Contracts claiming to avoid the IR35 go on sale

A number of companies are offering contractors IR35-friendly contracts, charging up to £200 for their services. But accountants are warning that the contracts could be a waste of money.

Barry Roback, director at accountancy firm JSA said, "It doesn't matter if someone has a whizzy contract between the contractor and the agency. The agency could have a contract with the client which details the contractor working on a nine to five basis under supervision, therefore implying that he is in an IR35 environment."

But the contract between the agency and the contractor is only one half of the equation according to Roback. "The agency needs to have a similar contract to the one that claims to avoid the IR35. No agency worth its salt is going to use a contract offered to it by a contractor."

The IR35-friendly contracts may help contractors with how they phrase their contracts in the future, but Roback advises that there are better ways a contractor can spend his money.