heres a hypothetical scenario, if my pal covers me for a week say 6o hrs @ £8.00 per hour plus 3 nights out that means i pay him 60 x 8 = £480 plus 3 nights @ £20.00 per night = £60.00. so in total i pay £540.00 and thats not counting sat/sun working or tramping all week with five nights out so anybody that says £540 in there pocket for a weeks work is no good, needs there head examined. i think thats a reasonable wedge for a weeks work which incidently is not hard work some jobs never even having to get out and open the trailer
weewulliewinkie:
heres a hypothetical scenario, if my pal covers me for a week say 6o hrs @ £8.00 per hour plus 3 nights out that means i pay him 60 x 8 = £480 plus 3 nights @ £20.00 per night = £60.00. so in total i pay £540.00 and thats not counting sat/sun working or tramping all week with five nights out so anybody that says £540 in there pocket for a weeks work is no good, needs there head examined. i think thats a reasonable wedge for a weeks work which incidently is not hard work some jobs never even having to get out and open the trailer
But it isn’t ‘in your pocket’ is it?
You have to pay tax and NI on the £480. Which is around £375 take home if I’m not mistaken?
DonutUK:
weewulliewinkie:
heres a hypothetical scenario, if my pal covers me for a week say 6o hrs @ £8.00 per hour plus 3 nights out that means i pay him 60 x 8 = £480 plus 3 nights @ £20.00 per night = £60.00. so in total i pay £540.00 and thats not counting sat/sun working or tramping all week with five nights out so anybody that says £540 in there pocket for a weeks work is no good, needs there head examined. i think thats a reasonable wedge for a weeks work which incidently is not hard work some jobs never even having to get out and open the trailerBut it isn’t ‘in your pocket’ is it?
You have to pay tax and NI on the £480. Which is around £375 take home if I’m not mistaken?
If your se forget NI and PAYE you’d only have to deduct corporation tax and accountants fees assuming ur non VAT registered So it would be 490 - 500 in ur pocket
dont talk total crap man !
if you are self employed you might be a sole trader or even a partnership and NOT A LTD CO!
Our family haulage firm has been a partnership since the 1950’s and not a ltd co
ashe is self employed he will pay his ni cont 6 monthly and his tax after he has completed his yearly tax return, you are thinking of paye which is not the case here.
weewulliewinkie:
heres a hypothetical scenario, if my pal covers me for a week say 6o hrs @ £8.00 per hour plus 3 nights out that means i pay him 60 x 8 = £480 plus 3 nights @ £20.00 per night = £60.00. so in total i pay £540.00 and thats not counting sat/sun working or tramping all week with five nights out so anybody that says £540 in there pocket for a weeks work is no good, needs there head examined. i think thats a reasonable wedge for a weeks work which incidently is not hard work some jobs never even having to get out and open the trailer
Of course it’s a “reasonable wage” to YOU because you don’t have any of the employer responsibilities. Now try him paying him the same amount as an employee of your company and then come back here and call it a “reasonable wage”. I fear that you will get laughed out of the door.
If that was £540 after deductions as an employee then fair enough, that’s a fairly average wage for a tramper on the hours you’ve given, but it’s a complete joke as s/e. When you factor in the “perks” of SSP, holidays and other stuff from being an employed driver, imho you need to be charging out at a minimum of £3/hr more on the basic rate over what their employees get paid (ideally more) just to cover not having those luxuries. So basically for most parts of the UK if you’re charging out at any less than a tenner an hour you’re wasting your time as you’ll be worse off than an employed driver. So many s/e drivers don’t realise this either. They brag about how much more money they’re making by charging out at £9.50/hr while the company’s own drivers are on £7.50/hr when in actual fact the joke is on them. 
Rob K:
weewulliewinkie:
heres a hypothetical scenario, if my pal covers me for a week say 6o hrs @ £8.00 per hour plus 3 nights out that means i pay him 60 x 8 = £480 plus 3 nights @ £20.00 per night = £60.00. so in total i pay £540.00 and thats not counting sat/sun working or tramping all week with five nights out so anybody that says £540 in there pocket for a weeks work is no good, needs there head examined. i think thats a reasonable wedge for a weeks work which incidently is not hard work some jobs never even having to get out and open the trailerOf course it’s a “reasonable wage” to YOU because you don’t have any of the employer responsibilities. Now try him paying him the same amount as an employee of your company and then come back here and call it a “reasonable wage”. I fear that you will get laughed out of the door.
