants of our recruitment business partners is all part of the service. Now that more organisations are returning to the office, our expert team can go out-and-about to talk in-person to your consultants, or host online sessions. Being able to ask questions is the fastest way to ensuring your teams have the in-depth understanding they need to be able to talk confidently and knowledgeably to candidates and clients.

Here’s an overview of just some of the topics we can cover in training sessions for your consultants. Whether we’re talking to new or experienced consultants means we can pitch the sessions according to the level of knowledge your team already has.

Umbrella employment

Because ‘Umbrella’ employment isn’t a common term, for those new to recruitment it can be helpful to go back to basics to explain how Umbrella works. We answer questions such as:

• What is an Umbrella company?
• How does Umbrella differ from other working options?
• What employment rights do Umbrella workers have?
• How is Umbrella pay calculated?
• How are payments processed?
• How can Umbrella contractors switch between contracts?
• Can you mix being an Umbrella worker alongside contracting through a limited company or as a self-employed contractor?

As one of the UK’s longest-established Umbrellas, we are well placed to equip your team with the information they need.

Construction Industry Scheme

We are one of only a few companies to have paid CIS contractors since the scheme was established, and our team have been directly involved in liaising with HMRC Policy Team and setting trade body codes of compliance, so we have the in-depth knowledge and expertise to ensure it’s correctly applied.

• Who can use the scheme?
• How does it work?
• How are expenses reimbursed?
• What are the key compliance issues?
• What are the common errors leading to loss of status and or unexpected tax assessments?
• What are the alternatives?

Employment status determination

Employment status law is based primarily on case law, and it’s therefore constantly being revised.

You’ll be well aware that in 2021, the IR35 rules were changed to make recruitment agencies and end hirers, unless classed as ‘small businesses’, potentially liable for unpaid tax if a contractor is found to have used the wrong working option.

Many workers within the construction sector are self-employed but do not fall under the new rules for IR35. This is a very confusing and unclear area to many, and this has led to a proliferation of misinformation in this area, with many end hirers not understanding the differences between IR35 and self-employment, especially within the Construction Industry Scheme.

The current difficulties being experienced in the construction sector, where obtaining and retaining good workers is proving to be more challenging than ever, means it is now essential for your consultants to understand how roles are determined to be suitable for self-employment or not, and where the different risks of the different working options exist.

We can cover topics such as:

• How is employment status determined for CIS self-employed workers?
• What are the risks to your recruitment business, clients and contractors?
• What processes should be followed to ensure compliant assessments are properly performed?
• What are the most common warning signs that suggest a contractor may need to be an employee?
• How are IR35, self-employment status determinations and umbrella expenses reimbursements connected?

Onboarding & payroll

Because your consultants are focused on hiring and placing contractors, they may well benefit from being trained on relevant aspects of onboarding and payroll processing.

This will help your consultants to understand what to expect from us as your payroll partner, but it will also help them to provide an overview of onboarding steps and payroll processing to contractors, paving the way for a smooth handover of the contractor to us for onboarding and payroll processing, particularly if the contractor is going to be set up as an Umbrella employee.

Arranging training for your consultants

Training sessions can be informal or formal. As a partner of Crest Plus, your teams have got continual access to your dedicated Account Director and Account Management Team. Virtual or in-person training helps to build rapport between the teams so they can work together effectively on a day-to-day basis.

If there’s a topic you need your consultants to know more about, or if you want us to deliver general training on the use of contractors to your teams, please get in touch. We’ll be happy to help.