IR35 Quick Check — Simplified Risk Assessment

1. Do you have a genuine, unfettered right to send a substitute to do the work in your place (without the client needing to approve them)?

A genuine substitution right is the single strongest indicator of being outside IR35. If substitution requires client approval or has never actually been tested, it carries less weight.

2. Do you have full control over HOW you carry out the work (your methods, tools, and approach — not just what the deliverable is)?

High client control over how work is done points inside IR35. If you decide your own working methods and the client only specifies the outcome, that points outside.

3. Is there NO ongoing obligation for the client to offer you work, and NO obligation for you to accept it, between assignments?

Mutuality of Obligation (MOO) — a standing obligation to offer and accept work — is a prerequisite for employment. Genuinely project-based arrangements with no expectation of further work point outside IR35.

4. Do you provide your own significant equipment or tools to carry out the work (not just a laptop, but meaningful business assets)?

Providing your own major equipment (specialist tools, vehicles, machinery) points towards genuine self-employment. Using only the client's equipment and facilities points inside.

5. Do you bear real financial risk — e.g. a fixed-price contract where you absorb cost overruns, or liability for defective work?

Genuine contractors bear financial risk if a project runs over time or the client is unsatisfied. Hourly-rate arrangements where the client bears all cost risk are more consistent with employment.

6. Do you currently work for MORE than one client (or have done so in the past 12 months)?

Working exclusively for one client for an extended period is a significant indicator of disguised employment. Working for multiple clients simultaneously or in rotation points outside IR35.