When the agency says inside IR35
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A blanket "we list everything inside IR35 now" is a commercial decision, not a legal determination — and it costs you ~25–35% of take-home. Your options, in order:
1. Demand the assessment
For Chapter 10 clients: the SDS with reasoning. "The agency decided" isn't a determination — the client takes responsibility. No SDS = their problem, not yours.
2. Challenge with evidence
Compare the SDS reasoning against the actual working practices: substitution rights, control, financial risk. Our evidence guide lists what counts. A one-page rebuttal citing the contract's own clauses moves many assessments.
3. Rerate
Inside-IR35 take-home collapses — so the rate should rise. Run the comparison with the calculator and quote the gap. Many agencies have a rate band for inside-vs-outside versions of the same role.
4. Walk
Supply exists — that's why this site exists. The live outside-IR35 board shows roles whose ads carry the evidence, and alerts surface new ones within a day.
The blanket-policy conversation
Ask two questions: "Whose SDS covers this role?" and "What working practices did the assessment consider?" Blanket policies fail the second question by definition — they never looked at practices. Calm, specific questions do more than any rebuttal: the agency's own compliance officer often overrides the resourcer when the SDS is thin.
What a good challenge looks like
One page: the SDS's stated reasoning, the contract clauses that contradict it, one line on actual practice, and the ask (re-assess or provide the client's direct contact). Attach the evidence checklist output from our guide. Success rates rise when the challenge offers a face-saving path ("happy to complete CEST jointly").
When walking beats fighting
Fixed deadlines, a compliance department that doesn't respond in a week, or an agency that conflates "umbrella only" with "inside IR35" — those predict the same friction at renewal and at payment. The board and alerts exist so the walk costs you a day, not a month.
Reading an SDS for weakness
Thin SDSs share tells: reasons that quote the contract but not the practices; "worker is controlled" with no specifics; a status conclusion with no factor-by-factor reasoning; the client's name missing. Any one of these defeats the reasonable-care defence that protects the liability chain — and is your opening. Quote the gap, offer the joint-CEST path, and set a one-week deadline before escalating to your fallback agencies.
The nuclear option, priced
Formal status disagreement (client review → HMRC) is available but slow; most contractors priced out of it prefer the market. That's a rational choice: the board refreshes nightly, and a competing offer re-prices the argument faster than any process. Escalate formally only when the engagement itself is worth the months.
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