what is dual representation

Judy S. DeLoache

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• Child Development
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Judy S. DeLoache is a leading expert on children’s behavior, and is renowned for developing the dual representation theory of symbolic development. Her work has greatly advanced the understanding of children’s memory and reasoning. In an early research program, DeLoache developed a paradigm in which she hid an object in a scale model of a larger room to see if children could use what they knew about the hiding event in the model to find a larger version of the object hidden in the comparable place in the room. She observed that children two and a half years old unexpectedly failed this task and concluded that the problem was not a failure of memory, but of symbolic understanding. This work led to her seminal 1987 paper on children’s symbolic functioning published in Science .

In yet another groundbreaking paper published in Psychological Science , she provided an important theoretical test of her dual representation theory. In the paper, she told very young children that she had a shrinking machine that could make a large room contract into a scale model of the room. Convinced that the small model was a shrunken version of the larger room, children two and a half years old succeeded in the hide-and-seek task. This famous article was selected by the Society for Research in Child Development as one of twenty studies that fascinated child psychology.

In another high-profile study, DeLoache found that infants learned no more words from a best-selling line of DVDs for babies than did a control group. She’s also studied other child development areas, including perception of photographs and learning from picture books. And perhaps most famously, her observation that children sometimes attempt to sit in the small furniture in her scale models led to another publication in Science, in 2004, documenting the existence of very young children’s scale errors.

DeLoache’s willingness to explore new research topics coupled with her keen sense of observation is visible in all of her work, and explains why she has been so prolific in various areas of research, including eyewitness testimony and humans’ common fear of snakes. Her impact on the field of developmental psychology will last beyond the scope of her career, and will continue to influence researchers young and old for years to come.

Just wanted to comment that your work is greatly appreciated by those of us who teach early childhood development; the clear explanations bring the theory to life especially for our associate level students. Thank you.

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DUAL REPRESENTATION

Dual Representation: An Emerging Framework for Understanding Human Cognition

Dual Representation (DR) is an emerging framework for understanding human cognition and behavior that recognizes both the conscious and unconscious components of cognition. This framework proposes that the two components of cognition interact in a dynamic and bidirectional fashion, with both conscious and unconscious processes influencing behavior. This article provides an overview of the DR framework and examines evidence for its validity. It also considers the implications of the DR framework for research, theory, and practice in the field of psychology.

Introduction

Human cognition and behavior are complex and multi-faceted. To understand these processes, many researchers have proposed different theoretical frameworks. Recently, a new theoretical framework has emerged that has the potential to further our understanding of human cognition and behavior: Dual Representation (DR). The DR framework proposes that cognition and behavior are the result of both conscious and unconscious processes that interact in a dynamic and bidirectional fashion. In this article, we provide an overview of the DR framework and examine the evidence that supports its validity. We also consider the implications of the DR framework for research, theory, and practice.

Theoretical Overview

The DR framework is based on the idea that conscious and unconscious processes interact in a dynamic and bidirectional fashion. According to the DR framework, conscious processes involve the active and deliberate manipulation of information, while unconscious processes involve the automatic and effortless processing of information. The DR framework suggests that these two processes are not mutually exclusive, but rather interact in a dynamic and bidirectional fashion, with both conscious and unconscious processes influencing behavior.

Empirical Evidence

There is evidence to suggest that the DR framework is an accurate description of human cognition and behavior. For example, research has shown that conscious and unconscious processes can both influence decision-making and behavior. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that conscious processes can influence unconscious processes, and vice versa. For example, studies have shown that conscious thought can influence unconscious memories, and unconscious memories can influence conscious thought.

Implications

The DR framework has important implications for research, theory, and practice. First, it suggests that both conscious and unconscious processes should be taken into account when studying cognition and behavior. Second, it implies that interventions should target both conscious and unconscious processes in order to produce meaningful and lasting change. Finally, the DR framework suggests that the study of human cognition and behavior should move beyond the traditional focus on conscious processes, and instead shift focus to the dynamic and bidirectional interaction between conscious and unconscious processes.

The DR framework provides a new framework for understanding human cognition and behavior. This framework suggests that cognition and behavior are the result of both conscious and unconscious processes that interact in a dynamic and bidirectional fashion. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that the DR framework is a valid description of human cognition and behavior. Finally, the DR framework has important implications for research, theory, and practice.

