The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) recently published proposals that may result in the introduction of tax withholding for so called ‘platform workers’, raising questions for companies and individuals who work in the sector - and potentially for those who are self-employed across the wider economy.

Platform workers are those who typically work on an ad hoc basis using some form of technology platform to secure work. High-profile examples are individuals who work for Uber and Deliveroo. There has been a spate of recent employment law cases involving such companies, focusing on whether the individuals should be deemed workers for employment law purposes. Being a worker (as opposed to being self-employed) means that the individual has certain entitlements, including entitlement to the National Minimum Wage, and paid holiday leave.