Contractors under fire for government procurement 'game'

Both private firms and public processes accused of pushing a 'Merry-Go-Round culture.'

MPs table 22 ways to enhance government contracting

At-a-glance: how to build quality and effectiveness into the ‘contracting out’ model.

Contractors strive to be experts, not entrepreneurs – report

The views of empire-builders among contractors? Possibly. Their targets? Not so much, finds IPSE.

'Soft landing' for digital tax accounts endorsed

Firms won’t be fined for first 12 months and will be allowed to ‘cut and paste’ – HMRC.

Contractors strive to be experts, not entrepreneurs – report

The views of empire-builders among contractors? Possibly. Their targets? Not so much, finds IPSE.

Contractors to vent VAT issues

A tell-all survey on Value Added Tax even has room for Brexit, MTD and IR35.

Safety Needs for Every Workplace

Safety is one of the most fundamental things we expect. At home, it’s our own responsibility, but at work, that requirement is shared by our employer. They have an obligation to educate and train us about the specific hazards in our workplace, as well as to provide at least some of the protective equipment we might need. We have an obligation to be diligent about safety and to follow procedures, as well as to utilize the gear provided for us.

With so many different types of workplaces in the world, it’s impossible to cut across every single one with specific descriptions of the safety gear in use. After all, there are as many types of hazards as there are workplaces that include them. However, we can take a general view of what is likely to be in play in a variety of different workplaces.

General Safety

There are many factors that we should protect ourselves from no matter where we work. There are few manufacturing facilities that will permit personnel to go without steel-toed boots, and for those that involve outdoor work, products like Ariat mens waterproof work boots are essential.

Many general hazards must be considered in every workplace. There should be smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in every facility, connected directly to an automatic alarm system so that no human action is required. The system should also include traditional pull stations that can be used as soon as a fire is detected, rather than waiting for the alarm to trigger. Every workplace should have fire extinguishers and a basic first aid kit, and if qualified personnel are on site, a more advanced stockpile of medical equipment.

Site-Specific Safety

Although there are those commonalities across any workplace, there are other ways in which every workplace is different. For example, a furniture manufacturer would have fewer concerns about hazardous materials but would need to be very attentive to safety with power tools as well as hearing and vision protection. As a result, they would have goggles and earplugs assigned to personnel.

Of course, hazardous materials are an entire realm of their own. There are products that can vaporize and move off-site. Other materials can react violently with water and cause a fire. Still, others are long-term hazards that can create a cancer risk. These materials should not only be stored and handled with great care, but personnel may also need equipment like respirators or even self-contained breathing apparatus, as well as hazmat suits to protect them from these toxic products.

The Procedure Side

The greatest enemy of safety is complacency. People get accustomed to doing things every day without a problem, and they get lax about using proper procedures. This problem is common in hazardous occupations, but it can be even worse in workplaces without specific hazards.

Offices are a good example of this. Because offices don’t feature heavy equipment or hazardous materials, many people in an office don’t think about safety very much, and that’s dangerous. Any office should have in place a comprehensive plan for safety so that everyone knows how to handle any situation that could arise. There should be mandatory drills on a regular basis, including unannounced ones, so that personnel keep safety at the forefront of their thinking.

Every workplace has hazards. Some may be obvious, while others may not cross anyone’s mind until they happen. No matter if it’s an automotive manufacturer, a dairy farm, or an accounting firm, every employer has an obligation to do what is necessary to protect employees, customers, and visitors from every hazard they possibly can.

This process involves equipment but also training, not just on particular skills associated with safety but also on keeping a safety-minded attitude that will keep workers vigilant for hazards and capable of protecting themselves from them.

Why the IR35 'blanketing' row misses the point

Through the HMRC Looking-Glass is an odd world where only ‘outside’ decisions are penalised.

Why the IR35 'blanketing' row misses the point

Through the HMRC Looking-Glass is an odd world where only ‘outside’ decisions are penalised.

HMRC redefining IR35 'blanketing' shows it's on the back foot

Battle-weary PSCs, send your evidence of blanketing to help keep the heat on HMRC.

Manchester tops table of promptest-paying cities

Almost nine in 10 contractors get paid on time in the Capital of the North.

HMRC under fire after disguised remuneration paper

A seemingly anodyne PDF on the 2019 Loan Charge is met with rebuffs, questions and letters.

Risk is why contractors are now rejecting the AMS Framework

The commercial threat posed to their PSC is behind contractors refusing AMS’s terms.

Gig worker proposal ‘alarmingly similar to IR35 reforms’

Contractor sector warns the OTS that its PAYE plan has 'unintended consequences.'

Peterborough tops late-paying cities table

Contractors in and around a few Midlands cities tend to get paid later than anywhere else.

Contractors, are you all set to make your second Payment on Account?

The clock is ticking for taxpayers brought into the split-bill system due to the 'dividend drop.'

Draw up temps' Brexit-immigration policy, ministers urged

REC slams ‘lack of clarity’ for the likes of contractors (and end-users) from 2021.

Buy-to-let limited company usage ‘hits record high’

Ex-chancellor's ‘ticking time bomb’ triggers a near doubling in ‘Ltd’ landlords.

IR35 Forum: key points of its May 2018 meeting

What HMRC's latest minutes say, and what contractors will likely take from them.

'Blanket' IR35 decisions win taxman's tentative approval

What was once ‘appropriate’ is now ‘correct’ -- just don’t call it ‘blanketing,’ IR35 Forum told.