Dijksterhuis, A., & Nordgren, L. F. (2006). A theory of unconscious thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(2), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00012.x

Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality. American Psychologist, 58(9), 697–720. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.9.697

Kihlstrom, J. F. (1987). The cognitive unconscious. Science, 237(4821), 1445–1452. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3629462

Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84(3), 231–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.3.231

Smith, E. E., & DeCoster, J. (2000). Dual-process models in social and cognitive psychology: Conceptual integration and links to underlying memory systems. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4(2), 108–131. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0402_01

Related terms

Dynamic model, duty to warn, dysgrammatism.

DUAL REPRESENTATION

Being able to comprehend an object as itself and representing another thing. Also called dual encoding - dual orientation .

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Dual representation theory

Brewin et al. (1996) have applied Brewin's (1989) dual representation theory (DRT) to post-traumatic stress reactions in general and to PTSD in particular. This approach endeavours to circumvent some of the difficulties of single-level theories discussed above by proposing two levels in memory at which trauma-related information can be represented. The first level of representation is of the individual's conscious experience of the traumatic event. This forms what Brewin et al. have called verbally accessible memories (VAMs), characterised by their ability to be deliberately retrieved and progressively edited by the traumatised individual. VAM representations, it is

argued, as with Foa et al.'s fear network, comprise sensory, response, and meaning information centred on the traumatic event. The second level of representation proposed by Brewin et al. consists of what are called situational^ accessible memories (SAMs), containing information that cannot be deliberately accessed by the individual and that is not available for progressive editing in the same way as VAM information. In fact, SAMs, as the name suggests, are accessed only when aspects of the original traumatic situation cue their activation. DRT proposes that VAM and SAM representations are encoded in parallel at the time of the trauma and between them have the power to account for the range of PTSD phenomenology. For example, holistic, dissociative memories or "flashbacks" would be considered to be the result of the activation of SAM representations, whereas the person's ability to recount the trauma, for example in a therapeutic situation, would be a function of the accessibility of VAM representations. See Figure 6.10 for a schematic illustration of DRT.

Brewin et al. (1996) propose that successful emotional processing of VAM and SAM information related to the trauma may not always be possible. They suggest that in some circumstances, for example when the discrepancy between the trauma and prior assumptions is too great, emotional processing of trauma information will become chronic. Alternatively, emotional processing may be prematurely inhibited due to sustained efforts to avoid the reactivation of highly distressing information stored in VAM and SAM. In this situation, Brewin et al. suggest, there may be no active emotional processing, but the SAM information should still be accessible under certain circumstances and the individual is hence vulnerable to delayed-onset PTSD when those circumstances arise.

DRT offers a coherent account of the phenomenology of PTSD, and makes particularly clear statements concerning the more distinctive experiences such as flashbacks that traumatised individuals report. There is also considerable discussion of the various courses post-trauma, what Brewin et al. call the three endpoints of emotional processing, and the modi operandi of both cognitive and behaviour-based treatments are outlined in some detail. Finally, important processes such as attributions, social support, and attitudes to emotional expression are considered in tandem with the three endpoints of processing. One strength of Brewin et al.'s approach is the application of a coherent cognitive architecture which was developed as a general framework for understanding therapeutic processes (Brewin, 1989) to PTSD. It is

ENCODING IN VERBALLY ACCESSIBLE MEMORY (VAM)

INTRUSIVE MEMORIES AND EMOTIONS, SELECTIVE RECALL

TRAUMATIC EVENT

CONTENTS OF AWARENESS

ENCODING IN SITUATIONALLY ACCESSIBLE MEMORY (SAM)

FLASHBACKS > DREAMS

SITUATIONAL AROUSAL

Figure 6.10 A schematic illustration of dual representation theory a pplied to PTSD (based on Brewin et al., 1996).

perhaps too early to judge how much mileage the concepts of VAM and SAM will turn out to have, although Holmes, Brewin, and Hennessy (2004) have recently reported some interesting analogue-based support for the distinction. Some problems are immediately apparent; first, although credit is due to Brewin et al. for moving away from the single-level theories such as Foa et al.'s, VAMs and SAMs are still network-based representations, and the proposal of dual representations still leaves it unclear how higher-order models and assumptions about the world and the self might be represented (Dalgleish, 2004). Are these just one part of the VAM system? If so, then is it really true to say that the contents of such models are verbally accessible in their entirety? Furthermore, exactly how does the integration of information concerning the trauma into pre-existing VAM representations take place? And what functions do VAMs and SAMs serve in memory generally or are they merely systems for dealing with memory for emotional material? Overall, Brewin et al.'s ideas make considerable progress towards a coherent theory of mind which can account for the known variables of interest in PTSD; however, a number of important puzzles remain to be addressed.