If that was £540 after deductions as an employee then fair enough, that’s a fairly average wage for a tramper on the hours you’ve given, but it’s a complete joke as s/e. When you factor in the “perks” of SSP, holidays and other stuff from being an employed driver, imho you need to be charging out at a minimum of £3/hr more on the basic rate over what their employees get paid (ideally more) just to cover not having those luxuries. So basically for most parts of the UK if you’re charging out at any less than a tenner an hour you’re wasting your time as you’ll be worse off than an employed driver. So many s/e drivers don’t realise this either. They brag about how much more money they’re making by charging out at £9.50/hr while the company’s own drivers are on £7.50/hr when in actual fact the joke is on them.
Gotta agree with the above. 10 quid minimum per hour S/E as the tax and NIC comes off that to give a fair wage.
shuttlespanker:
and, also, NMW is applied BEFORE any deductions
This is true. But there’s much more to look at, Here’s just a few:
£8.00 per hour minus vehicle depreciation, vehicle renewal, road fund licence, insurance, book keeping and visits to the accountant are all done in unpaid time, then there’s the MOT and repairs.
This has all to be factored in before you can calculate your true hourly rate. It will certainly be less than the NMW.
I’m a self employed driver and I’m not charging double figures but I make a reasobable living out of doing it as well as farm based work.
Here’s a question how much NI has to be deducted out of the 540 mentioned if the driver is a sole trader.
You have to remember that you are running a business and there for NWM and PAYE calculations go out of the window 95% of business owners. Actually earn much less than NMW as they reinvest the money to grow the business
from an employers point of view i cant accept that some people think £ 540 for a weeks work is not a good wage, and for the people that think this is before deductions dont understand how being self employed works. its simple there is no weekly ni/tax deductions you pay your class 4 ni contributions every 6 months then at the end of april fill in your tax return and then pay your yearly tax.
now as to the rates my mate charges me, personally if it was me i would be charging a little bit more but as i said previously i am not his only customer
nor am i his biggest customer, what i did say was he seems to do well out of it and hes no mug when it comes to money. what i do know is that he works at least a minimum of 5 days a week EVERY week and tells me he could not see himself being an employed driver again. if i offered a driver freelance or otherwise £540 for a weeks work, the way things are at the moment tell me honestly how many would turn it down ? if i went on the wannabee forum and offered the same would there be a nil response ? i think not. remember this was only an example weeks work my mate has earned more than £540 in a given week but im certainly not going to post it on a public forum. if you can earn £12/£15/£20 an hour freelancing then fair play to you but the op asked how much to charge and i gave 1 example and everybody seems to think its crap cos its ONLY £540 a week, but thats the way it is and i repeat he does quite well at his little one man business, and i get a reliable hard grafter and the work gets done with as little fuss as possible. i like this thread it shows the difference between an employees and an employers point of view, so keep it comming 
/
As a relief driver you should be offering at least parity in costs to that of employing somone, so that includes 28 days hol, so that is another 10% above the hourly rate that the original driver is getting that you should be charging.
weewulliewinkie:
from an employers point of view i cant accept that some people think £ 540 for a weeks work is not a good wage, and for the people that think this is before deductions dont understand how being self employed works. its simple there is no weekly ni/tax deductions you pay your class 4 ni contributions every 6 months then at the end of april fill in your tax return and then pay your yearly tax.
/
YOU are the one that doesn’t understand how it works. May I suggest you actually trying working as self-employed then you will understand why £540 is peanuts. You still have to pay NI and tax on your earnings and I’ve no idea what your point is that you only have to pay them at 6 months and 12 months respectively - is that supposed to make us feel better or something? But the main reason why you charge out at a higher rate is to cover the lack of SSP, holidays and not having the job security/perks that you would have as an employee.
aye right ye are rob, ive only been self employed since 1986 and i dont know how it works. do you want the phone number of hmrc in newcastle and they will explain to you how they collect ni contributions ? if you,ve ever used an accountant you would have filled in a tax return then recieved a payment return slip for your YEARLY business and personal tax thats due, but as usual you know it all and ive never made a profit in my life cos according to the business world of rob we are all running about for peanuts. you need therapy mate, as ive said to you in the past if you want to have a debate about running a transport business then bring it on, but then your the man that knows all about being an owner driver well prove to me you,ve done it then i.ll maybe take your ramblings seriously otherwise dont mock it if youve never done it.
