Staying compliant while scaling a flexible, freelancer-reliant workforce is one of the biggest challenges facing UK and global enterprises today. During our recent WorkSummit 2025 event, we convened legal, tax, and operations experts to discuss the evolving risk landscape surrounding Off-Payroll Working (IR35), misclassification, umbrella company regulation, and policy design.
As workforces become more agile and project-based, the panel emphasized that compliance can’t remain an isolated function. It must be embedded into hiring practices, supported by internal education, and, critically, strategically outsourced when operating at scale or across borders.
Key Takeaways
1. Blanket Bans Won’t Save You, But Policy Will
Many companies still react to IR35 risk by banning Personal Service Companies (PSCs) entirely. But as VaynerMedia’s Matt Burt noted, this tactic cuts off access to elite freelance talent, especially in creative industries, and damages your ability to compete. Instead, organizations should adopt structured, repeatable IR35 assessments that evaluate each engagement on its own merit.
“Don’t be scared of IR35. Just assess each engagement based on facts. Then sleep at night.” – Matt Burt
2. Hiring Managers Are Your First (and Often Only) Line of Defense
Freelancer engagements often begin with hiring managers, not legal or HR. That means compliance risk is born in fast-paced conversations, not formal procurement cycles. To manage this, companies must implement hiring manager education, guardrails, and triage tools (e.g. short questionnaires) to catch misclassification risks before contracts are signed.
“Training, training, training—especially for hiring managers. That’s what HMRC asks about first.” – Caroline Jones
3. Outsourcing Compliance Isn’t a Cost—It’s a Competitiveness Strategy
Operating compliantly in countries where you lack local presence or legal expertise is nearly impossible to do in-house. Outsourcing to expert partners brings consistency, audit protection, and enables global scale. With HMRC’s growing enforcement muscle, including 5,000 new compliance officers, external expertise becomes not just smart, but essential.
“You can’t expect internal teams to know every regulation. Outsourcing lets us scale into new markets with confidence.” – Matt Burt
Building Internal Governance
To build a resilient and audit-ready compliance program, organizations must move beyond ad hoc fixes and embed compliance into the core of their contingent workforce strategy. This starts with clear ownership and appointing a dedicated compliance lead, such as an Employment Status Officer, to drive accountability and consistency. Cross-functional alignment is equally critical; procurement, HR, finance, and legal teams must collaborate on shared workflows rather than operate in silos. Maintaining detailed audit trails and regularly revisiting employment status decisions ensures defensibility under scrutiny. Scalable tools like triage questionnaires and automation enable companies to manage risk efficiently without slowing operations. As Caroline Jones put it, “It’s not enough to have the knowledge in someone’s head. If that person leaves, so does your compliance.”
3 Changes Leaders Must Prepare For
Umbrella Company Liability Shift (2026)
Draft legislation expected in July 2025 could shift tax liability from umbrella companies to recruitment firms or directly to end clients. The full details are still pending, but the implications for hiring organizations could be significant.
“We just don’t know how dramatic the shift will be yet—but we know it’s coming.” – Rebecca Seeley Harris
Off-Payroll Working Thresholds (Effective April 2025)
While thresholds are rising, companies must remain under the limits for two consecutive years to opt out of IR35 obligations. If you plan to opt out in 2027–28, your strategic planning must begin now.
“It may feel distant, but 2027 implications need action today.” – Caroline Jones
Employment Rights Bill (Pending Legislation)
A proposal currently in Parliament could require organizations to provide notice or compensation for cancelled shifts for agency workers, and potentially even guarantee minimum hours.
“This would redefine how employers engage temporary talent across the UK.” – Fiona Coombe
Strategic Watch-Outs for Executives
- Misclassification inquiries can stretch for years and carry backdated liability.
- HMRC does not consider intent—only documentation, facts, and case law.
- Compliance is not just legal—it’s cultural. Hiring managers must know what not to do.
- “Statement of work” labels offer no protection if behaviors suggest employment.
Why This Matters Now
The UK compliance landscape is entering a phase of rapid enforcement and regulation. As enterprises rely more heavily on freelancers and borderless talent pools, they must transition from makeshift processes to scalable, defensible policies. Worksome’s panel provided a blueprint for how to move fast, without breaking things.
Panelists included; Matt Burt, Head of Operations & Business Affairs, VaynerMedia; Rebecca Seeley Harris, Founder, Re Legal Consulting Ltd, Caroline Jones, Employment Tax Expert and Fiona Coombe, Director of Legal and Regulatory Research, Staffing Industry Analysts, moderated by Colin McDonagh, Head of Enterprise Workforce Strategy, Worksome