REC welcomes delay on construction workers tax status
This week's pre-budget report contained an announcement that will be good news for the hundreds of self-employed people in construction jobs across the UK.
Earlier this year the Treasury had conducted a consultation on new legislation which would have meant that construction recruitment agency workers would have had to be classed as 'employed' for tax purposes. Whilst this measure is aimed at tackling false claims of self-employment, it has proven extremely unpopular with both recruiters and workers in the industry.
However the chancellor's pre-budget report has announced that there will be a delay in implementing the new legislation. This has been welcomed by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Simon Noakes, a member of the group executive for the REC construction sector said that "We are delighted with this delay".
Commenting on the proposal, Noakes admitted that "The REC recognises that some construction workers may be falsely claiming that they are self-employed. However, construction is an industry where workers trade on their skills and often move from project to project."
The REC is one of the prime backers behind the sub-tax campaign, a coalition of large and small construction companies, trade bodies and other parties who are opposed to the changed tax regime for the construction industry's self-employed workers. The coalition believes that the "problem doesn't really exist" and that "catch-all legislation...will mean additional costs and red-tape, reduce the pay and living standards of workers [and] strangle the recovery of the UK construction sector".
Mr Noakes echoed these sentiments in his statement, saying "the proposed changes would have simply added more cost onto construction jobs at a time when the industry can least afford it."
"We are pleased that the treasury is taking a pragmatic approach to this issue and we will continue to work with them to ensure that all genuinely self employed construction workers can remain so."