APSCo meets with Treasury Secretary to share members’ IR35 concerns

With just weeks to go until the government’s consultation on off-payroll working in the private sector closes, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has met with both Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to share member concerns around possible changes to IR35 in the private sector.

In a meeting with Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, the trade association stressed the potential implications of implementing changes within an unrealistically short timeframe. APSCo has reported that the Minister seemed to take on board the need for any reforms to be as comfortable for businesses as possible.

APSCo also recently hosted working group meetings with over 50 members across three locations -London, Birmingham and Manchester - to gather views to inform its own consultation response and future lobbying activity.

The findings of these working groups were shared at a subsequent meeting arranged with HMRC, where government representatives heard directly from recruitment businesses about their experiences of public sector implementation, ongoing issues and concerns around proposed changes within the private sector.

APSCo plans to host meetings with end-clients in London and Manchester on the 2nd and 8th of August.

Commenting on the meetings, Samantha Hurley, Director of Operations at APSCo, said:

“Activity such as this offers the recruitment profession a vital opportunity to share valuable insights to help shape future legislation. The recent meetings with both HMT and HMRC were largely positive, and while there is, of course, a limit to the information that public bodies can share at this stage of a consultation, there seems to be a genuine desire to get this right.

“At the HMT meeting in particular, I think the point the Minister hopefully couldn’t fail to take on board was the need to give businesses, including those in the recruitment sector, enough time to properly prepare for any change.

“We work on behalf of our members and I’m proud that APSCo can be the conduit which enables the voices of professional recruiters to be heard at the highest levels.”

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Carly Smith
BlueSky PR
Carly@bluesky-pr.com
T: +44 (0)1582 790 708