Are there any agencies in the north east area which do not use umbrella or payroll companies to pay wages? Where I’d just submit an invoice at the end of the week or month like I do with my other clients and they pay up? I’ve only researched a few agencies but the few I’ve looked into all seem to use outside companies for wages which I’m not interested in. Any help is much appreciated.
Where abuts in North East are you 
as know most do but you have to tell them & prove that you are self employed
Who you looking at also some still pay PAYE
I’m based in chester le street. I’ve only looked at a couple but i thought it easier to find out who I can invoice direct before I contact them as going through an umbrella co is something i’d sooner avoid. Proof of self employment etc is no problem.
Pertemps, best connection 2 main ones who do.
to be honest its a fair few years since I was up north but north east workforce used to.
Try www.hireddrivers.co.uk. Offices in Gateshead and Northumberland. They are completely different to regular agencies. They pay decent rates 7 days on invoice. They also give practical skills training to newbies and increased skills training to existing drivers looking for a different skill set in logistics. E.g: Practical Tipper training, Walking floors, Bulk Haulage, heavy haul training etc, etc…
all agencies pay within 7 days of invoice. it pretty standard.
war1974:
all agencies pay within 7 days of invoice. it pretty standard.
Yes, you’re correct, most agencies pay Ltd and freelancers in seven days.
What I was meaning was that hired drivers actually take the time to teach drivers practical skills… E.g. Tipper drivers are in short supply in the North East, there is lot’s of tipper work available, but in 30 years of Class 1 HGV driving work, I’ve never operated a tipper!
Last October i was teamed up with one of their experienced tipper drivers, who showed me all the bits and bods and top tips that I needed to know but had no one to show me E.g. Correct tipping and loading procedures, using and adjusting load weighers, manual sheet operation, hydraulic fault finding and other tipper related problems… and I’ve been busy with tipping ever since… Even in Jan, Feb and March I worked every weekday, £10 per hour, 55 easy hours per week… £550 + VAT.
contractdriver:
Try hireddrivers.co.uk. Offices in Gateshead and Northumberland. They are completely different to regular agencies. They pay decent rates 7 days on invoice. They also give practical skills training to newbies and increased skills training to existing drivers looking for a different skill set in logistics. E.g: Practical Tipper training, Walking floors, Bulk Haulage, heavy haul training etc, etc…
I’d spotted an advert for them and was thinking of getting in contact so thars good to know. Thanks for the replies people, very helpful.
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AF1:
contractdriver:
Try hireddrivers.co.uk. Offices in Gateshead and Northumberland. They are completely different to regular agencies. They pay decent rates 7 days on invoice. They also give practical skills training to newbies and increased skills training to existing drivers looking for a different skill set in logistics. E.g: Practical Tipper training, Walking floors, Bulk Haulage, heavy haul training etc, etc…I’d spotted an advert for them and was thinking of getting in contact so thars good to know. Thanks for the replies people, very helpful.
Seems they only like Ltd. Co folks, though this doesn’t really seem to make sense?
Skilled Ltd company freelance and self employed Ltd company HGV drivers are always welcome.
NAS recruitment at Tursdale, near Bowburn services
Driveroneuk:
AF1:
contractdriver:
Try hireddrivers.co.uk. Offices in Gateshead and Northumberland. They are completely different to regular agencies. They pay decent rates 7 days on invoice. They also give practical skills training to newbies and increased skills training to existing drivers looking for a different skill set in logistics. E.g: Practical Tipper training, Walking floors, Bulk Haulage, heavy haul training etc, etc…I’d spotted an advert for them and was thinking of getting in contact so thars good to know. Thanks for the replies people, very helpful.
Seems they only like Ltd. Co folks, though this doesn’t really seem to make sense?
Skilled Ltd company freelance and self employed Ltd company HGV drivers are always welcome.
Why do you have to be a ltd company ■■? (I don’t understand this)
taz1972:
Why do you have to be a ltd company ■■? (I don’t understand this)
Trying to do arse covering with HMRC to try and escape being done for tax evasion. Don’t know why they think it’ll save them when HMRC come a knocking because it doesn’t matter whether it was a sole trader or Ltd Company when HMRC decide that the position wasn’t actually self employed.
Conor:
taz1972:
Why do you have to be a ltd company ■■? (I don’t understand this)Trying to do arse covering with HMRC to try and escape being done for tax evasion. Don’t know why they think it’ll save them when HMRC come a knocking because it doesn’t matter whether it was a sole trader or Ltd Company when HMRC decide that the position wasn’t actually self employed.
Is that because you would be working X amount of hours per week for the same company so you would be employed not self employed ■■ Think the only way round that would be to freelance for a few company’s ■■
Yes, that is correct.
Conor:
taz1972:
Why do you have to be a ltd company ■■? (I don’t understand this)Trying to do arse covering with HMRC to try and escape being done for tax evasion. Don’t know why they think it’ll save them when HMRC come a knocking because it doesn’t matter whether it was a sole trader or Ltd Company when HMRC decide that the position wasn’t actually self employed.
Isn’t it about time you gave it a rest with the whole Ltd Company/HMRC thing? You personally don’t agree with it and that’s absolutely fine - everyone is entitled to their opinion.
