Contractors - Do we have any rights?

[Migsy1]

I suspect not but wondering if anyone else can enlighten me. Along with numerous others, I have been working as a contractor for the Civil Service. Each contract lasts about a week and I have been working 2 weeks per month for them for the last 18 months after having received significant training for the work. We have received an email telling us that, as we operate through a limited company and take payments as dividends, the civil service will not offer us any more contracts as it could be against HM Treasury rules. We have no further information. Do you think I might have any rights or is there a way to defend myself? Thanks for any advice!!!

Sounds like they are concerned you may be seen as employees if this continues.

What rights are you hoping to have? You can't insist they give you more contracts if that's what you mean, unless you have some kind of agreement guaranteeing x amount with no provision for termination?

Do you work for anyone else as well?
I am a self employed freelancer and I can avoid what is ( or maybe used to be) called IR35 because I work for several clients. I have recently won a training contract and one of the reasons I got it was that I have other clients so they can genuinely claim I am not employed by them.
I suppose any government department has to be seen as squeaky clean.
As a contractor you don't have any rights I'm afraid.

I have lots of other clients so in my opinion I would satisfy IR35. I'm just wondering what we could do to resolve this issue. I don't think the Gov Department I'm working for quite understands what it is all about.

Having other clients is only one indicator. You could ask to discuss it further with your "manager" and see if you can reassure them, or find out where this directive has come from and explore that, but ultimately if they don't want to offer you more contracts they don't want to offer you more contracts.

I've asked HMRC to review my circumstances - I'll see what happens. It is just very frustrating as the client won't elaborate on what the real problem is so we cannot address it.

You should get your contract reviewed as there is other criteria apart from having other clients (my accountants offer this as a service when I signed up with them). Off the top of my head some of the main things are that you can send a substitute and that you are responsible for correcting your own mistakes. If you google IR35 it will give the criteria.

How you pay yourself from your own ltd company is no concern of your client as far as I know, but contracting through a ltd company is a bit of a loophole and known for being murky so maybe that is their concern.

I think you are right Peppermint I have asked HMRC to do an IR35 review for me - I'll await the outcome!