Hello, it's Anthony Chadwick here. I wanted to chat today about IR 35 in the veterinary profession, as you will, I'm sure, be aware, there are changes afoot, and so we need to look at ways of making that as easy as possible for all those people involved in the profession. For those of you who don't know me, I, I founded Webinar Vets 11 years ago to help veterinary education to become more accessible and affordable to vets across the world, and since that time, we've got over 70,000 vets and nurses in well over 100 countries using our training.
Less than 2 years ago I was in conversations with Ben Sweeney and in the end decided, we decided to buy Simply Locum, Simply Vets, which we, we renamed Simply Vets. And Ben left the company to pursue other interests recently, so I'm coming in to really move things forward with regard to the changes that are happening in the world of tax with the IR 35 rules. As well as running Simply Vets, we also have Wikiett, which is the student website, really it's an encyclopaedia for vets and but but well used by the students.
We have vets and vet students from all over the world using it and seeing it as a great resource. And then in the last 12 months as the pandemic has hit. We've been helping many associations and companies to run virtual conferences, something we've been doing since 2013 before that was really even a thing, so that's what we've been up to, but .
As well as helping in the education space, we also want to help make the the service industry work better and obviously that is the issue of having vets and practises and being able to bring them together effectively in recruitment, but also now with the changes in the law looking after vets and practises in in a payroll situation as well. So as I'm sure as you are aware, IR 35 is closing a loophole which allowed vets to be considered as self-employed even if they were working in the same practise for many years. The government has taken a view on this.
They want to raise more tax. I mean, particularly since the pandemic's happened, obviously we're heavily in debt, so they're looking at any ways that they can raise tax and and this will be a change which will mean that . Locums will be taxed at a different rate whether you you stay as a limited company or you become employed by somebody and that rate is going to go up, so there's nothing we can do about that, that is a change in the law which has come from the government.
And it impacts everybody, the, the big corporates have seen that, you know, they need to be compliant in this because if they're not compliant and don't pay the proper tax, it will fall to them before it falls to the vet who might have left the country or doing something else so so they've taken a very strong interpretation of it, which I think is probably the right one. It obviously impacts practises, you know, there are, a shortage of vets, and of course it impacts the vets who are working in several practises, perhaps never quite get round to doing their invoices, you know, they could be left out of pocket. So we wanted it simply that to find a solution which was fair and was also all encompassing because locums also need to be supported in their training.
And there's no real other solution out there that is doing that, so we wanted to come in with something that would really help. And, and with also that trust that we've gained from the 11 years we've been helping many of you with your training. So there are a couple of options.
There does seem to be some companies out there called umbrella companies which you can use again listening to who's out there, it seems to be a real mixed bag. I think you've got to be careful who you pick and most of them will charge for their services, so they will charge an average fee, which obviously you will have to pay if you are a locum. We wanted to really shake this up and and change it into something a lot more exciting for for the locums and what we've done is, if you're working at several practises, we would be your employer and we would collect those various invoices together for you from the from the practises and when that money had come in.
We would pay you, which is usually 15 days up to the end of the month when that payment has gone through, and we will do everything to make you tax compliant, because nobody wants to get a huge, huge bill several years down the road, which they can't afford to pay because they've spent their tax money. So we will also help with pension and holiday pay, which obviously doesn't happen at the moment for locums, so I think there are advantages as well as disadvantages with this system, and we are gonna offer some extra benefits as well. Joe at the moment at Simply Vets is taking a lot of consultations with vets and we're already, we've got a large number of vets and nurses already signed up for our, for our payroll system, where he can really see, you know, what is your best option if you're working for one practise, you do 2 days a week, somehow you'd be able to convince the Inland Revenue that you're self-employed through that system.
You won't be able to carry on doing that, but probably the easiest thing is just to be paid by your practise. If you're going to several practises or you move around a bit, so you're in one place for 2 or 3 months, then another place for 2 or 3 months, then you probably are better having this managed for you, because what you do best is going out and working in practises, and if you're not invoicing properly, you can be losing money that way. So Joe will help you with the consultation, see if you're the right, .
Person to to come and work with us on this zero hours contract, so what you work is what you're paid for as well as your holiday pay and your pension. We get you set up on our app, which helps you to put all of the work in. There's a job board on there to look at for the jobs that might be available, and you're able to start working right away.
The app does things like the time sheet, it allows you to put your own online profile down so that practicers can see who you are and you know, whether they're interested in employing you for a short period. It also includes an email and calendar so you can see that that's completely integrated with the app, you know, when you're working and when you're not, and as I've mentioned, it has a jobs board on it as well. So Just to say again is simply that we're fully IR 35 compliant, we pay your pension and holiday pay, there's additional member benefits that I'll talk about.
There's also a jobs board, and we also help you with your career development because some locums still need support in in areas to improve themselves, and we can look at that on a regular basis and see how we can. Help you, and of course there is no charge for working with Simply vets, so it is, it is free for you. So what can simply Vets do for you, so we're a payment provider as well as helping you to potentially find some work.
We link with the practises, we, we have many practises across the country who are linked with us, both through Webinar vet and Simplyett. And if you sign up before the end of April, we will give you 3 months of webinar vet for free. If after that time we see that you're doing at least 10 days a month of locum work, then we will allow you to continue to have the webinar vet membership for free.
If you are less than that, we will give you a discount, but you will have to pay for your webinar vet membership. So it's for those people who are doing kind of at least half time, and you should be able to, to get free membership of the webinar vet. If you sign up for us and stay for a year, we will plant a tree in your honour.
We're also looking at gym membership for all of our vets who are working at least 10 days a month. Obviously gyms are not open at the moment, but that is something that we're actively looking at. You also get a profile on the app, which is obviously helping you to get further work.
And we've been helping a lot of conferences this year and we will try our best to negotiate reduced rates for virtual conferencing and, and maybe also for physical conferences as and when they come back again. To give you an example breakdown, the way that we will be working it, there will be no reductions from your gross pay. So if you are charging £300 for a session.
We will then go to the employer and ask them for their employer's national insurance, the employer's pension. The holiday accrual, and then there is a a fee that goes to simply that that allows us to run the service, but that is charged to the practise. That means that a total practise invoice will be about 426 pounds, but you will get the gross pay of 300.
Obviously you still have to pay your national insurance and your tax, but you will have to do that anyway, wherever you are. So to reiterate, you've got Simply that's job board to find locum work, we'll help you with finding shifts with your approved practise, and once you've done that, you actually let us know that you've done that work, you get a time sheet that goes onto our app. We check the time sheets with the practise and get them approved, and then we pay you.
The month after all of those invoices have come in, so if you've got invoices coming in at the end of April, we will pay you sort of midway into May. I think it's a great system. It's something that we've really looked at.
Obviously as a vet myself, I'm very keen to look after the vets who are within our service as as locums and I'm really looking forward to welcoming you. We will be also doing personal development with one of our mentors. We also put you through.
A talent dynamic profile which helps us to get really clear what's the best sort of work for you and and how we can help you being really satisfied in your veterinary career. So we are really wanting to help to develop you as people personally and professionally as vets as well. So, really looking forward to bringing you on board and helping you to have a really satisfactory and.
And successful career, thanks very much, everyone.