But… would all these agencies really have been allowed to get away with offering drivers the chance to work as a contractor/freelance driver/whatever you want to word it as…for so long without repercussions, many of these agencies are big national companies with numerous branches around the country who would have done their due-diligence and who would have sought legal advice and guidance from people who, with all due respect are more clued up on the law and what’s acceptable and allowed than you are.
No doubt you’ll shoot back with the argument that in the recent budget it was announced that the government were going to clamp down on tax evasion and to target these schemes, However when it comes to “these schemes”, there is no actual evidence that someone who contracts their service to an agency or company directly as an HGV driver is doing anything wrong, there is some minimal and basic information on HMRC’s website about self employment and whether you fall into the employee or self employed category but this can be interpreted in numerous ways and is subjective depending on individual examples. Ultimately it would be down to a case by case basis - there is no one example fits all here.
I was reading an interesting article in one of the broadsheets the other day about this (yes that’s right, a driver reading a broadsheet - I know!!) albeit it was about the construction industry but it was highlighting how since George Osborne announced his first crackdown on tax evasion 2 or 3 years ago, there has actually been a rise in the number of people operating as freelance contractors - surely if these people were doing something wrong there would be a slight decline if anything.
I would also hazard a guess that a lot of this crackdown is more aimed at the big multi-national companies who pay next to no tax compared to their profits rather than your one man band who still pays his/her fair share when put in perspective.
Go TMC… Top reply thanks for taking the time to put the reasoned argument up against the driver room rubbish.
That aside, I have just been reading the HMRC guidelines you quote as doing my year end and looking for a few more expenses to legitimately claim… In this process I have been looking at Private Service Company legislation and can see how it could be argued that it applies to me and i guess most of us in the same boat who post sensibly on here. Me, I am a road haulage company by definition mainly so i can claim the 10% on flat rate VAT.
I am starting to think i should go PSC to be clean. Any thoughts…
calsdad:
Go TMC… Top reply thanks for taking the time to put the reasoned argument up against the driver room rubbish.That aside, I have just been reading the HMRC guidelines you quote as doing my year end and looking for a few more expenses to legitimately claim… In this process I have been looking at Private Service Company legislation and can see how it could be argued that it applies to me and i guess most of us in the same boat who post sensibly on here. Me, I am a road haulage company by definition mainly so i can claim the 10% on flat rate VAT.
I am starting to think i should go PSC to be clean. Any thoughts…
Yes I felt I just needed to get my point of view across.
I can’t state with 100% certainty that I or any other person working through their own Ltd Companies won’t get deemed an employee should an HMRC investigation take place but I made ■■■■ sure I sought the advice of more qualified people than Conor on the subject to check the legalities of operating as such - This included 3 different accountants and also my local financial advisor was good enough to give me 15 minutes of his time free of charge.
I will add that any person working as self employed in whatever capacity in any industry or job is in theory at risk too, HMRC constantly shift the goalposts and they have no one definition that applies to everyone. I highlighted the point in that last post and I’ll say it again that it will ultimately come down to each individuals case in how they operate.
As for whether you think you’d be better as a PSC Calsdad then obviously I can’t answer that as I don’t know your exact circumstances and its down to you at the end of the day but I would say not to be put off by the scare-mongering on this forum and from the government, there is no evidence any of us are actually doing anything wrong presently.
I’ll let the powers that be decide if I am doing wrong or not but as far as I’m concerned I have covered myself and done all I can by the advice I took before becoming a Ltd Co. and will continue to operate as such until then.
My other big concern is some of the really scary stuff i hear about what other ltd company drivers are doing. This is what I believe in the end will eventually bring hmrc knocking on the door of those of us who are trying to interpret the rules with honesty and do our best to run within the (often vague) guidelines.
Most of the stuff i hear about is often done under the advice of an accountant, and in my interpretation clearly evasion. The majority of drivers i talk to are claiming £10 per day lunch allowance without the required dispensation, which from experience I know they wont get. There is definitely accountants and a lot of pretend experts knocking books up on the cheap.
As for the flipflops, they are just using the ltd registration process to get paid gross. I’m positive companies house will never see any accounts. When the company gets struck off they will suddenly disappear.
For me this is what will bring problems to those trying to do it properly.
I’ve spoke to a number of drivers who do the same thing i.e claim for food they don’t actually buy and various other expenses they are not entitled to be claiming. In my case I don’t actually claim a lot to be honest in that regard, fuel, the odd bit of clothing I have to replace once in a blue moon and little things like stationary. I don’t bother with food myself as I bring a packed lunch and the ingredients cost me under a tenner a week so its not worth it, I also don’t bother with things like mobile phone as I don’t actually use it for business use other than being texted my start times or the small % you are entitled to claim from your fuel bills for the home office. Thankfully my accountant is very good and not one of those who pushes me to claim everything including the kitchen sink - His attitude is if its not a genuine business expense, not worth while for the hassle you may get and what you will save subsequently or you have no receipt its not going through the books.
Maybe I’m under claiming from some people’s points of view but my attitude is I want to do things that I believe are right and proper in how I run my Ltd Company and only claim for things that have genuinely incurred a cost to myself from a business point of view. Bottom line again it comes down to interpretation about self employment or employee.
The scary thing I find is the number of drivers I speak to who set themselves up as a Ltd Co. because the agency told them too - they actually have no idea what operating as a Ltd Co. entails and how or why in their individual circumstances they are/aren’t better off than PAYE.