No. The IR35 changes introduced in April 2021 oblige end hirers to take ‘reasonable care’ when assessing IR35 status. If reasonable care has not been taken when determining a contractors IR35 status, then the end hirer may incur fines with HMRC.

IR35 legislation states that an end hirer must take ‘reasonable care’ in assessing all contracts, to establish whether the individual would be seen an employee when carrying out the necessary work. If they fail to take reasonable care, the end hirer will be responsible for calculating the deemed direct payment, paying it over and reporting the tax and NICs that result.