Ascend People Solutions Ltd (company number 15145981), registered office 9 Ulysses Road, London NW6 1ED, VAT registration number GB 466 0827 74 ("Ascend", "we", "us", "our").
Questions about these Terms: assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk
Billing questions: accounts@ascend-people.com
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The IR35 Workbench Assessment is an online service, owned and operated by Ascend, that lets a contractor and the organisation engaging them work through an off-payroll working (IR35) status assessment together, and lets that organisation issue a status determination statement at the end of it.
1.2 These Terms govern every use of the Assessment service, by both parties to an assessment — the Contractor and the End Hirer — whoever starts it and whoever pays. They form a contract between Ascend and each User. They do not create a contract between the Contractor and the End Hirer, and they do not govern the engagement between them or with any agency in between.
1.3 Capitalised terms are defined in clause 22.
1.4 Please read clause 4 (What the service is and is not) before you start. In short: the End Hirer makes the status determination and issues the statement in its own name. Ascend provides the tool and, for borderline cases, a recommendation. Ascend does not make the determination and does not give tax or legal advice.
1.5 These Terms are for business use only. The service is not available to consumers. By accepting these Terms you confirm that you are acting for the purposes of a business, trade or profession — either on behalf of the organisation you name when you sign up or, for an Indicative Assessment under clause 2.3, in contemplation of providing your services through your own company.
2. WHO CAN USE THE SERVICE
2.1 The Contractor side. The off-payroll working rules apply only where an individual provides services through an intermediary — normally their own limited company (a personal service company), or a partnership or other intermediary within Part 2, Chapter 10 of ITEPA. The Contractor side of an assessment must therefore be used by or for such an intermediary (the Supplier), and the contract under these Terms is with the Supplier, not the individual Worker personally.
2.2 Where the off-payroll working rules do not apply. The off-payroll working rules do not apply to an individual who:
2.2.1 works as a sole trader — contracting directly, or supplied through an agency, with no intermediary company or partnership in the chain; or
2.2.2 is employed by an umbrella company, or is otherwise on the payroll of the End Hirer, an agency or any other party, so that PAYE is already operated on their earnings.
No status determination statement is due for that individual's current engagement. Such an individual may use the service only for an Indicative Assessment under clause 2.3.
2.3 Indicative Assessments. An individual within clause 2.2 may use the service to test how an engagement would be assessed if they provided their services through their own company (an "Indicative Assessment"). For an Indicative Assessment:
2.3.1 the individual contracts with us in their own name, in contemplation of setting up or using a company for their work, and confirms that they are not acting as a consumer;
2.3.2 the answers describe the engagement as it would operate through that company;
2.3.3 the result is indicative only. The Statement is headed "Indicative Assessment". It is not a status determination statement, it has no effect under the off-payroll working rules, it does not change how the individual is currently engaged or taxed, and the statutory disagreement process in clause 8 does not apply;
2.3.4 the End Hirer is not obliged to take part. If it does take part and signs, its signature records its view of the arrangements described and is not a determination under Chapter 10. A status determination statement can be issued only once the engagement actually runs through the individual's company, by a new assessment; and
2.3.5 the individual asks us to start the service immediately on payment and accepts that, to the extent any right to cancel would otherwise apply, it is lost once the assessment has been completed.
2.4 The End Hirer side. The End Hirer side must be used by a person authorised to act for the organisation that receives the Worker's services. That person confirms, by using the service, that they have authority to give the answers, confirm the job description and sign the Statement for that organisation.
2.5 Small End Hirers. The duty to make a determination and issue a status determination statement under Chapter 10 falls on the End Hirer only where it is a public authority, or a medium or large organisation, and has a UK connection. Where the End Hirer is "small" within section 60A of ITEPA and is not a public authority, Chapter 10 does not apply: the Supplier itself must decide whether the engagement falls within Chapter 8 (the original IR35 rules). The service asks the End Hirer whether it is small. Where it says it is, the Statement is headed "Status Assessment Record": it records the End Hirer's view of the working arrangements, it is not a status determination statement under section 61NA of ITEPA, the statutory disagreement process in clause 8 does not apply, and the Supplier remains responsible for its own determination.
2.6 Getting it right is your responsibility. The type of Statement produced depends on the answers each party gives about itself — whether the Contractor works through its own company, and whether the End Hirer is small. Ascend relies on those answers and does not check them. A Statement produced on an inaccurate answer about either party is not a ground for a refund.
2.7 We may decline to open, or may close, an account where we reasonably believe the registration details are inaccurate, or where clause 17 applies.
3. YOUR ACCOUNT
3.1 You sign in with your email address and a six-digit code that we email to you each time. There is no password.
3.2 Because the code is sent to your email, the security of your account depends on the security of your mailbox. You must:
3.2.1 use an email address that you alone control, and keep that mailbox secure;
3.2.2 never share a sign-in code or let anyone else sign in as you;
3.2.3 tell us immediately at assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk if you think someone else has accessed your account; and
3.2.4 keep your details accurate and up to date.
3.3 Bot protection. To protect the service from automated abuse, we use Cloudflare Turnstile to check that sign-ups and sign-ins come from a person, not a bot. You must not try to bypass or defeat this check. If the check cannot be passed — for example because of browser settings or a blocking extension — we may be unable to give you access until it is. How the check handles your data is explained in our privacy notice.
3.4 You are responsible for everything done through your account, and the organisation you act for is responsible for everything done by its people.
3.5 We use reasonable endeavours to keep the service available, but it is provided "as is" and "as available" except as these Terms expressly say.
4. WHAT THE SERVICE IS AND IS NOT
4.1 What we do. Ascend:
4.1.1 hosts a questionnaire for each party to answer about the engagement, and a place to upload the contract and job description;
4.1.2 scores the answers automatically against Ascend's documented assessment ruleset, the version of which is recorded against the assessment;
4.1.3 where the result is borderline, has an Ascend reviewer consider both parties' answers and the documents, and send the End Hirer a written recommendation (inside or outside the off-payroll working rules) with reasons — the Recommendation;
4.1.4 produces the Statement for the End Hirer to sign, and delivers it to both parties; and
4.1.5 keeps an audit record of the assessment.
4.2 What we do not do. Ascend:
4.2.1 does not make the status determination. The End Hirer decides and signs the Statement in its own name, whether the result was clear or borderline. Where we give a Recommendation, the End Hirer is free to follow it or not, and the decision remains the End Hirer's;
4.2.2 does not give tax, legal, accountancy or financial advice. The score, the Recommendation and the Statement are decision-support material based only on the information the parties gave us. They are not advice and must not be relied on as advice;
4.2.3 does not take reasonable care on the End Hirer's behalf. The End Hirer's statutory duty to take reasonable care in making its determination stays with the End Hirer;
4.2.4 does not decide disagreements. A Contractor who disagrees with a Statement takes it up with the End Hirer under clause 8;
4.2.5 does not provide insurance. The Fee buys the assessment service and nothing else — no IR35 insurance, tax investigation cover, representation in an HMRC enquiry or indemnity against any tax;
4.2.6 does not warrant any outcome, or that HMRC, a tribunal or a court will agree with a score, a Recommendation or a Statement; and
4.2.7 does not act as an employment agency or employment business and does not introduce or supply anyone to anyone.
4.3 Each party should take its own professional advice before relying on a Statement that affects how it pays or is paid.
5. HOW AN ASSESSMENT WORKS
5.1 Starting. Either the Contractor or the End Hirer may start an assessment. The party that starts it is the Customer and pays the Fee (clause 9). The Customer gives us the other party's email address, and we email that party an invitation. The invited party is never charged.
5.2 Invitations. We send the invitation once and retry automatically if delivery fails. We may, but need not, send reminders. It is for the Customer to give the correct email address, to make sure the other party expects the invitation, and to make sure it responds.
5.3 Questionnaires. Each party answers its own questionnaire and may add notes. You warrant that your answers and notes are true, complete and not misleading, and describe how the engagement works in practice — not only what the written contract says.
5.4 Documents. The Contractor uploads the contract for the engagement. The job description may be uploaded by either party and must be confirmed by the End Hirer. Documents must be in PDF or Word format and no larger than 10 MB each.
5.5 Both parties can see both documents. Every document uploaded to an assessment can be viewed by the other party to it. Before you upload, check what the document contains. In particular:
5.5.1 a Contractor's contract will often show the rate, fees and other commercial terms, and these will be visible to the End Hirer — including where an agency sits between the Contractor and the End Hirer;
5.5.2 you may redact rates, fees and other commercial terms that have no bearing on how the work is done, provided the terms that describe the working arrangements (for example control, substitution, financial risk, equipment and termination) remain readable;
5.5.3 you warrant that you are entitled to share each document with the other party, including under any confidentiality obligation you owe an agency or anyone else; and
5.5.4 you must not upload information about anyone's health, ethnicity, religion, political views, trade union membership, sex life or sexual orientation, or any criminal record. None of it is relevant to an IR35 assessment.
5.6 Using the other party's documents and answers. Whatever you see of the other party's documents, answers or notes, you may use only for the assessment, the engagement it relates to, and your own tax compliance. You must keep it confidential and not disclose it to anyone except your professional advisers, HMRC, a court or tribunal, or (for the End Hirer) any agency or fee-payer in the contractual chain that needs it for the off-payroll working rules.
5.7 Job description changes. The End Hirer may amend the job description within the service. The Contractor may accept or reject the amendment, and must give a reason for a rejection. If the Contractor rejects it, the End Hirer may revise it, revert to the original, or proceed with its own version. Every version is kept, and the Statement lists the versions used, whether the Contractor accepted them, and the Contractor's reason if not.
5.8 Scoring. When both parties have finished, the answers are scored automatically against the ruleset.
5.8.1 Clear result: the assessment goes to the End Hirer to decide and sign.
5.8.2 Borderline result: an Ascend reviewer considers both parties' answers and the documents and sends the End Hirer a Recommendation with reasons. Review usually takes up to three working days; this is a target, not a guarantee. Once sent, a Recommendation is final and will not be revisited. If new information comes to light, a fresh assessment is needed.
5.9 Signing. The End Hirer signs by typing the signatory's full name and job title and ticking a declaration that they sign on behalf of the End Hirer. That is an electronic signature, and the End Hirer agrees it is as binding on it as a handwritten one. The Statement shows "Signed electronically". The job title is recorded in the audit record but not printed on the Statement.
5.10 Delivery and sealing. The Statement is emailed as a PDF to both parties, with the documents used attached. It carries a digital fingerprint (SHA-256) so that any later alteration of the PDF can be detected. Each party should keep its own copy.
6. THE END HIRER'S OBLIGATIONS
6.1 The End Hirer must:
6.1.1 give its correct full legal name, because the Statement is issued in that name;
6.1.2 take reasonable care in making its determination, considering all the information available to it — not only the score or any Recommendation;
6.1.3 where it does not contract directly with the Supplier (for example where an agency is in between), give the Statement and its reasons to the party it contracts with, as the off-payroll working rules require. The service delivers the Statement to the Contractor and the End Hirer only; onward delivery down the chain is the End Hirer's responsibility;
6.1.4 where Chapter 10 applies, operate the disagreement process in clause 8; and
6.1.5 keep its own records of the Statement and the reasons for it.
7. THE CONTRACTOR'S OBLIGATIONS
7.1 The Contractor must:
7.1.1 give accurate answers and upload the contract that actually governs the engagement;
7.1.2 tell the End Hirer promptly if the working arrangements change in a way that could affect the determination; and
7.1.3 account to HMRC for its own taxes and take its own advice.
7.2 Where there is a Supplier, it warrants that it is not a managed service company within Chapter 9, Part 2 of ITEPA, and that the Worker knows about and has authorised the information given about them.
8. DISAGREEING WITH A STATEMENT
8.1 Where Chapter 10 applies, a Contractor (or the fee-payer) who disagrees with a Statement may make representations to the End Hirer under its client-led status disagreement process. The Statement explains how.
8.2 The End Hirer must respond within 45 days of receiving the representations, either confirming its determination with reasons or issuing a new Statement.
8.3 That process belongs to the End Hirer. Ascend does not receive, track or decide representations, and cannot amend or withdraw a signed Statement. A new determination requires a new assessment.
9. FEES AND PAYMENT
9.1 The Fee. The Fee for each assessment is £85.00 + VAT (£102.00 including VAT at 20%), unless a separate written agreement under clause 11 says otherwise.
9.2 Who pays. The Customer pays the Fee when it starts the assessment, before the other party is invited. The invited party pays nothing.
9.3 How. Payment is made through our payment provider, Revolut, by Pay by Bank or card. We do not see or store card or bank details.
9.4 VAT invoice. A VAT invoice is emailed to the Customer automatically on payment.
9.5 The Fee buys the assessment service only — including, where the result is borderline, the Recommendation. It includes no insurance of any kind (clause 4.2.5).
9.6 Failed or reversed payments. If a payment fails or is reversed or charged back, we may suspend the assessment. Please do not raise a chargeback for a Fee you think was charged in error — contact us under clause 19 and we will put it right.
9.7 Changes to the Fee. We may change the Fee. A change does not affect an assessment already paid for.
9.8 Waivers. We may waive or reduce the Fee for any assessment or group of assessments at our discretion. A waiver applies only to the assessment(s) it is given for.
10. REFUNDS
10.1 Fees are non-refundable, except as set out in this clause 10. The Customer is responsible for the details it enters, including the other party's email address, and for making sure the other party takes part.
10.2 If the other party does not finish. If the invited party has not completed its questionnaire within 30 days of the invitation being sent, the Customer may cancel the assessment and we will refund 50% of the Fee, provided the assessment has not been scored. The other 50% covers the work already done in setting up the assessment and taking the Customer's part.
10.3 Mistakes on our side. We will refund the Fee in full where you have paid twice for the same assessment, or where a technical failure on our side prevents the assessment being completed and we cannot fix it within a reasonable time.
10.4 No other refunds. We do not refund because a party gave inaccurate details, chose the wrong type of assessment, changed its mind, or disagrees with the result, the Recommendation or the Statement. The Fee pays for the assessment, not a particular outcome.
10.5 To ask for a refund, email assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk with the assessment reference. Refunds are made to the original payment method or, where that is not possible, by bank transfer to an account in the Customer's name, normally within 14 days of our agreeing the refund. A credit note is issued against the VAT invoice.
11. VOLUME AGREEMENTS
11.1 We may agree to supply assessments in volume, or at a different price, under a separate written agreement.
11.2 Where we do, that agreement governs the price, how and when payment is made, any prepaid credits, how long credits last and whether they are refundable. These Terms govern everything else about the service, including every assessment carried out under that agreement. If the two conflict on those commercial points, the separate agreement prevails.
12. OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
12.1 The service, and all intellectual property in it — including the software, the questionnaires, the assessment ruleset, the scoring logic, the Statement template and the look and feel — belong to Ascend or its licensors.
12.2 We give you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the service for completing assessments you are a party to, and to keep and use the outputs for your own records and tax compliance.
12.3 You must not copy, reverse engineer, scrape or try to extract the questions, scoring weights or thresholds; use the service to build, train or benchmark a competing product; share access with anyone else; or upload anything harmful, unlawful or infringing.
12.4 You give us a licence to use what you submit for providing the service, keeping the audit record, dealing with any HMRC enquiry and complying with law. We may use assessment data in anonymised and aggregated form to maintain and improve the service and its ruleset. We do not sell personal data and do not use identifiable data to train any general-purpose AI model.
12.5 We may use any feedback or suggestions you give us about the service, without restriction.
13. DATA PROTECTION
13.1 For the public service, Ascend is the controller of the personal data it holds about Users. When the other party to an assessment receives your answers, documents and the Statement through the service, it becomes a separate controller of that information for its own purposes.
13.2 Our privacy notice for the public service is at https://ir35workbench.co.uk/assessment/privacy and explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and your rights.
13.3 Each party must comply with UK data protection law in using the service, including in relation to any personal data of other people contained in the documents it uploads.
14. INDEMNITY
14.1 Each User will indemnify Ascend against all Losses arising from:
14.1.1 any answer, note or document it provides that is untrue, incomplete or misleading;
14.1.2 any upload it was not entitled to make, or any misuse of the other party's information in breach of clause 5.6; and
14.1.3 its breach of these Terms, fraud or negligence.
14.2 The End Hirer will also indemnify Ascend against any claim by the Contractor, an agency or a fee-payer arising from the End Hirer's determination, its handling of a disagreement, or its failure to pass a Statement down the chain.
15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
15.1 Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, under the indemnities in clause 14, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
15.2 Subject to clause 15.1, Ascend's total liability in connection with any one assessment, to all Users together, is limited to the greater of (a) the Fee paid for that assessment and (b) £1,000.
15.3 Subject to clause 15.1, Ascend is not liable for:
15.3.1 any indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profit, revenue, business, contract, goodwill or anticipated savings;
15.3.2 any tax, National Insurance contributions, interest or penalties assessed on or demanded from any person, however arising;
15.3.3 any loss arising from the End Hirer's determination, its decision on any disagreement, or the decision of any party to end, not offer or change an engagement;
15.3.4 any loss arising from inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information given by either party; or
15.3.5 any loss arising from one party's use or disclosure of the other party's documents or information.
15.4 Why liability is limited this way. Ascend does not make the determination, does not carry the statutory duty and does not receive the tax benefit of the engagement. The Fee is £85. A cap tied to the tax at stake would make the service uninsurable and unaffordable. The End Hirer carries the determination duty under the off-payroll working rules, and these Terms do not change that.
16. CONFIDENTIALITY
16.1 You must keep confidential anything about the service that is not public, including the question set, the scoring approach and the ruleset.
16.2 This does not prevent anyone disclosing their own Statement and its reasons to their advisers, the other party, anyone in the contractual chain, HMRC, or a court or tribunal.
17. SUSPENSION AND CLOSURE
17.1 You may close your account at any time by emailing assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk. Closing an account does not withdraw a signed Statement or entitle anyone to a refund beyond clause 10.
17.2 We may suspend access immediately if we reasonably believe you have breached clause 3.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6 or 12.3, or if a payment fails or is reversed.
17.3 We may close an account on 30 days' notice, or immediately for a serious breach, or if we stop providing the service.
17.4 On closure we keep the assessment record for the period in our privacy notice, because it is the End Hirer's evidence of reasonable care and may be needed in an HMRC enquiry. Clauses 4, 5.6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.4 and 20 to 22 survive.
18. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
18.1 We may change these Terms. We will publish the new version at the address above and give registered Users at least 14 days' notice by email of any material change.
18.2 The Terms that apply to an assessment are those in force when it was started. A change never applies to an assessment already under way.
19. COMPLAINTS
19.1 If you are unhappy with the service, email assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk with the assessment reference. We will acknowledge within five working days and respond in full within ten working days.
19.2 A disagreement with a determination is a matter for the End Hirer under clause 8, not a complaint about our service.
19.3 Billing queries: accounts@ascend-people.com.
20. GENERAL
20.1 Assignment. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms, including on a sale or reorganisation of our business. You may not without our written consent.
20.2 Subcontracting. We use service providers to run the service and remain responsible for them.
20.3 No employment or partnership. Nothing in these Terms makes anyone an employee, worker, agent or partner of Ascend.
20.4 Third-party rights. Each party to an assessment may enforce clause 5.6 against the other party as a third-party beneficiary. Otherwise, no one who is not a party to these Terms may enforce them. These Terms may be changed without anyone else's consent.
20.5 Entire agreement. These Terms and the privacy notice are the whole agreement between you and us about the service. Nothing excludes liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.
20.6 Severance and waiver. If a provision is invalid, the rest continues. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver of it.
20.7 Notices. We give notice by email to your registered address. Notices to us go to assessments@ir35workbench.co.uk, and formal legal notices also by post to Ascend People Solutions Ltd, 9 Ulysses Road, London NW6 1ED.
20.8 Events beyond our control. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
21. GOVERNING LAW
21.1 These Terms and any dispute arising from them (including non-contractual disputes) are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
22. DEFINITIONS
"Assessment" — one status assessment for one engagement, carried out through the service.
"Contractor" — the Supplier and the Worker together or, for an Indicative Assessment, the individual.
"Customer" — the party that starts an assessment and pays the Fee.
"End Hirer" — the organisation that receives, or will receive, the Worker's services.
"Fee" — the fee in clause 9.
"Indicative Assessment" — an assessment under clause 2.3.
"ITEPA" — the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
"Losses" — losses, liabilities, damages, costs (including reasonable legal costs), claims, fines, interest and penalties.
"off-payroll working rules" — Part 2, Chapter 10 of ITEPA and, where relevant, Chapter 8, with HMRC's guidance on them.
"Recommendation" — the written recommendation in clause 5.8.2.
"service" — the IR35 Workbench Assessment public service at ir35workbench.co.uk/assessment/ and any successor address.
"Statement" — the statement produced through the service and signed by the End Hirer. Where Chapter 10 applies it is a status determination statement under section 61NA of ITEPA; see clauses 2.3 and 2.5 where it does not.
"Supplier" — the intermediary through which the Worker provides services, being the Worker's own company, a partnership or another intermediary within Chapter 10.
"User" — anyone who uses the service, on either side of an assessment.
"Worker" — the individual who provides, or will provide, the services.
"Including" means "including without limitation". References to legislation include it as amended or re-enacted.
IR35 Workbench is a service of Ascend People Solutions Ltd.
Company number 15145981 · VAT GB 466 0827 74 · 9 Ulysses Road, London NW6 1ED