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Readers' Questions

Why is it good that dual representation theory moves away from association?

The dual representation theory moves away from association because it provides a more comprehensive understanding of how children perceive and represent objects in the world. Here are a few reasons why this move is considered beneficial: Developmental accuracy: Dual representation theory acknowledges that young children develop the ability to mentally represent objects as separate entities, distinct from their appearance or physical location. This aligns with empirical research that demonstrates children's ability to recognize and mentally represent objects symbolically, even before they can fully understand the concept of symbolism. Cognitive flexibility: By moving away from a purely associative perspective, the dual representation theory highlights the cognitive flexibility in children's thinking. It recognizes that children can hold multiple mental representations of an object simultaneously, allowing them to understand and interact with objects in various ways. Problem-solving skills: Dual representation theory helps explain how children can solve problems and overcome obstacles in the physical and mental domains. By recognizing objects as independent entities with their own properties, children can mentally manipulate and plan future actions with those objects in mind, enabling more effective problem-solving abilities. Language development: Shifting away from a purely associative view to dual representation theory enhances language development in children. By understanding the symbolic nature of objects, children can attribute names and labels to them, facilitating the acquisition of language and communication skills. Overall, the move away from association towards dual representation theory enriches our understanding of children's cognitive development and provides a more accurate and comprehensive framework to describe their mental representation abilities.

Why dual representation theory the best method?

Dual representation theory is one of the best methods for learning from data because it allows for the representation of data in two different ways. This allows for better generalization of a model and makes the model more robust. Additionally, it allows for data to be better understood and interpreted, which can be beneficial when trying to extract meaningful insights from data.

What is the theory of dual representation of memory?

The theory of dual representation of memory is a cognitive neuroscience theory that posits that there are two distinct ways in which memories are represented in the brain: a short-term and a long-term representation. Short-term memory is thought to be stored in the neocortex and is a temporary, rapidly decaying form of memory. Long-term memory, on the other hand, is stored in the hippocampus and is thought to be a more stable and permanent form of memory. The theory of dual representation of memory helps explain why certain memories are more easily forgotten than others and why certain memories remain accessible for much longer periods of time.

Is the dual representation theory cognitve or behavioural?

The dual representation theory is cognitive. It proposes that children have two mental representations of a single object, one as a mental image and the other as a symbol or word. The theory suggests that these dual representations help children understand and interact with the world around them.

When is dual representation important?

Dual representation is important when it comes to comparing two different sets of data which represent the same underlying concept. For example, dual representation can be used to compare different levels of granularity in a dataset, such as comparing the total sum of a dataset over multiple days vs the break-down of the same dataset over individual days. By having both representations, it can help provide better insights into the underlying data.

Dual Representation

Definition: Dual representation refers to a legal concept where an attorney represents both the buyer and the seller, or landlord and tenant, in a real estate transaction. This type of representation can occur when there is a conflict of interest or both parties agree to the same attorney.

Explanation: In a dual representation scenario, the attorney has a responsibility to maintain neutrality and act in the best interests of both parties involved. This means that the attorney must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and obtain informed consent from both clients before proceeding with the representation.

Pros and Cons: Dual representation can be advantageous as it offers convenience and potentially lowers costs for the parties involved. However, it also poses ethical challenges as the attorney must balance the interests of both clients, potentially creating conflicts of interest or compromising the attorney’s ability to provide full advocacy for either side.

Legal Requirements: The rules regarding dual representation vary across jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions strictly prohibit dual representation, while others permit it with certain limitations and requirements. These requirements may include thorough disclosure, written consent, and specific documentation to ensure transparency and protection for both parties.

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What Is Dual Agency? Know When It’s Right, and When to Beware

Dual agency is a situation to describe when a real estate agent works with both the buyer and the seller. Most people familiar with the housing market know that a  buyer’s agent  works for the buyer, a  listing agent  for the seller, but there’s a third category that’s much more mysterious: the dual agent.

