In July 2017 Matthew Taylor published his “Good Work” The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. The Review was based on a single overriding ambition: All work in the UK economy should be fair and decent with realistic scope for development and fulfilment.
In 2015, the Government committed to examining the issues of pay transparency for agency workers. This resulted from a change in tax rules that saw many individuals, especially in the construction sector, paid through PAYE for the first time. This means that while many considered themselves self-employed, they were being treated as employed – with all the deductions from pay that comes with that. In many cases, additionally it was umbrella companies that were responsible for running PAYE.
The Review submitted ‘Seven steps towards fair and decent work’ to the Government for consideration, one of these recommendations was “clearer about how to distinguish workers from those who are legitimately self-employed”. The rationale for this was to ensure fairness for those who choose to work flexibly and those who compete with them via this route.
Omnia is committed to upholding legislation and our working practices reflect our continued adherence at all times, we welcome the wider remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to unearth the less scrupulous umbrella and payroll companies so the legitimate ones can continue to offer a great service to workers, agencies and clients.