§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the costs for(a) employers and (b) employees in terms of (i) taxes and (ii) administrative and payroll costs, in the housebuilding sector of the ending of the self-employed status of construction operativesfor Inland Revenue purposes. [8321]
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 12 December 1996]: Self-employed status has not been ended for construction or building workers. As in all industries, whether someone is employed or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of the engagement. Contractors will continue to be free to take on workers as self-employed where the terms and conditions of the engagement reflect genuine self-employment.
§ Mr. WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many years construction operatives in the house building sector have been considered to be self-employed for taxation purposes; when, by whom and for what reasons the decision was taken to change that status; and if he will make a statement. [8322]
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 12 December 1996]: Whether someone is employed or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of their engagement. This has always been a matter of general law and applies in the same way to the construction industry as it does to all other industries. The primary responsibility for deciding employment status rests with contractors who engage workers. Construction industry representatives expressed concern about the difficulties sometimes met in establishing the employment status of those working in that industry and the implications of this for tax and national insurance. They asked for help with employment status in the industry. In response, the Inland Revenue and Department of Social Security published leaflet IR48, 'Are Your Workers Employed or Self-employed?2 This gives guidance to contractors to help them with the question of whether their workers are employed or self-employed.