ECH13315 - Particular Occupations: Managed Service Companies - Role of the Service Company Units (SCUs)

The SCUs look at the activities of organisations that provide various forms of managed intermediaries for workers to operate through.

A single Managed Service Company provider may administer many thousands of companies for thousands of workers, and this provides a number of logistical problems for HMRC’s compliance effort. Compliance issues may concern many business streams, and also other government agencies. Different geographical areas may be involved with the same provider.

Where you identify or suspect that a business may be a Managed Service Company (MSC) please contact the relevant SCU (ECH13310) who will be able to provide advice on:

• MSC legislation
• interaction of MSCs with

• Agency legislation,
• Umbrella companies,
• IR35
• Employment Related Securities, and
• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

The SCUs’ role includes:

• gathering and disseminating intelligence on MSCs
• risk and research
• commissioning and ring-mastering compliance activity on MSCs
• directly pursuing MSC risks within existing enquiries
• liaison with other interested parties
• monitoring the impact and behavioural responses to legislation, including the MSC legislation introduced by Finance Act 2007 (Chapter 9, Part 2 ITEPA 2003)
• testing the effectiveness of the MSC legislation through compliance checks
• advising other stakeholders on the application of the MSC legislation.