Dual agents, also known as transaction brokers, work for both the buyer  and  the seller, combining both roles into one. Buyers might stumble across this scenario when they fall in love with a home where the agent they’ve hired to represent them also happens to represent the seller. It’s rare, but it happens, especially in smaller markets where there aren’t a whole lot of properties to go around. Dual agency can also mean that the buyer and seller have separate agents at the same real estate firm, which most often happens with large brokerages with lots of listings.

Certain states (but not all) permit dual agency as long as it’s disclosed to both buyers and sellers. But is dual agency a good idea? Well, yes and no. There are both advantages and disadvantages to buying a house through dual agency. Here are the pros and cons.

Benefits of dual agency

Dual agency can certainly streamline the home-buying process. Think about it: If both buyer and seller have their own separate agents, there will be four people’s schedules that must be consulted before the property can be shown. Cut one agent out, and it makes scheduling 25% easier. Or thereabouts.

Another potential perk of a dual agent is it can save you on the  commission —the money home sellers pay their agent for all their hard work (typically 6% of the sales price of a home), which is then split with the corresponding buyer’s agent for all  their  hard work. A dual agent, however, keeps the whole kit and caboodle. (Good for them!) As a result, dual agents may be more open than usual to lowering that commission a bit.

Downsides of dual agency

A dual agent is supposed to be neutral, helping clients on both sides of the deal equally. But staying truly neutral can be difficult. For instance, since an agent’s commission is a percentage of a home’s sales price, it’s inherently in an agent’s best interest to get a high selling price, because he’ll make more money. That’s good for the seller, but not so much for the buyer.

Melanie Atkinson  of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, in Tampa, FL, points out, “Even if you see savings on commission, how do you know you wouldn’t have negotiated a better price if you had your own capable representation?”

Also, since a dual agent works for both buyer and seller, he must tread carefully not to betray the confidence of either party. So, he might stay mum about juicy tidbits that you might have more easily learned if you’d had your own agent in your corner.

For instance: A listing agent might know his clients are desperate to sell. If the buyer’s agent finds that out, he can inform his clients of their added negotiation power. A dual agent, on the other hand, might be compelled to keep mum about all personal matters.

“An example would be a buyer’s broker who may be aware of a divorce situation and may share that information to a buyer,” says  Joyce Mitchell  of Mitchell & Associates, in Bigfork, MT. “But a dual broker cannot share that information. As a dual agent, he/she can only address issues regarding the property itself and not the people or situations involved.”

When to use a dual agent

In states that allow this practice, agents are required by law to inform clients if they’re facing a dual agency scenario—and they can’t move forward without all parties’ informed consent. What’s more, both buyers and sellers have the right to opt out and use another agent so both parties have their own representation.

There are situations where using a dual agent makes sense.

“The best way to describe a transactional Realtor® is one who neither represents the seller nor the buyer but facilitates the documents necessary for the sale,” says Mitchell. “An example of that would be if you and your neighbor struck up a deal to sell your home and have already negotiated the terms, price, etc. You might want to use a transactional Realtor to assist both parties toward the closing.” (This is also a case where you may want to ask for a lower commission, since so much of the deal is already ironed out.)

Lisa Johnson Mandell is an award-winning writer who covers lifestyle, entertainment, real estate, design, and travel. Find her on ReallyRather.com

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Dual Representation

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Many immigration matters involve a situation referred to as “dual representation.” In the world of immigration, dual representation occurs when there is both a petitioner (U.S. employer or petitioning family member) and a beneficiary (the sponsored employee or family member). The matter is considered “dual representation” because the filing of any immigration paperwork has legal implications for both parties. In these situations, it is very important that both parties agree to dual representation. At Palmer Polaski , we believe that we can fairly represent both parties in most immigration matters. Common representation in this circumstance often is more efficient and may tend to reduce the expenditures for legal services.

In undertaking to represent both the employer and employee or a family petitioner and beneficiary, in applications to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Immigration Court and/or the U.S. Department of State, Palmer Polaski attorneys are required to keep each client adequately informed and to maintain confidentiality of information relative to the representation. However, any information either party reveals to Palmer Polaski during this representation cannot be kept confidential from the other party without both parties’ prior consent.

There is a possibility that, in the future, conflicts will arise between the petitioner and beneficiary over the nature of the representation, relationship, and/or employment. If a conflict should develop during the course of our representation, or if confidential information should be revealed which would affect our ability to continue representation of both parties, we may be forced to withdraw from representing either party in a dual representation case.

