Responding from one of the most vocal constituent communities, those concerned about Off-Payroll Working Rules (IR35), Seb Maley, CEO of IR35 insurance provider, said: “The new PM must deliver on her promises. This starts with IR35. (Ms) Truss has said she will review the IR35 rules, which are flawed and create big problems not just for contractors but also for the businesses engaging them. An independent review of IR35 that results in change must be prioritised – that is if the new PM genuinely wants to unlock the full potential of the flexible workforce.”

A Qdos poll of 476 contractors showed that 94% believe [her] pledge to review IR35 is an “empty promise”, Qdos said.

Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, said: “What has been a quiet period of legal change recently is about to become very loud as the new PM looks to deliver on her campaign promises.” He outlined changes to HR and employment law that Truss has said she will push forward.

• Within the first 30 days of becoming PM, she will introduce a new law on minimum staffing levels during strikes. The threshold will be set individually for each industry, including for transport, education, healthcare, postal workers and energy.
• Removing the right to paid leave to carry out trade union activities.
• Removing standalone diversity & inclusion roles in NHS.
• Reversing the National Insurance hike that was put in place to fund the NHS, therefore removing the requirement on employers/payroll teams to list this separately on payslips. Employers will need to adjust their payroll and payslips to reflect this.
• Reducing holiday leave for Civil Service staff from 27 to 25 days.

Price said: “How long these changes take to come into force and what help businesses will get in terms of cost-of-living and energy bills, remains to be seen.”

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