2019 Loan Charge group's second letter to HMRC's Jon Thompson

Having not first succeeded, LCAG is trying again to raise the Revenue’s CEO about tax-inspired suicide attempts.

HMRC nets £5.7m from expats via offshore data requests

‘Papering over the cracks’ is up 615%, thanks to powers, probes and misperception.

2019 Loan Charge group condemns ‘HMRC’s sick joke’

Our call to the taxman to set up a suicide helpline has been answered, disgracefully -- LCAG.

HMRC's reply letter to 2019 Loan Charge lobbyist

‘We want to help’ claims the Revenue, ‘but we can only help those who come forward.’

Should You Use Digital Marketing or Old School Marketing?

Cutting edge digital marketing techniques or on old-school strategies? What works? Both work well. Use them both.

Cutting-edge marketing techniques, based on the Internet, work well. Digital marketing has an enormous reach and its inexpensive. Meanwhile, old-school marketing, which existed before the Internet, still works today. But it is expensive, costing you more time and money. And it also has fewer metrics. making it difficult to target your ideal audience.

What are some good cutting edge marketing techniques?  The use of explainer videos, blogging,  and email marketing.  Meanwhile, some old school marketing strategies like trade shows, networking,  and print advertising continue to work their timeless magic.

Cutting-Edge Marketing Techniques

1. Explainer videos:

An explainer video on your homepage greets visitors when they land. It explains who you are and what it is that you do. It’s warm and welcoming and tells people if they are in the right place.

You can customize it any way you like. For instance, you can tweak the audio, visuals, or text until you get your message across.

Another nice thing about explainer videos is that you can share them on your YouTube channel. It’s a smart way to drive traffic to your website

2. Blogging:

Blogging allows you to share your knowledge.

As you blog, an interesting thing happens: you expand your knowledge. This happens because you will need to research your ideas. Then by explaining them, they become clear to you. So, think of blogging as a way to increase your skill sets.

Blogging may be one of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. By addressing readers questions, you are winning them over.

Blogging helps you build a relationship with your audience.  You will know what they think about your ideas and choice of topics based on their comments. This feedback loop can help you learn from any mistakes. You’ll also learn what people like and dislike and how to come up with more relevant topics.

3. Email marketing: 

Building up a subscriber base is a way to become a trusted friend. Instead of you hoping people will land on your website, you go to them, communicating on a regular basis.

Over time, you’ll build rapport. And, if you invite them to respond to emails, you’ll learn how to serve them better.

Old School

1. Trade Shows:

 Trade shows allow you to meet your customers face-to-face. You get to know them. You get a much clearer idea of your customer avatar.

Building your brand happens effortlessly at trade shows. People will learn about your brand and get to know more about your business.

Finally, you will understand more about the industry you are in and have an idea of where it’s trending

2. Networking:

Expand your influence by joining your local Chamber of Commerce. Also, consider service clubs like Lions or Rotary.

You’ll enjoy meeting with other business people. Over time, you will build a referral meant network. You can recommend customers to a complimentary business. They, in turn, will recommend you to their customers.

A little-known advantage of networking is serendipity.  You might find a mentor. You might develop wonderful relationships with a peer. You never know what might happen. You might even develop a wonderful partnership or get involved in joint ventures.

3. Print advertising:

This will work for as long as people continue to read newspapers and magazines.  Although you may believe that all your customers exist online, this is not true. Some people love reading newspapers and magazines.

What’s more, your advertising will stand out because there is far less competition.

Also,  you don’t have to worry about selecting your audience. They will self-select themselves. Only those who resonate with your message will read your ads. And a few will respond to your offer.

Choosing Your Marketing Strategy

How do you determine which marketing techniques your business needs?

The type of marketing you choose will depend on several things. It will depend on the nature of your business. It will depend on your budget. And it will depend on the medium your audience likes.

The only way to figure it out is to experiment. Then drop what doesn’t work and keep what does.

Holiday pay: a timely overview for contractors

Cases like Uber, Deliveroo and Pimlico are only the start of paid leave changing.

Contractors' Questions: Do new anti-money laundering rules catch my umbrella company?

Nothing for UK-compliant brollies to fret over, thanks to a tailor-made exception.

'Taxman likes to litigate, even in the face of defeat'

Even where its odds are poor, a revenue-led HMRC will still likely see you in court.

Contractors' Questions: Do new anti-money laundering rules catch my umbrella company?

Nothing for UK-compliant brollies to fret over, thanks to a tailor-made exception.

'Taxman likes to litigate, even in the face of defeat'

Even where its odds are poor, a revenue-led HMRC will still likely see you in court.  

Public sector contractors hit by 40-day wait to get paid

New payment terms slammed as ‘another nail in the public sector contracting coffin.'

For data contractors, AI is still in its infancy but its decade is here

There’s a crossover into Big and Artificial, yet today it’s ‘old’ Data skills which drive contractor demand.

NHS 'exploiting tax fears to make PSCs accept blanket IR35 decisions'

Contractors cowed to go ‘inside IR35’ by trusts threatening a one-two legislative punch.

Highly-skilled migrants fiddled tax returns to stay using Tier 1

‘Far from just erring on tax forms, applicants told a £10,000 lie to remain in the UK.’

'Define self-employment in wake of Hermes, Deliveroo'

Two cases of contractor mislabelling require a four-fold definition, says IPSE.

VATman hit for inability to say ‘yes, you’re right’

Officials not talking straight is adding to uncertainty for firms aiming for proper treatment.