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Dual Representation

Immigration matters frequently involve a situation where dual representation occurs. In immigration matters, this most frequently occurs when both a petitioner (employer, or petitioning family member) and a beneficiary (the sponsored employee or family member) are represented by a single immigration attorney or law firm. Dual representation occurs, when the filing of an immigration matter has legal implications for both parties.

The majority of the time, the same immigration counsel can fairly represent both parties in immigration matters, and common representation is often the most efficient and cost effective. The opposite, having two firms file a single petition is cumbersome and inefficient and likely to lead to problems.

In representing both the employer and employee or a family petitioner and beneficiary, Brown Immigration Law is required to inform each client adequately and maintain confidentiality of information relative to representation. However, information revealed by either party cannot be kept confidential from the other party without prior consent from both parties. As such, it is important to understand that there is a possibility in the future that a conflict could arise.

In the event that a conflict arises or confidential information is disclosed that impacts our ability to continue to represent both parties, we may be forced to withdraw from representing either party in a dual representation matter. Further, we may have an obligation to disclose information to the dually represented party. Should you ever have a question regarding our professional obligations related to representation please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Computer Science > Machine Learning

Title: state-free inference of state-space models: the transfer function approach.

Abstract: We approach designing a state-space model for deep learning applications through its dual representation, the transfer function, and uncover a highly efficient sequence parallel inference algorithm that is state-free: unlike other proposed algorithms, state-free inference does not incur any significant memory or computational cost with an increase in state size. We achieve this using properties of the proposed frequency domain transfer function parametrization, which enables direct computation of its corresponding convolutional kernel's spectrum via a single Fast Fourier Transform. Our experimental results across multiple sequence lengths and state sizes illustrates, on average, a 35% training speed improvement over S4 layers -- parametrized in time-domain -- on the Long Range Arena benchmark, while delivering state-of-the-art downstream performances over other attention-free approaches. Moreover, we report improved perplexity in language modeling over a long convolutional Hyena baseline, by simply introducing our transfer function parametrization. Our code is available at this https URL .

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Help with football agents' fees and dual representation contracts

Published 13 May 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-with-football-agents-fees-and-dual-representation-contracts-gfc6/help-with-football-agents-fees-and-dual-representation-contracts

Purpose and scope of the guidelines

HMRC recognizes that dual representation contracts can be complex. The purpose of these guidelines is to set out our recommended approach to help customers pay the correct amount of tax.

These guidelines are for football agents, also known as intermediaries, and football clubs. They deal with football agents’ fees that are charged when a football player transfers from one club to another, or a playing contract is negotiated with their current club.

They may also be useful to:

• football players
• coaching staff
• professional bodies and advisers that represent and advise clients

These guidelines outline HMRC’s views on dual representation contracts by:

• helping clubs, players, coaching staff and agents understand approaches HMRC see as increasing or lowering compliance risk
• providing advice on the audit trails, evidence and documents that should be kept to support any tax position
• explaining HMRC’s view of the latest Football Association ( FA ) Football Agent Regulations which were published on 1 January 2024
• setting out any employment reporting obligations

These guidelines focus on the Employer Duties and VAT aspects of football agents’ fees and dual contract representation. They do not change our view of compliance risks in other taxes. 

For the remainder of this document any references to:

• ‘players’ also includes coaching staff
• ‘agents’ means football agents
• ‘club’ means the buying club, unless specifically stated otherwise
• ‘contract negotiations’ includes player transfers from one club to another or when a playing contract is negotiated with a player’s existing club

How to use these guidelines

You should read these guidelines alongside HMRC’s published guidance on:

• EIM01150 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries
• EIM01151 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: indicators of risk
• EIM01152 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: retention of records

They are not designed to be used in isolation and you should apply these guidelines to help make informed decisions, based on individual circumstances.

Following these guidelines will help to reduce your risk of making errors, therefore reducing the risk of any penalty charges.

Within professional football it’s common for football players to use the services of an agent. The services provided by the agent typically include the negotiation of an employment contract with a new football club or renegotiation of an employment contract with an existing club. This means football clubs are usually required to engage with agents if they wish to sign a particular player or renegotiate a contract with an existing player.

In contract negotiations, agents typically act on behalf of the players they represent, as their role is usually to negotiate the best possible contract and terms for the player.

Though the bulk of the agent’s services will generally be on behalf of the player, it may be possible for an agent to represent both a player (player services) and a club (club services) during contract negotiations. This is often referred to as ‘dual representation’.