Now i,m away to load a trailer with three drops in lancashire then a reload in mirfield, now that should earn me a nice little profit for 2 days work, see thats how it works rob loaded both ways quick turnaround then onto the next job while my other drivers away to neasden earning a GOOD wage for himself and more revenue for me, see rob thats how transport works but then you would know that being our resident business guru would,nt you. please forgive me if i dont accept your business methods cos i value my wee business and my reputation with my customers so i wont be joining THE ROB K HOW TO RUN A TRANSPORT BUSINESS CLASS anytime soon 
thank you very much, HOPE THIS HELPS
weewulliewinkie:
if i offered a driver freelance or otherwise £540 for a weeks work, the way things are at the moment tell me honestly how many would turn it down?
Each to their own I guess but I’ve just invoiced one of my clients more than that for 4 days work last week, the longest shift was 12 hours and I was home every night so I would have to be pretty desperate before I would take that for 60h plus 4 nights out…
Paul
Rob is right any self employed driver needs to factor in 4 weeks holiday pay plus a premium for the uncertainty of not working every day.
I’d rather have a decent wedge and pay what’s owed in tax than working cheap and try and save a few quid claiming for all sets of crap to earn what an employee does.
kr79:
Rob is right any self employed driver needs to factor in 4 weeks holiday pay plus a premium for the uncertainty of not working every day.
I’d rather have a decent wedge and pay what’s owed in tax than working cheap and try and save a few quid claiming for all sets of crap to earn what an employee does.
Don’t forget the bank holidays fella!! 5.6 weeks
WeeWullieWinkie, your fella only earns £540 because you’ve had him at it for 60 hours and taken the liberty of adding 3 nights SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE to make it seem like a reasonable amount. £8ph flat and £10/£12 weekend rates? You’ve got yourself a mug whatever you say.
jonw:
HI I DONT NO WERE TO POST THIS FOR ADVISE SO I JUST HOPE SOME ONE CAN GIVE ME ADVISE
I HIRE MY SELF OUT AS A FREELANCE DRIVER BUT WHAT DO I CHARGE TO FIRM WHO WANT TO HIRE ME TO DRIVE THERE TRUCK KEEPING IN MIND THAY WANT ME TO DO 10, 12, 15 HOUR SHIFTS SO WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD FEE WERE THAY CAN USE ME INSTEAD OF AGENCY RATE BUT WERE THAY ARE NOT TAKING THE ■■■■ I WOULD BE GRATFULL FOR YOUR ADVISE ON WHAT TO CHARGE.Hi I dont no were to post this for advise so I just hope some one can give me advise
I hire my self out as a freelance driver but what do I charge to firm who want to hire me to drive there truck keeping in mind thay want me to do 10, 12, 15 hour shifts so what would be a good fee were thay can use me instead of agency rate but were thay are not taking the ■■■■ I would be gratfull for your advise on what to charge.I fixed your Caps Lock for you. dd.
I’d set a rate per set day plus an hourly rate for hours over and above your basic day then have a rate for Saturdays, sundays and Nights. We have cover drivers round here who charge £100 a shift plus an hourly rate for hours in excess of 9 worked hours. Plus all weekend work is charged per hour.
Being self employed with no running costs, when you come to pay your tax etc you won’t have a lot to go against it other than work wear, meals and travel costs etc therefore if you sell yourself too cheap you might as well not bother. There’s plenty out there who will let you work for bugger all but I’d rather stay home than work for nothing, those days I hope, are gone.
BB
Hello and sorry for disturb…
I try to find a transport company,and i wonder if someone can help with a information about it.I have seen just Richard Fearn on back of the trailor,it has a nice Scania (blue)…and they make transport in Spain,France and Greece.
I am interested for this trips,special Greece,and apreciate if anybody can give a phone number or a contact.
Thanks again