Elmer van Lienen, Tax Partner at PKF Wallast, has written an article for leading accountancy publication, International Accounting Bulletin, discussing how to define a worker’s status for employment and tax purposes, and highlighting the issues that may be faced by the self-employed.

Introducing the piece, Elmer writes, “the issue of how to define a worker’s status for employment and tax purposes is not a new one – but it is one attracting more headlines as the weeks and months pass. In recent times, cases involving Uber drivers and Deliveroo couriers have filled business pages.”

Elmer then considers loans and furloughs for employed individuals during the pandemic and poses questions about how this situation affects the self-employed: “Simply put, if there are loans, grants and furloughing payment schemes for people that are employed, what about those that are self-employed? Will they fall through the cracks as far as support is concerned?”

He notes that businesses will need to better assess their workforce to provide flexibility, and that the issue as a whole “brings up a political, even societal, discussion: what kind of country – or countries – do we want to live in, and how do we see the future working lives of our people and businesses?”

Elmer goes on to suggest that organisations should work with government and regulators in order to produce coherent plans around the status of their workers, as more individuals are now providing contracting services on a self-employed basis.

“As we move to the next stage of rebuilding our lives, businesses and economies, then organisations should have, as a priority, a plan to create a stronger tax control framework,” writes Elmer.

The article concludes by expressing hope that the self-employed will be better understood and that companies may “even embrace the vital role they play in a modern, flexible and fast-paced economy”, as, for organisations, “putting a framework in place helps you consider all the stakeholders and the risk or opportunities for your workforce. Whether they’re employed by you, or working for themselves.”

Read the article (subscription required)
Find out more about PKF Wallast