Services

Specialist

Tax

Employment Status
For many different reasons it is necessary to establish whether an individual is to be regarded as employed or self-employed working under a contract of service as an employee or under a contract for services as an independent contractor.

The relationship between a worker and an employer or engager may be questioned in the following circumstances: IR35, compensation for injury at work, payment of tax and national insurance, VAT, employment rights and insurance claims, amongst others.

Rebecca Seeley Harris LLB (Hons) LLM MSc is one of the leading legal expects on Employment Status. She has written an online book called the Employment Status Guide, lectures at the London School of Economics and at other conferences for IIR Ltd and the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW.

Rebecca also writes many articles on the subject for Butterworths Tolley journalsand AccountingWeb, and contributes to the Tax Faculty's annual Tax Planning guide, the Einstien Network's Finance and Accounting Channels amongst others.

Rebecca can be consulted on:
  • advice on employment status;

  • case law for the self-employed by industries;

  • preparation for tribunals and court;

  • contract reviews and negotiation; and

  • any other issues on the employment status of individuals.

IR35
IR35 was introduced by the Inland Revenue as an anti-avoidance measure aimed at countering the use of personal service companies (PSC) or the so called 'one-man' limited company. The PSC was a tax efficient way of providing services but, since April 2000 those working through PSCs have had to establish their employment status in order to decide whether the relevant contract will attract Schedule E tax and NICs liabilities.

The new rules only apply to work that would be regarded as employment if undertaken directly for the client. This applies whether the actual contract is direct with the client or through an agency.

Rebecca has been involved in the IR35 debate since 1999. She has written many articles on the subject and reported from the High Court and Court of Appeal on the Judicial Review of IR35.

Rebecca can be consulted on:
  • by independent contractors for contract reviews and negotiations with agencies and clients; and

  • by agencies and clients for advice, information, and contract drafting.
Schedule D
Rebecca specialises in the legal aspects of Schedule D. She lectures at the London School of Economics and writes for Simon's Direct Tax Service, Company Law and Insolvency and the Company Secretaries Review.

Specific subjects include, for example:
  • Schedule D Cases I & II;

  • Deductions from Schedule D;

  • Relief for claim for error or mistake;

  • 'Trading' - destination of profits, transactions, realisation and disposal of assets; and

  • 'Mutual Trading' and Discontinuance of Trade.
Contracts

Contracts are an essential tool for business but are all to frequently misused. Many contracts are 'cut & paste' or assembled by a manager who does not have specific training in contract law.

Even where a company has a contract drawn up by a solicitor, it may be that the peculiarities of the relevant industry are simply not understood. A contract does have to be legal correct but, if it does not deal with matters which arise within the specific industry it may expose the client to liabilities.

We can offer:
  • contracting drafting services;

  • tailored and template contracts;

  • contract reviews; and

  • training in contracts;
Legal Research

It is very often that a company or individual needs to know the legal implications of a project or subject that they are involved with. Whether it involves legislation or case law, it can be costly in both time and money to do the research yourself or even using a solicitor.

We can provide reports on legal subjects, including where necessary the practical implications. The cost of the report would be fixed from the outset so there are no expensive surprises later.
Training

Training can be conducted in the following subjects:
  • basic contract law;

  • specific types of contract in practice; and

  • relevant law that affects your industry.
Articles

Articles can be commissioned on the specialist subjects for newspapers, journals, websites, etc.
Lecturing

We can provide lectures on the specialist subjects for universities, conferences, and seminars.

Website Content

Many websites like to provide legal content, whether it is specific to their business or legal information in general.

We can provide legal content tailored to your needs. This may include:
  • general legal articles;

  • specific articles;

  • case law database;

  • current legislation and consultation documents;

  • legal checklists; and

  • links