IR35 threatens UK’s £3.5bn plan to become tech ‘superpower’

After Mick Lynch criticized IR35 legislation for contributing to the strike that threatens the energy transition, the government has also been warned that mismanagement of IR35 is putting other major projects at risk – a plan announced in the Spring Manifesto to make the UK a science and technology great in the next decade.

In response to the planned industrial strike among North Sea workers, the General Secretary of the RMT, Lynch, He said “Imposing conditions such as IR35 on all offshore workers” is one of the factors leading to the strike, threatening the UK’s energy transition.

IR35 specialists, Holypraising Lynch for highlighting the issue and warning that the £3.5 billion the government has committed over the next 10 years to transform the UK into a “superpower” in science and technology is “money down the drain” if IR35’s shortcomings are not addressed.

In the Spring statementIt was announced that around £1 billion will be invested in developing the next generation of supercomputing and artificial intelligence research, with £2.5 billion being committed to the government’s ‘quantum strategy’, designed to bring in new investment, fast-growing business and high-quality jobs in the UK.

Seb Malli, CEO of Qdos, said: “Mick Lynch is right to stress the point – the government’s attitude towards IR35 and its handling could easily threaten the energy transition.

The same applies to the UK’s goal of becoming a science and technology superpower. Failure to address the fundamental flaws of IR35 legislation and £3.5 billion could be cliff money.

“IR35 legislation remains fundamentally flawed. IR35 reform has forced truly self-employed contractors to work without rights, while HMRC’s own tool for assessing the status of IR35 is hopeless.

What’s more, HMRC is double taxed IR35, which means business burnout if it is found to be non-compliant. Instead of encouraging companies to engage contractors, they do exactly the opposite.

“If organizations, including government departments, are not in a position to manage these rules properly—something that could be facilitated if legislation is truly fit for purpose—they lose access to highly skilled and resilient workers, who hold the key to delivering key projects.” .