I have signed up to a couple of agencies in the past (for which I didn’t get any work for) and they both mentioned a scheme whereby you can claim back certain things lik travel to work and also training and protective clothing from your tax. What’s this called? Do you hve to be self-employed for this? Anyway, I’ve been offered some work from Driver Hire and I haven’t spoken to the guys about it yet but does anybody here know if I can be part of this ‘scheme’ when ‘employed’ by them? Looking forward to your replies.
I used self employed status for weekend driving and have recently done my first self assessment. You cannot claim for travel from home to work, but can claim for uniform, training(DCPC?) and stuff like stationery.
They generally refer to these as a travel and subsistence scheme. HMRC have decided most of these schemes are illegal (ditto many ‘umbrella’ payment schemes). Reed employment was reported as having to pay back over £100 MILLION to HMRC through running one of these schemes.
In reality they are a salary sacrifice, where you’ll typically be about a fiver a week better off, whereas the agency will profit by five times that amount by reduced NI payments. Downside is if you come to claim any benefits in the future that are based on earnings, they will take the lower figure and you’ll lose out.
Anything an agency ‘offers’, is usually to benefit the agency… 
As you are agency without a regular place of work, you can claim 45p per mile travel to and from work, this covers allyour car costs (eg. insurance,tyres etc.) You can claim a food allowance of £5 for the first 10 hours and another £5 after. A clothing allowance of £110 per year and all training costs.
chooch:
As you are agency without a regular place of work, you can claim 45p per mile travel to and from work, this covers allyour car costs (eg. insurance,tyres etc.) You can claim a food allowance of £5 for the first 10 hours and another £5 after. A clothing allowance of £110 per year and all training costs.
That sounds good and what I was refering to. Are they other posters talking about something different? Will I be able to claim at any agency I work for…in this case…Driver Hire?
Be VERY careful about what you sign up to with agencies.
I’m sure that some agencies will try and wrok things out in order to benefit themselves but it looks like they’re being challenged for it. However, isn’t this a genuine gov scheme to help non-permanent staff? Has anybody successfully made us of this scheme?
Ive just gone PAYE to umbrella, my tax has gone down loads and income up by 100 quid a week.
Seems to be a variety of opinions on this here. Any more thoughts?
As chooch describes, 45p per mile can be claimed in travel expense. Can this be claimed against travel from home to agency place of work if I also have another job?
m_attt:
Ive just gone PAYE to umbrella, my tax has gone down loads and income up by 100 quid a week.
i am far better off too. With a DCPC receipt plus a couple of weeks usual allowances i actually got more in my bank than the agency paid NOVA
It seems tha some at least are benefitting from this type of scheme. 
KarlM:
As chooch describes, 45p per mile can be claimed in travel expense. Can this be claimed against travel from home to agency place of work if I also have another job?
I think so as we don’t have a regular place of work.
Ader1:
I have signed up to a couple of agencies in the past (for which I didn’t get any work for) and they both mentioned a scheme whereby you can claim back certain things lik travel to work and also training and protective clothing from your tax. What’s this called?
Tax allowances. Providing you meet the criteria everyone is entitled to claim them whether you’re employed on PAYE or self employed. Agencies lie and say you can only do it through an umbrella company.
Anyway, I’ve been offered some work from Driver Hire and I haven’t spoken to the guys about it yet but does anybody here know if I can be part of this ‘scheme’ when ‘employed’ by them? Looking forward to your replies.
They’ll want you to sign up as a Ltd company through an umbrella company and sign away your employment rights for an extra quid an hour. Tell them to sod off.
098Joe:
I used self employed status for weekend driving and have recently done my first self assessment. You cannot claim for travel from home to work, but can claim for uniform, training(DCPC?) and stuff like stationery.
■■■■■■■■. Unless you travel to a fixed place of work you can claim mileage.
m_attt:
Ive just gone PAYE to umbrella, my tax has gone down loads and income up by 100 quid a week.