In such cases, it will be necessary to allocate the agent’s fee between player and club services. This will reflect the extent to which the agent represented the player and the club, and how much of that payment applies to the services provided by the agent to each of them.

Normally, the club pays the agent directly for both the player services and any club services. The amount paid by the club to the agent on behalf of the player represents a taxable amount for the player.

HMRC often finds that not enough evidence of commercial justification has been provided to prove that any split in the agent fee reflects the actual facts of the case. In these instances we may need to have a more detailed review of arrangements to make sure that they accurately reflect the split in the agents fee.

HMRC’s view on dual representation contracts

Since July 2009, the Football Association ( FA ) Regulations have allowed dual representation by agents. This means an agent is allowed to represent both the player and the club during the same contract negotiations, provided that the representation arrangement is agreed to by all parties.

Whilst we recognise the concept of dual representation, the split of payment value of the agent fee between player services and the club services must represent the commercial reality of the services provided. HMRC does not accept a 50/50 split in agents’ fees as the default position — read EIM01150 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries .

Historically, football clubs, players and agents have provided us with interpretations of the commercial reality behind the roles and values of services supplied by agents to players and clubs. This is often with limited evidence to support those interpretations and tax positions.

In HMRC’s view, the football agent, who generally has an existing relationship with the player, is working in that player’s interest to place them with (or keep them at) their preferred club, and secure the player the best employment terms. In these cases, HMRC’s view is that the majority of the value of the services are being provided to the player.

A view often provided to us by agents and clubs is that by negotiating the contract between the player and club, the agent has provided a valuable service to both parties which justifies apportionment of the fee. HMRC’s view is that when a representation agreement exists between the player and the football agent, the agent primarily represents the player and acts in the player’s interest. The agent providing services to the player may be of value to the club, but it is not an automatic indicator of the agent providing services to the club.

We acknowledge that in addition to player services, other services may be supplied to the club by the agent. These services may take a number of forms, and clubs should keep evidence to support any amount attributed to club services. See EIM01152 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: retention of records and ‘Documents, evidence and record keeping’ for further information.

It is essential that any split in an agent fee must be based on the commercial reality of the contract negotiations. This is because the allocation of the agent fee between player and club services can have a significant impact on the liability to income tax, National Insurance contributions, and VAT liability and entitlement to reclaim VAT.

Consequently, fees for services which are wholly allocated to the club, or which are split in such a manner that the player portion is less than stated in the player-agent agreement, significantly increases the potential for an HMRC Compliance Check. EIM01151 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: indicators of risk provides further information.

The following tables illustrate the tax impact of an agent’s fee paid directly by a club to an agent, and how this differs if it is declared as club or player services.

The example assumes the agent and club are VAT registered and any club payment on behalf of the player is declared on a P11D and Class 1A National Insurance contributions are due.

Documents, evidence and record keeping

In certain circumstances, HMRC accepts there may be genuine dual representation. We expect parties involved in a dual representation arrangement to retain a comprehensive audit trail and documentation to demonstrate the true contractual and commercial nature of their relationships.

HMRC expects original documentation and evidence to be retained to support any claims of dual representation contracts and values of player and club services, such as:

• the player-agent representation agreement
• permission given by the club holding the player’s registration to the potential buying club to approach the player and their agent, when the potential buying club wishes to recruit that player
• the potential buying club’s initial approach to the player and the player’s agent, including any terms offered to the player and agent
• the agent to provide the club with services
• the specific services the club requires the agent to provide to the club
• the amount the club would be content to pay to the agent in return for those services
• the agent’s agreement to enter into a dual representation contract, including the types of services to be provided, the initial terms on which any such agreement was negotiated, and the final terms agreed —  this information should also make clear the valuation that the agent itself placed on its services to the player and club respectively
• the player’s agreement to enter into a dual representation contract
• the dual representation contract between agent, player and club
• the player’s agreement to enter into an employment contract with the club, including initial terms on which any such agreement was negotiated, as well as the final terms agreed

EIM01152 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: retention of records should also be referenced. 

HMRC would expect this evidence to be obtained before the agent provided their services to the respective parties. The player’s agreement to enter into an employment contract with the club is the only exception to this, as the agent will have provided its services to the player or club prior to that agreement occurring.

Sometimes we see dual representation documents that are dated on the same date as the player’s employment contract is entered into. HMRC view this as an indicator that dual representation or any values attributed to player and club services may not reflect the commercial reality.

