Global IT business saves £200 Million in liability through IR35 compliance

The organisation turned to MBO Partners to ensure that they could get themselves compliant in advance of new IR35 deadlines in April of 2021, as well as create a working environment that would enable them to continue their successful utilization of independent contractors within the confines of the new legislation. MBO initiated their proven Discover, Design and Deploy methodology to establish the foundations of a successful programme.

During the Discovery phase, MBO conducted a gap analysis and reviewed the SOW structures for the company's independent contractors, more than 500 people in total, identifying where the responsibilities and potential risk IR35 liabilities sat within the brand's current supply chain.

MBO worked with the brand to evaluate processes and controls to determine and implement compliance with IR35, as well as a "future state" programme framework.

In the Design phase, MBO worked with the client team to create and update policies, processes and controls designed to drive compliance and delivered change management consultation to help support with the adoption of the changes. During the future state design, specific attention was paid to ensure to rectify the gaps identified during Discovery, such as how to properly identify which contractors would be engaged outside of IR35.

Deployment focused on the "human element" of implementation, ensuring that client stakeholders were best enabled to adopt, utilize, and champion the program. This included change management guidelines, full legal review, development of an internal controls process, and consultation on communication templates for both internal and external use.

Further, MBO personalised a structured communication plan and training protocol for all internal and external stakeholders to ensure they were aware of the changes at each stage and what they meant. Separate educational activities were also carried out for the independent contractors to make them aware of the changes and ensure the "user experience" was maintained.