Charles Marcus consultants have the Independence to choose their own assignments while benefiting from the Security of permanent employment. 

As highly skilled consultants they determine how to complete their work to the satisfaction of the client within the agreed deadlines. The task decides the location where the work is done, without the direction and control of the client.

They benefit from government incentives aimed at permanent employees. They have full employment rights including pension scheme, holiday pay and maternity or paternity pay. The salary level can be flexible by mutual agreement to build reserves for continuity of salary between assignments, thus maintaining the payment record for mortgage applications and credit score ratings.

Charles Marcus consultants are free to accept or decline any role available to them. There is no pressure to accept a specific role. They have their choice of where and when to work, or not to work. Several were employed by larger firms earlier in their careers. They gained valuable consulting experience. For some the experience became repetitive, reducing opportunities for growth. They chose independence, some returning to the same firm as before to contribute more skills from greater experience.

Many Charles Marcus consultants have relocated from their country of origin to widen their experience. They were often sponsored by Charles Marcus. Visa and work permit applications are part of a global approach to consultancy. The global network supports consultants working on assignments in different countries from the clients.

Charles Marcus is compliant with Government policy that every worker should be an employee paying PAYE in a payroll. Charles Marcus consultants have always been permanent employees in a payroll. Paying tax as income is earned is a principle of efficient tax collection.

Charles Marcus accountancy firm has been monitoring and predicting tax policy for 35 years to keep the consultancy firm compliant at all times. The aim is to anticipate change to become compliant with the new regime before it becomes compulsory.

It is in the nature of the governments to introduce initiatives intended to influence people’s behaviour. One example was to encourage artisans to start their own craft businesses. Perhaps the intention was to reduce unemployment. Many of them were advised to incorporate a limited company and pay themselves a salary. Dividends would be their reward for the risk involved. This small business movement of the nineteen eighties became a stampede in the nineties. People already in employment switched to a limited company becoming ‘off payroll’ of their former employer to benefit from the lower tax on dividends. As time went by, the tax benefit became described as tax avoidance. Legislation was hastily introduced in 2000. Generally referred to as IR35, it was largely ignored by the promoters, users and advisors, of what we now call PSCs, as various changes were made to the rules. The inevitable result had to overcome fierce resistance from all those who had benefited greatly. Charles Marcus gave advice to keep consultants compliant with each change, including the application of modified rules to the public sector in 2017.

In October 2019 Charles Marcus took a decision to focus on highly skilled consultants who would work on assignments outside the scope of OPWR. Consultants are asked to raise the Working Arrangements of potential roles at the start of any discussion with a client. These arrangements determine whether the role is under the direction and control of the client. A highly skilled consultant uses his or her skill and expertise to decide how the work should be completed to the clients’ satisfaction within the agreed deadlines. This is determined by a simple test created by HMRC, with suggested responses, to confirm that the role is out of scope of OPWR. Where OPWR does not apply, clients have no responsibility for the consultant’s remuneration arrangements, ‘IR35’ is not relevant to the fees paid to Charles Marcus for the work done.

Charles Marcus has a business to business relationship with clients to provide the services of consultants to complete agreed tasks. Receipts from clients are the fee income of Charles Marcus. The client has no liability for payroll taxes in relation to fees paid to Charles Marcus when the assignment is out of scope of OPWR.

Charles Marcus has an employer to employee relationship with consultants to provide such services as may from time to time be agreed. Payments to employees are made through payroll. All benefits for consultants, of which the source is their employment, are subject to ITEPA 2003, as amended by subsequent legislation.  

The two relationships are completely independent of each other as conventional, commercial arrangements. Employer and employee are free to agree mutually acceptable terms of employment, including salary, when the consultant is not working under the direction and control of the client, out of scope of OPWR. Consultants are entitled to all the employee benefits which can be provided, as appropriate to individual circumstances, to add value to the employment package.

Fee income, less overheads and employment costs, contributes to Charles Marcus reserves for future employment benefits and corporate profits. The flexible remuneration package allows the consultant to build reserves for future contingencies according to personal circumstances. All distributions from reserves are subject to tax as usual. Undrawn reserves become the retained earnings of Charles Marcus.

Transparency of financial information is provided in the consultant’s portal reports: Billing and Receipts, Employment Costs and Charles Marcus Reserves. Receipts from the client can be tracked to net pay and benefits.