Evidence should also be retained by the club and the agent to demonstrate that the agreed club services by the agent were actually provided by the agent. The evidence should show the services provided by the agent are consistent with what was originally agreed.

Evidence can include:

• meeting notes
• notes of telephone calls
• text messages (including messaging apps)

It is important that clubs retain all the evidence stated to support any tax position they take, to clarify the club’s view on any split of agent fee.

We’d expect the agent to separately invoice the player and the club. The invoices should include a detailed description of the services provided to each.

The types of services that we would accept as being club services can vary, and each case has to be considered on its specific facts and the evidence provided.

HMRC would expect dual representation contracts to be part of a club’s or agent’s internal tax assurance processes. We would also expect all parties to have confirmed with each other that they have given the same values to any split of player and club services when making returns to their respective tax authorities.

The amounts of outputs and output tax on the agent’s VAT return which relate to club services should match the amount the club has reclaimed on their VAT return, subject to the normal VAT rules.

Retention of Records

Clubs, players and agents must keep their records in line with the following HMRC guidance:

• CH14700 — Record Keeping: How long must records be retained for: PAYE and Construction Industry Scheme
• PAYE and payroll for employers — keeping records
• CH15000 — Record Keeping: How long must records be retained for: VAT
• Self-Assessment — Keeping your pay and tax records

As with any other business, we expect clubs, agents and players operating within the football industry to exercise reasonable care when entering into business relations or contracts with other companies and individuals. 

We would also expect them to fully co-operate to help identify any issues regarding the commercial reality of any transactions.

FA Football Agent Regulations — 1 January 2024

The FA Football Agent Regulations came into force on 1 January 2024. We expect all parties will follow these regulations.

These regulations do not impose any restrictions on agents representing more than one party during a transfer.

Neither is there any restriction within these regulations, on the amount a club may pay in respect of club services. HMRC do not accept a default split of 50/50 between club and player services. Instead, we expect evidence and commercial justification for payments made.

It should not be assumed that compliance with these regulations removes the need to prove to HMRC the reasoning and commercial reality behind how an agent’s services have been split. Clubs should be able to provide the original documentation to evidence the value of an agent’s services provided to them.

Before entering into a representation agreement, the agent must inform all the parties of ‘the full particulars of the proposed arrangements’, including the proposed fee to be paid by all parties to the agent.

Shadow agents, players on loan, family members and reporting obligations

Shadow agents.

We expect clubs to be certain of the services they are paying specific agents for and to be able to evidence this. Cases where payments are made to agents, who then immediately disperse the payment to one or more other agents, would increase the risk of HMRC compliance checks.

Where multiple agents are involved in a transfer or contract negotiation, the original documents should reflect the commercial reality of the situation, and not be prepared merely to satisfy industry regulations.

It is also important that any fees related to contract negotiations are described as such and not categorised as something else, such as scouting fees. We will critically examine such charges and services provided by football agents.

Players on loan

HMRC has identified that when a player is on loan, there can be confusion regarding which club (the parent club or the loanee club) is responsible for any employment reporting obligations, if the player’s agent’s fees are paid directly by a club.

The ultimate responsibility falls on the parent club to report this through normal payroll procedures.

To mitigate compliance risk, dialogue between both clubs is essential, to make sure that any taxable payments are provided to HMRC within reporting deadlines. 

Family members acting as intermediaries

HMRC are aware that football clubs may make payments to players’ family members, who state they are acting as intermediaries in player contract negotiations. These payments may be made directly to the family member or indirectly, for example, an entity controlled by the family member, or individuals connected to that family member.

If these payments are for services provided during the contract negotiations, then you should follow HMRC’s approach on dual representation as set out in these guidelines.

However, depending on the specific facts of each case, a payment to a family member may be a payment to induce the player to sign for a specific club. In this case, any payment to the family member would be taxable as employment income of the player.

HMRC may open a compliance check when they see payments made to a family member of a player to make sure that this represents a payment for services provided during contract negotiations.

If you have taken the position that a payment is for intermediary services provided during contract negotiations, you should keep detailed evidence which support the services that have been provided. There is further detail on this is in ‘Documents, evidence and record keeping’ and EIM01152 — Football clubs: payments to intermediaries: retention of records

Employment reporting obligations

If a player pays an agent’s fee directly (either personally or by a deduction from their net pay) and the club reimburses the player through an additional payment, this should be processed through the payroll (using Real Time Information) as payment of earnings and PAYE, and Class 1 National Insurance contributions paid.  

