Working practices in construction

How the work usually looks

• Site managers direct the sequence of work, and a subcontractor often decides how their own trade is done.
• Gangs and helpers are common, and a genuine subcontractor may send another qualified operative.
• Tools are usually the operative's own; plant and materials often come from the contractor.
• Pay by the day or the measure, weekly, is the norm; price work points further towards self-employment.

What tends to undermine self-employment

• Working to the client's hours, under a foreman, alongside employed staff doing the same job.
• No right to send a substitute, or one the main contractor would never accept.
• Paid by the hour with no risk of loss on the job.

Compliance points particular to the sector

• CIS applies to construction operations: verify each subcontractor with HMRC before the first payment.
• Deduct at 20% for registered, 30% for unregistered, or pay gross where HMRC has confirmed it.
• File the monthly CIS return and give payment and deduction statements.

Routes that come up

CIS, Direct PAYE for your own staff, PAYE umbrella, Irish PAYE, European managed payroll & EOR.

General patterns, not a decision about any one placement. Test the engagement itself against HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool.