英国内阁办公室已废除一个招聘平台，录得780万英镑的损失，同时披露了因处理合同工税务状况而面临的高达890万英镑的潜在罚款。该部门2025至2026年度报告称，公务员职位申请人追踪系统（ATS）项目——一项旨在建立跨部门统一招聘系统的中央政府计划——正在被关闭，以“配合政府共享服务战略”，该战略也由首相所在的部门管理。
The UK Cabinet Office has scrapped a recruitment platform, recording a £7.8 million loss, while disclosing a potential penalty of up to £8.9 million over its handling of contractors' tax status. The department's annual report for 2025-26 said the Civil Service Jobs Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Programme, a central government plan for a unified, cross-departmental hiring system, was being closed to "align with the Shared Services for Government Strategy," which the Prime Minister's department also manages.
报告称，砍掉该项目导致了780万英镑的“推定损失”。今年3月，英国国家审计署的一份报告称，ATS是共享服务战略中未能有效管理相互依赖关系的一个例子，该战略旨在将白厅各部门纳入一套共同的软件即服务（SaaS）企业应用中。内阁办公室的年度报告称，关闭该项目将允许开展一个更能与该战略相契合的新项目。
The report said axing the program resulted in a "constructive loss" of £7.8 million. In March, a report from the National Audit Office said the ATS was an example of an interdependency that has not been effectively managed in the Shared Services Strategy, which is designed to bring Whitehall departments onto a common set of software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise applications. The Cabinet Office's annual report says closure will allow a new project better aligned with that strategy. "The program consistently identified lack of adoption from shared services clusters as a risk.
报告称：“该项目一直将共享服务集群缺乏采用视为一种风险。在2023年至2025年期间的各个节点，一些共享服务集群对ATS项目提出了担忧，并表示他们宁愿使用自己ERP系统中的ATS功能，也不愿使用新的中央平台。尽管如此，内阁办公室并未尽早评估是否需要进行重组，这使得评估交付ATS的替代方案变得具有挑战性。ATS项目于2025年10月进行了重组。”
At various points between 2023 and 2025, some shared services clusters raised concerns about the ATS program and stated that they would prefer to use the ATS functionality of their own ERPs over the new central platform. Despite this, Cabinet Office did not assess the need for a reset as soon as it could have, which made it challenging to assess alternative options for delivering an ATS. The ATS program was reset in October 2025," the report said.
当时，内阁办公室估计项目重组的总成本将达到2600万至3800万英镑。年度报告估计，根据IR35编外工作规则，内阁办公室对未缴税款和国民保险的债务（包括利息）为3850万英镑。这些规则影响了许多通过自己公司工作的科技合同工。该部门在2026年2月支付了1500万英镑用于和解，年终时留下了2350万英镑的准备金。最终和解协议仍在谈判中。
At the time, the Cabinet Office estimated that the total costs of the program reset would be £26 million to £38 million. The annual report estimates the Cabinet Office's liability for unpaid tax and National Insurance under IR35 off-payroll working rules, including interest, at £38.5 million. The rules affect many tech contractors working through their own companies. It paid £15 million toward settlement in February 2026, leaving a £23.5 million provision at year-end. The final settlement remains under negotiation.
该部门还披露了英国税务海关总署（HMRC）高达890万英镑的潜在罚款，但认为支付的可能性不大，因为罚款可以在符合合规条件的情况下暂缓执行。
The department also disclosed potential HMRC penalties of up to £8.9 million, but considers payment unlikely because penalties can be suspended subject to compliance conditions.
报告称：“该部门已确定了一项关于英国税务海关总署对历史编外工作（IR35）合规情况潜在财务罚款的远程或有负债。2025年10月，英国税务海关总署得出结论，认为该部门的历史流程不充分，且未尽到合理注意义务，这可能会招致相当于扣除利息前的净税额15%至30%的罚款。”
The report said: "The department has identified a remote contingent liability regarding potential financial penalties from HMRC relating to historic off-payroll working (IR35) compliance. In October 2025, HMRC concluded that the department's historic processes were inadequate and reasonable care was not taken, which can attract a penalty of 15 percent to 30 percent against the net tax liability before interest."
IR35税务合规公司IR35 Shield首席执行官戴夫·查普林表示，英国税务海关总署的评估对政府核心部门的合规性提出了严重质疑。
Dave Chaplin, CEO of IR35 tax compliance firm IR35 Shield, said the HMRC assessment raises serious questions about compliance at the very heart of government. "The lesson for every organization engaging contractors is that claiming to take reasonable care is not the same as being able to demonstrate it.
查普林说：“对每个雇用合同工的组织来说，吸取的教训是，声称尽到合理注意义务并不等于能够证明这一点。IR35认定必须得到健全流程、准确信息以及规则已正确适用的证据的支持。弄错这一点可能会带来远超最初税单的后果。”®
IR35 determinations must be supported by robust processes, accurate information, and evidence that the rules have been applied properly. Getting it wrong can have consequences far beyond the original tax bill," Chaplin said. ®