You do know you’re actually worse off? All the things they put down you could claim yourself and then there’s the holiday pay you don’t get.
wow can some of the anti agency drivers take a day off from spouting crap?
the travel to work scheme is government approved end of! yes some of them went too far and messed it up for others and got punished for it.
ltd / umbrella is by far a better way to go (I work in recruitment but am also a driver) If I was going to work as a driver again I would go ltd/umbrella.
the amount of drivers who are paye and I have to ‘put’ their holidays through at the end of the year is frightening (especially the ones who work for 2 or 3).
as a driver I liked agency work (variety, flexibility to work when I wanted etc.) just a shame the gap has imo become too close now between full time wages and agency.
war1974:
wow can some of the anti agency drivers take a day off from spouting crap?ltd / umbrella is by far a better way to go (I work in recruitment but am also a driver) If I was going to work as a driver again I would go ltd/umbrella.
So, if you are being truly honest, you’ll no doubt now tell us about the benefits the agencies themselves benefit from pushing drivers onto umbrella or limited company schemes.
Apart from savings on processing payroll, there is also the fact that as a driver you would potentially end up with reduced benefits in the future if you are classed as ‘self employed’. This could be as a result of injury, or loss of license. You also of course have a ‘grey area’ as to liability if the vehicle or load is damaged or lost, which is not something that would arise as a PAYE employee.
If folks have any doubts about these schemes, a lot of the accountancy web sites will clarify the implications of these schemes.
The best of both worlds is probably to get all the claimbacks as if on umbrella, but then to be listed as PAYE and not pay any umbrella fees. 
I’m told that you can claim mileage as long as you don’t spend more than 40% of your annual hours at the same yard. Even a different yard for the same haulier constitutes a “different workplace”. Obviously, this means you MUST work for at least three client yards over the tax year. 30%,34%,36% at each of those three yards would ensure you get full mileage upto 12,000 miles I believe it is at present.
12,000 x 45p relief @ 20% base rate tax = £1080 a year better off you’d be in takehome pay. If you PAID for your umbrella though, you’d lose that gain in the damned fees over the year - so don’t go there. If they are like Nova or Depoel, then keep on walking… They charge a fortune, and try to justify it by claiming back extra stuff you should’t really be doing, such as unreceipted expenses in particular. It is these unreceipted expenses that land folk with a large back tax demand from HMRC after the year’s end… 
war1974:
wow can some of the anti agency drivers take a day off from spouting crap?
I’m not anti-agency. I worked for them for many years however they’re all now abusing the living ■■ out of self employment using it to get out of employment law, paying sick pay, holiday pay and employers NI and no that extra quid an hour doesn’t cover the cost. Worst still many agencies run the umbrella schemes themselves and charge far more than you would pay an accountant.
the travel to work scheme is government approved end of! yes some of them went too far and messed it up for others and got punished for it.
Its not a scheme, it is a tax allowance from HMRC for business travel.
ltd / umbrella is by far a better way to go (I work in recruitment but am also a driver) If I was going to work as a driver again I would go ltd/umbrella.
For you as an agency as it covers your backside. Sole Trader is perfectly good enough for most people. It has a lower administrative requirement than a limited company and the same allowances can be claimed. Umbrella companies benefit nobody other than the people running the scheme. Just out of interest how much extra do you pay your self employed drivers?
the amount of drivers who are paye and I have to ‘put’ their holidays through at the end of the year is frightening (especially the ones who work for 2 or 3).
Oh poor old you having to give someone what they’re legally entitled to. Why does the fact they work for more than one employer cause a problem?
just a shame the gap has imo become too close now between full time wages and agency.
A situation helped by agencies punting drivers onto Ltd/Umbrella and only paying a quid an hour more.
Personally I can’t wait for the whole agency “self employed” house of cards to come falling down. Not one single agency position for drivers meets the criteria for self employed status, not one of them. If they did then you’d accept sole traders. Every single one fails the “can send anyone you like in to do the work” test. I can guarantee that if your agency gave me a days work you would not allow me to send my friend in instead with me paying him even though I would be a Ltd Company. And for that very reason it fails the HMRC self employment test.
There’s going to be a lot of agencies getting some large bills from HMRC in the coming years and every one of them deserved. If you think having the drivers as Ltd/with Umbrella companies will save you it won’t as the IT sector found out several years ago.