If a club pays the agent directly for the player services, the reporting method and whether Class 1 or Class 1A National Insurance contributions need to be paid will depend on the specific circumstances. 

Usually when an employer meets an employee’s liability this should be reported on a P11D or through the payroll if you payroll your benefits in kind and Class 1 National Insurance contributions are due through Real Time Information ( RTI ). However, this will depend on the specific facts of your case, and you should read the guidance to help you decide.

More information can be found at: 

• EIM00580 — pecuniary liability principle  
• EIM00590 — pecuniary liability principle: operation of PAYE manual  
• NIM02270 — Class 1 National Insurance contributions: Earnings of employees and office holders: Payment of bills manual  
• NIM13180 — Class 1A National Insurance contributions: liability for Class 1A NICs: establishing the contractual arrangements manual

What you need to do — correcting an error

Clubs and agents should use these guidelines alongside existing HMRC guidance to help ensure they are compliant with our view of the law and are able to report the correct split in agent fees for dual representation contracts.

It is anticipated that customers will use these guidelines to help them understand HMRC’s view on the split of agent’s fees between player and club services. This will reduce compliance risk and increase the likelihood of arriving at the correct tax position.

Clubs are asked to take relevant steps to correct any errors found following the use of these Guidelines for Compliance. This includes correcting errors in the current and past years. There are certain steps you need to take depending on the error.

Where customers fail to meet their obligations, they may be subject to penalties, interest or a combination of both.

If you think you may have failed to meet your obligations, read the  HMRC compliance factsheets on penalties  to find out about:

• penalties HMRC could use
• when these penalties may apply

P11D errors

The P11D process can be used to deal with errors identified before 6 July following the end of the tax year in which the player’s fees were paid.

If any errors are identified after 6 July following the end of the tax year in which the player’s fees were paid then the deadline for submitting a P11D will have passed. The following would need to be done to rectify the error:

if a P11D has been submitted, then an amended P11D should be filed with HMRC — you will also need to amend your P11D(b) to report any additional Class 1A National Insurance contributions — you must make any amendments online at ‘Expenses and benefits for employers: Correct an Error’

if a P11D was not submitted for the player then you should submit one as soon as possible — in addition, if you’ve not submitted a P11D(b), you should submit a P11D(b) at the same time — if you have already submitted a P11D(b) then you should amend this to report any additional Class 1A National Insurance contributions

You may wish to contact your Customer Compliance Manager ( CCM ) before taking any actions, if you have one.

If you need further information you can find details on how to contact HMRC in the ‘Further Questions’ section.

PAYE and National Insurance contributions errors

If you identify an error in your RTI you sent to HMRC you can correct this by either:

• amending your RTI records — more information on how to do this is included in ‘Fix problems with running payroll’
• contacting your Customer Compliance Manager ( CCM ) if you have one
• referring to the information in the ‘further questions’ section for details on how to contact HMRC

If you read these guidelines and realise that you should correct an existing VAT return follow the error correction notice steps outlined in VAT Notice 700/45 .

Voluntary disclosure

You may also make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC , explaining the errors and calculating the Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and VAT due. If you are making a voluntary disclosure after reading these guidelines, include the Guidelines for Compliance reference number (GfC6) as part of your disclosure. This will enable HMRC to evaluate the value of its education and support.

Further questions

If you have any further questions after reading these Guidelines for Compliance you can email [email protected] .

Make sure you include the Guidelines for Compliance reference number (GfC6) in the subject line, and if you have a Customer Compliance Manager ( CCM ) then copy them into the email.

Sending information by email carries certain risks and HMRC will assume that by sending information by email you understand and accept these risks.

Give feedback on these guidelines

We’ve created a survey to help measure your experience of this Guidelines for Compliance product.

We’ll use the feedback from this survey to:

• measure customers’ experience of using these guidelines
• understand where we make improvements to these guidelines
• improve future Guidelines for Compliance products

You can only use this survey to give anonymous feedback about these guidelines. Do not provide any personal data that might identify you, your clients, or any specific case or enquiry with HMRC. The survey is not a route to contact HMRC for specific enquires. The replies will not be seen by anyone responsible for dealing with your tax affairs.  This survey has been created in accordance with the HMRC Privacy Notice .

Complete the survey to provide feedback on these guidelines.

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