How to work 3 days a week for a 55+ hour week payday

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

What you may not realise is, that when you have children, you used to get a higher tax allowance, instead of the normal 479 you used to get about say, 679, meaning you could earn £6790 tax free as apposed to £4790.
This was simply because of the cost of raising a child, if you have them you will know its not cheap.
If you are on a normal tax code of say 479 then you are earning £4790 a year tax free, so you are calling the kettle black, as you are already recieving handouts but dont see it in that way.
So they decided, that becasue people on higher incomes would benefit more from being able to earn more tax free, then they would scrap it, they changed it to child tax credits, a complete shambles in my opinion, however, based on what you earn they would calculate your tax reward.
So stop spouting the, im not spounging of the country line, because you obviously dont realise what its for and why its there.

If conor wants to do 3 days work a week i dont see why not, he is more than likely putting in 36 hours a week, which in most jobs other than truck driving, is not far off normal, so whos the mug, not him in my opinion …

22

gurner, is your post addressed to me??

paul

23

To you and anyone else who is knocking what he is doing.

24

Before I go any further, can I quickly point out that this is a reply from Lucy the member not Lucy the TruckNet UK Director/Mod. :grimacing:

Just a couple of points…

  1. National Insurance (which is the bit of our tax which covers Social Security) is just that, insurance, and like any other insurance you pay it in order to claim that money back when you need to for whatever reason. In that respect it is a savings scheme.

  2. If this was a case of someone wanting to take time off just because he didn’t want to work, then anyone knocking him would IMHO have a point. But he wants to spend the time with his kids. Our children are our future, and their youngest days are short and precious. Kids need to spend time with both their parents. If spending a good chunk of quality time with your kids means that they grow up to be happier, healthier adults that can surely only be to the common good?

It’s not being selfish. It’s having his priorities right, and in that I for one wholeheartedly applaud him.

25

gurner, i was’nt actually knocking him for what he is doing, its more than that, the government should’nt give our money away so easily, if he worked a 5 day week like most people, he would not need our money to top his wages up, then maybe the government could give a bit more to our older generation??
i just think that the system is all wrong, a couple who live near me, both work, yet they are also allowed to claim an amount equal to half there joint income! in other words, they are getting 3 wages!
lucy, does this savings scheme have paying in books, as id like to make a withdrawal?? :laughing: :laughing:

paul

no malice is meant in my posts, its just my opinion :wink:

26

flatbedman:
why dont you work a full week, then you wont need to claim working tax credits??

paul

Let me see:

Option 1)

Work 12 hours a day 5 days a week spending £30 a week on petrol to get to work and being too knackered to do anything. Take home £350 a week.

Option 2)

Work 12 hours a day 3 days a week spending £20 on petrol to get to work. Not knackered because I’ve not done anything. Take home £350 a week.

Whcih would you prefer?

27

lucy, does this savings scheme have paying in books, as id like to make a withdrawal??

If you are entitled to claim on your insurance, without it having any effect on your premiums or “No claim bonus”, why not go ahead and do so? :wink:

28

The three day week for me ended up being enforced rather than by choice at the start. Circumstances at home changed to the point where I had to give up the job I was doing because of the 65+hrs a week on nights it had got to and I needed Thursday and Friday off so I went back to agency work whilst looking for something else. I looked at Working Tax Credit because of the 60% drop in income between my last job and the 3 days a week wage the agency were paying.

I’ll be perfectly honest and say that I was actually shocked when I had put the forms through and they sent my my award notice. I even spent a while on the phone checking it was right! I then went through a few emotions, disbelief, shock, amazement and finally anger.

Like all of you, I’ve worked an average 55-60hrs a week for the last 11 years. I find it completely ludicrous that I’m actually getting the same money in my pocket now though wages and WTC/CTC as I would working 55+ hrs a week. That makes me angry. It makes me angry that our wages are so abysmal that you’re as well off living partly off benefits than slogging your guts out. for the stupid amount of hours we do.

So will I go back to working 55+hrs a week? In all honesty, no. The transformation in the kids and my home life is unreal. I honestly didn’t think the hours I used to do caused any problems but its only now after two months that I’ve seen how much it actually did. I’m going to stay put as I am now until the WTD kicks in next year then I’ll go onto 48 hrs and hopefully the industry will have entered the 21st century with the wages and I’ll actually not qualify for WTC.

As to how it works out at £18k? I have a wife and two kids. My income from the agency is expected to be around £12k which is what I’ve also declared to the Inland Revenue but there’s not alot of NI/Tax out of that compared to the £100 a week it used to be. I’ve been awarded roughly £3300 CTC and £3000 WTC.

29

lucy, what are you on about?

paul

30

conor, im not knocking what your saying, but id rather work for my money thank you.

regards
paul

31

flatbedman:
lucy, what are you on about?

Think about it…:wink:

32

flatbedman:
why dont you work a full week, then you wont need to claim working tax credits??

paul

I think you’re missing the point Paul!

33

state scroungers… hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm how many times have i heard this!

I’m a single mother, trying to bring my child up in a reasonable environment, working a full 50 hour week, caring for him and doing what i need to do to pay the bills. WITHOUT the working tax credits none of this would be possible, i.e the house etc because i simply couldn’t afford it. Yeah sure i could sit on my arse and do nothing and claim FULL DSS benefits but i don’t, i choose to balance a full time job aswell as being a full time mum. It really gets my goat that just because i claim WTC credit i would be seen as a scrounger. Come and live my life for a while and see who scrounges

:smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: a very angry and ■■■■■■ off tiggz

34

well put tiggz :sunglasses: :smiley:

jon

35

flatbedman:
conor, im not knocking what your saying, but id rather work for my money thank you.

regards
paul

To be honest, if things had been ideal at home I would have been doing a 5 day week. AS they are, I can’t so I have to do the best I can.

