NPA Essential
CEST review - have you received an HMRC letter?
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Contractors are advised to give this letter urgent attention
The NPA is aware that a number of members have received letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) asking business owners to complete a Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) review. The letter instructs the addressee to perform the online HMRC CEST review within 30 days.
This review is intended give you the view of HMRC on whether a worker (for example, a locum pharmacist) on a speci c engagement, should be classed as an employee or self-employed for tax purposes. If, from this review, your locum arrangements are deemed to constitute direct employment, this could have a considerable bearing on your national insurance contributions (NIC) and tax liabilities, past and present; in addition to the rights and bene ts to which that individual may be entitled for employment law purposes.
What should you do?
If you have received a letter from HMRC asking you to complete a CEST review, vplease give it your urgent attention. Before completing the CEST review, NPA members are urged to seek appropriate employment law advice from the Employment Advisory Service. Please note - whilst this will be able to provide you with advice on employment status, speci c tax advice is not possible.
Ellis Whittam, has also produced a "top tips" document for pharmacy employers to determine someone's employment status and what to consider in relation to locums, which is available on the NPA website.
NPA Employment Advisory Service
Telephone: 0330 123 0558 (please provide your NPA membership number to the advisor)
Email: employmentadvice@npa.co.uk (please include your NPA membership number in the email)
NPA resources
A standardised locum agreement form and guidance notes are available from the NPA. The NPA locum agreement form should be used by all NPA members whenever a locum pharmacist is engaged
by the business. You can download the NPA Locum Agreement Form and guidance notes from the NPA website (login required). Please note that a written document alone cannot determine status for tax or employment law purposes since you may also need to consider verbal and implied terms and the extent to which the written terms are followed.
A "locum pack" of resources is also available from the NPA website and include a Locum handbook.
Further information
The HMRC employment status manual provides brief information speci cally regarding locum pharmacists.