A leading industry body is to bring forward concerns with pension reforms that could affect IT contractors with umbrella companies.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has announced that its primary concern with the government's scheme is the fact that it was designed for a primarily stable workforce.

Anne Fairweather, head of public policy at the REC, claimed that applying this system to more flexible areas of the labour market could present problems.

She said: "The fluctuations within the agency work market will present real challenges for professional recruiters who will be responsible for automatically enrolling and then possibly refunding workers."

Ms Fairweather added that the REC will campaign for a scheme to fit the agency market and a common start date, rather than a phased approach, to its implementation.

Earlier this month, HM Revenue and Customs announced that it would be running a series of tax courses for contractors designed to help them understand how the system operates.