As it is, I’m still doing 36+ hrs a week so as a comparison to most of the country who work in “normal” jobs, I’m doing a full weeks work hours wise so I don’t feel guilty about it especially as I’ve worked pretty much without break since I left school. When I couldn’t find a job years ago I used to go up the local industrial estates knocking on doors looking for a job and when I knackered my back a couple of years ago and had an enforced break, I got back to work as soon as I could walk again so I’m not exactly a dole scrounger.

I do think it is sad that we have to do 55+ hrs a week to earn what the Inland Revenue regard as an acceptable income from work, i.e one that doesn’t qualify for WTC. I think it is disgusting that companies seem to be working on the “we’ll pay them pittance and the State will pick up the rest” premise.

Still, next year should bring a decent rise in wages.

36

Just a slightly pedantic point on the term “state scroungers” the state as such, is the ultimate scrounger, with menaces in fact e.g. taxation, (and if menaces sounds crazy, try not paying any tax) :smiley: as the state has no wealth outside of that. It is all our money they spend.

37

Excuse the bump on this but I was looking up some info on the WTD and this
thread caught my eye :slight_smile:

I agree with Conor wholeheartedly.

For the last twelve months I’ve hammered myself on nights working 72 hours over 6 days. Finish sat. morn and 1 sunday off in 3 (reduced 36 on the other 2 but after getting up sat. night I stay awake the whole night to be ready for sun. night start. Recently I’ve started to share the job doing two out of four weeks on it.

Why? Well, yes you earn the money but when do you spend it?
I work, sleep, eat and the pattern never ends. Hardly have any interaction with the kids at all to be truthful. Distinctly minimal I’d say.

No doubt many of you do just the same.

My only spare time is when my family is asleep sat. night. Every morning I get home to the same old tune of the missus tellin’ me how badly behaved the kids have been. I have quite a few :slight_smile: …but when I’m there, they’re as good as gold. The same scenario in fact as when I was a nipper and it was my dad coming home at night and me hiding behind the settee!

He was a real grafter, worked his knacks off. He cycled to work as well (didn’t drive). Being a second fixer, he went where the work was. Sometimes, I kid you not, he’d bike 30 plus miles to a job, do his toil, then the same again back home. That could last for months until the worked dried up on site.I never felt my dad wasn’t there for me though and I had a great childhood.

However, I buried him when he turned 50. It knocked me for six as you’d expect. As fit as a fiddle I thought, never smoke, the odd newcy brown… six feet under. Chances don’t look too good for me on 50 rollys a day :confused:

It’s made me sit up and take stock. I’ve been thinking for a while that I’m being taken for a [zb] so I went to see the gaffer the other day and asked him about the WTD as I wasn’t getting any feedback. He told me there was an opt out clause. I told him I wasn’t going to sign it.

I don’t intend to change my mind.

This week I’m on an easier job although on a smaller vehicle and I’ve got time to do things I want to do at last. I couldn’t be happier and I’ll hardly be worse off, if at all. I’m doing five full days but I can feel the relief that this week has brought me and no doubt that rubs off onto my family and contributes to a happy (well behaved!) unit.

Getting a bit off subject here but could somebody tell me if there is indeed an opt out clause of the WTD as I was under the impression that there was no escape from this one? …hence my search.

Right, off to work :frowning:

if you need to change the letter to get by the sensor it should’nt be there,jb :wink:

38

I’ve been following this thread for a while now and it appears to me with the introduction of the WTD a lot of us will be entitled to more money from the government, - if the pay rates stay S…imilar…(t)

Just look at it as an indirect government subsidy for the road transport industry and why not? The rail industry gets one.

Just goes to show what a zbeed up world we have created.

Well done Conor I think I’m going to look into this.

39

Was at a new customer for the agency. Went to give him my tachos and he said I’d need them to which I replied I was finished for the week so only needed the last one. He couldn’t get over the fact I only work 3 days.

Anyways, we got into a conversation about it all and this guy seemed very interested about it, asked about my reasons for doing a 3 day week and after digesting it all for a few minutes decided it was a good idea as he himself currently does 65+ hrs a week plus 1hrs travelling a day so knows the problems too well. He agreed the WTD might be a good thing although some drivers won’t see the non financial benefits, i.e home life etc, because they’ll be blinkered by wages.

And his job at this firm? Transport Manager.

There’s hope I tell you.

40

I must agree with a lot of the readings on this post, especially when working less hours for the same or more money (so whos the mug) then someone said about working all his life without a day off…very couragious…now let me tell you a story…a true one…but cut down to save space, worked all my life i`m 58 now…no days off sick…last year had 2 heart attacks…after 1st one managed to drive truck back to depot…then month in hospital…start claim procedure…boss says he cant afford sick pay (which is law anyway)…tells incapacity benefit office
(cos they suppose to pay instead if your boss dont and claim it back ) boss denies i worked for him for 1 year…benefit office declines claim because of said year N.I. contributions missing…turn out the boss was stopping contributions but putting them in his pocket…but you have to prove it…he denied my work otherwise he would have to pay…so social security gives me nothing. incapacity benefits…gives me nothing…all i have is tax credits which amount to £147 monthly… and child tax credit £30 week just been reduced because of overpayment…so dont tell me about the benefit system…asylum seekers…etc…get what you can while you can…for it may happen to you…and without savings to pay the bills…and a hard working wife who has supported me for the past year…i would be sunk…be warned…and claim what you are entitled to …if not someone else will because its there to be claimed…and dont blame the people…blame the system that gives more to foreigners that have paid not one penny…than to people born…bred…and paid into the system all their working life without taking anything out…and yes i am bitter…
have a nice day