Businesses across the UK are grappling with a shortage of drivers, which have made it increasingly difficult to ship goods to and from ports, stores and warehouses.

Although Covid and post-Brexit regulations are thought to be mainly to blame for this crisis, experts have said that IR35 has had a role to play as well.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates that the UK is short of more than 100,000 qualified HGV drivers.

Although the new immigration rules have made working in the UK less attractive and challenging, the chaos of the IR35 reforms in the private sector has added to the HGV crisis.

As with other sectors, the introduction of IR35 reform in April 2021 shifted the responsibility for determining a contractor’s tax status to the end client in the logistics industry.

As a result, many companies in the sector, including many agencies, placed all contractors inside IR35, leading many drivers to leave the industry.

In many cases, agency drivers or self-employed operators were handed an ultimatum, according to experts; either work on the payroll or have your contract cancelled.

In response, many drivers chose to vote with their feet and either moved to contracts outside IR35 or left the profession altogether, either through retirement or by retraining in another role.

This risk averse approach, which has been experienced in many different industries, seems to have led many businesses to lose contractors at an important stage of their recovery.

Experts have said that a change in strategy regarding IR35 may help to alleviate some of the pressures felt by drivers and encourage them to return to work in the logistics sector.

Andy Chamberlain, director of policy at self-employed trade body IPSE, said: “The changes to IR35 are the forgotten factor driving the HGV crisis.

“IR35 is evidently not the only factor involved, but as research from the Road Haulage Association has shown, it is a key factor for more than half of drivers who are leaving the industry.

“This cannot be overlooked. But sadly, as with so much else to do with contractors and the self-employed, that is exactly what government is doing yet again: overlooking this vital sector.”