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PRO INSTALLER DECEMBER 2014
PRO RECRUITMENT
@proinstaller1
Recruitment company rebrand
addresses employment
surge and new legislation
Iconic Recruitment specialise in staffing solutions
within the Construction, Maintenance and
Facilities Management market sectors.
Martyn Makinson, Managing Director, talks to
ProInstaller about the
skills shortage within the
construction industry and
offers inside knowledge
on the importance of a
new legislation coming in
to affect early next year
that makes it compulsory
for employment agencies
to report individuals that
are not taxed as employees to HMRC, a legislation
which has put the entire
recruitment industry on
caution.
Martyn explains: “The construction industry has recently
experienced a surge on employment, and the number of skilled
workers needed to fill this gap
in employment is, at the moment, lacking.
“During the recession, where
confidence in the construction
sector was at an all-time low,
construction professionals were
wary of changing employers,
as they didn’t want to find
themselves changing employers. As market conditions have
improved, people have become
more confident about changing
jobs and the companies who haven’t acted fast enough to implement retention strategies have
ended up losing their ‘top talent’
to competitor businesses.
“There has never been a more
pressing time for a recruitment
agency to specialise within
the construction sector. As the
industry has started to boom,
candidates can be selective, and
are more likely to choose to
work with an agency that has a
detailed understanding of their
market.” Martyn continues
The government introduced a
new legislation in April 2014,
clamping down on false self-employment. Recruitment agencies
are therefore now required to
ensure all workers supplied to
a business, and who no longer
pass HMRC’s test for being
self-employed, are treated as full
employees, and added to payroll
appropriately. By April 2015, it
will also become compulsory for
employment agencies to report
individuals that are not taxed as
employees to HMRC.
Commenting on a recent
article in The Guardian, Martyn
says: “Britain has been dubbed
the self-employment capital of
western Europe with 4.5 million
classed as self-employed, accounting for more than 15% of
the labour force. Many people
working in construction are
genuinely self-employed, however, UKCG (UK Contractors’
Group) recognises that some
are not ‘false self-employed’ and
that, under current tax rules,
it is extremely difficult for law
abiding companies to decide
whether somebody is really self
employed or should be taxed
within PAYE.
“Moving forward, recruitment
companies that contract directly
with clients need to make sure
they have evidence the worker
does not require supervision or
direction within the business
hierarchy. Anyone who does require some form of supervision
within a company should be
deemed to be employed for tax
and employment rights purposes. Clients who are unaware of
this system may incur a financial
penalty.”
“Companies within the
construction sector will need
to have a strong trust rapport
with their recruitment agency
as it is down to the agencies to
ensure all workers supplied to
a business, and who no longer
pass HMRC’s test for being
self-employed, are treated as full
employees, and added to payroll
appropriately. If an agency does
not provide accurate reports,
they will incur financial penalties.
“The new legislation will certainly identify those individuals
who have been avoiding paying
tax via ‘false self-employment’
and I’m sure that in time, it will
lead to an increase in revenues
by HMRC as a direct result in
the legislation change.”
Marytn concludes that installers, construction and maintenance companies should be
wary of this new legislation:
“The lack of awareness for
the rules is worrying for clients.
Clients who are unaware of the
legislation, or not fully educated
on the new processes, may fall
foul of the regulations, resulting in a financial penalty. Our
message to companies is to
become knowledgeable as soon
as possible on the legislation
and ensure that you are working
with a recruitment agency that
fully understands the regulations
and adhere to them.
Based in Warrington, Cheshire,
Ionic has recently opened a new
office in Solihull, West Midlands,
to meet increasing demand in
the area and to give Ionic the
opportunity to work with clients
and candidates a