New tax, NI and pension rules

[K2]

Anyone up to speed with this lot?

I understand guys are taxed at source when using UK companies and agencies but we don’t pay NI, this is sorted by the individual if contracting, not sure about staff?

Now the new pension rule says companies and agencies must provide workplace pensions for guys too. I enquired about one and they will meet the contractor’s contribution but only if the worker is in UK waters or on a UK registered vessel. Last time I was in a company scheme the company paid into my pension regardless of vessel flag and work location. Seems some companies are arranging to do the bare minimum and avoid paying where they legally can.

Anyone else had dealings with these things?

Cheers

[James McLauchlan]

I’m sure many companies/agencies in the offshore industry are law abiding and operate within the law when it comes to such things.
There are also a few around that seem to believe that UK law does not apply to them, or the law only partially applies on a ‘pick and choose what they want to abide by’ basis. Recent legislation is however fast becoming a wake up call for those particular companies.

I fully welcome the fact that the law is being applied diligently to the complete O&G offshore sector, including agencies finally!

As I have mentioned in the past. This will likely result in the thinning out of the plethora of fly by night ‘make a quick buck’ type of agencies that have sprung up over recent years. New employment legislation will probably introduce financial overheads they will not wish to carry.

[James McLauchlan]

Anyone up to speed with this lot?

I understand guys are taxed at source when using UK companies and agencies but we don’t pay NI, this is sorted by the individual if contracting, not sure about staff?
Cheers

For staff on a UK contract I would expect NI to be deducted at source when working in the UK sector of the North Sea.

I also seem to feel (from what I have read) that these days to work offshore in the UK sector, through a UK agency, you need to be employed by a company (UK or overseas registered appears to be acceptable to HMRC). In which case it’s up to the company you are employed under to sort out any taxes due in the UK be they corporation, personal or NI contributions.

The company that employs you may be your own UK registered ‘one man band’ (or larger), an overseas company, or that of the agency placing you on an employment contract (in which you become an employee for a certain period) or direct employment with an ROV company (staff package).

All of the abive seem to satisfy HMRC that you, as an individual, are not trying to work in the UK under what they term as ‘false self employment’

In a nutshell, from what I can gather, HMRC see ‘false self employment’ as (for example) an individual (living anywhere in the world) heading offshore in the UKCS supposedly self employed but not paying taxes/NI (or equivilent) anywhere in the world.

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