"The gig economy's tax and NI dodgers will only fall into line when prosecutions start happening" says HR professional
Businesses dodging tax and National Insurance by claiming their employees are self employed will only fall into line when prosecutions start happening, according to HR professionals Human Capital Department.
The comments come in the aftermath of last week's Supreme Court ruling on Pimlico Plumbers.
Peter Lawrence, Managing Director of Human Capital Department, said: “The case has set a precedent on whether or not someone is an employee or self-employed. Recently our "human capital due diligence" process flagged up that at a substantial building and construction company, workers were claiming to be self employed and that only three people in the business were actually employees, one of whom being the Managing Director."
He added: "Let's be honest, this is a tax and National Insurance dodge which HMRC are choosing to turn a blind eye to. Businesses will only fall into line and apply the rules correctly when companies and individuals started getting prosecuted."
According to Peter the rules should never have been in doubt. He points to the government's website and HMRC's advice, which provide clear guidelines on determining employment status.
Peter said: "These guidelines are based on the Employment Rights Act of 1996, which include supervision, direction and control tests, and last year's Taylor Report on modern working practices, which provided insights into the changing nature of work, including the rise of the gig economy."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Human Capital Department are an HR Consultancy that work with SME employers.
Their Human Capital Due Diligence Process involves assessing the capability of a company's management team.
To find out more about the ruling on Pimlico Plumbers visit