ECH8028 - Working the Case: Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA)

See ECH8026 for the background to HRA 1998 and information that must be provided to the employer/contractor where a penalty affected by the HRA may have been incurred.

The advise can be provided at a meeting or in a letter (see below)

What you should say at a meeting

At the stage where it is clear that penalties are likely to be considered, you should

• draw attention to any clear errors established from the talk through, walk through or testing of the records
• tell the employer/contractor about the possibility of penalties and that they do not have to co-operate with the compliance check
• cover the same points as in a letter (see next paragraph) but do so in your own words
• • Note: If the employer/contractor says that they will not answer any questions you should also make them aware that formal powers can be used to obtain information required to establish any tax, National Insurance Contributions, Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions liability and its amount.

• issue factsheet EC/FS4, and
• • check that the employer/contractor understands, and explain again if they do not
  • invite the employer/contractor to explain the errors and make any further clarification or disclosures.

The notes of meeting should record what was said, and a copy should be sent to the employer/contractor ECH7270.

What you should say in a letter

If factsheet EC/FS4 and the potential for penalties are first mentioned in correspondence you should

• include this wording

Note: If the employer/contractor is represented you should send a copy of the letter to the agent.