Ive recently set up as a Limited Company and will hopefully be paying myself £156 per week and at end of the year if there’s any monies a dividend.
But ive got a few issues as I use to work as a Agency Driver Self Employed and got that extra £1 ph surely being Limited I can ask for a pay rise or is it best to just approach companies direct and under cut Agencies.
Im hoping to have a meeting this week with one of the Agencies Im currently working for as im a bit disgruntled at the rates and only getting paid for sometimes 6hrs when I know the Agency are charging client for 8hrs. Its also soul destroying that other drivers in the depots are getting paid more (different Agency) £9.50 ph and when they are on rest they are getting offered £25 ph to work a rest day.
Good luck with the agency, but think you’ll get nowhere. They set the rate and thats it.
I’m a sole trader and do a little bit for the odd firm, I charge £12/hrs mon - fri and £15 weekend and bank holiday. Depending on where you get your work from will also depend on how long it will take to get paid. I only work for OD’s and small firms, and luckily get paid the following week of doing the work, 2 od’s pay on the day I finish for them.
dc2010:
Hi Guys,
Ive recently set up as a Limited Company and will hopefully be paying myself £156 per week and at end of the year if there’s any monies a dividend.
I assume youve decided on that figure to keep you under the NI & PAYE thresholds Im also assuming that you are doing your own books and not using an umbrella payroll Co to do the invoicing etc.
Henrys cat:
Good luck with the agency, but think you’ll get nowhere. They set the rate and thats it.
+1
Pushing an agency for more £`s per/hr. is probably the fastest way of stopping your phone ringing, & not getting any more calls from them.
IMO even the more experienced drivers with specialist skills would struggle to get an enhanced rate from the agy.
Working direct for a haulier is possible, but only a very small percentage of Ltd Co driver will ever find work with the O/D`s & small companies.
Larger companies & multi nationals would probably not even consider you to work direct, as its far simpler for these companies to work with 1 or 2 agencies providing 1 invoice each to the accounts Dept., simplifying the management of the payments, and managing manpower via the agency, and ensuring that the labour supplier meets their criteria for insurance etc.
Ive seen many driver head down the Ltd co route (without doing their homework) with grandeur ideas of getting enhanced rates, & working directly for hauliers. Only to find themselves royally shafted by an agency for +£1 p/hr and O/D hauliers turning them away as the 100th Ltd Co driver whos approached them this year
But if the OP can managed to achieve what they set out to do in their post, I wish them luck
dc2010:
Hi Guys,
Ive recently set up as a Limited Company and will hopefully be paying myself £156 per week and at end of the year if there’s any monies a dividend.
I assume youve decided on that figure to keep you under the NI & PAYE thresholds Im also assuming that you are doing your own books and not using an umbrella payroll Co to do the invoicing etc.
Henrys cat:
Good luck with the agency, but think you’ll get nowhere. They set the rate and thats it.
+1
Pushing an agency for more £`s per/hr. is probably the fastest way of stopping your phone ringing, & not getting any more calls from them.
IMO even the more experienced drivers with specialist skills would struggle to get an enhanced rate from the agy.
Working direct for a haulier is possible, but only a very small percentage of Ltd Co driver will ever find work with the O/D`s & small companies.
Larger companies & multi nationals would probably not even consider you to work direct, as its far simpler for these companies to work with 1 or 2 agencies providing 1 invoice each to the accounts Dept., simplifying the management of the payments, and managing manpower via agency, and ensuring that the labour supplier meets their criteria for insurance etc.
Ive seen many driver head down the Ltd co route (without doing their homework) with grandeur ideas of getting enhanced rates, & working directly for hauliers. Only to find themselves royally shafted by an agency for +£1 p/hr and O/D hauliers turning them away as the 100th Ltd Co driver whos approached them this year
But if the OP can managed to achieve what they set out to do in their post, I wish them luck
Peirre is bang on with that post. The company will probably tell you what the rate is… take it or leave it and you will probably need a foot in the door first.
I did lots of limited company work as an engineer. The going rate was always +25%. For instance my last job was £13.96 but I was paid £17.45.
My understanding was that the extra 25% is made up of your holiday pay and NI payments that the employer would otherwise pay to the government on your behalf. Instead you get those NI payments, pay full NI on whatever the national minimum wage is then pay yourself the rest as a dividend which attracts no NI payments.
I might be missing something here but aren’t you getting robbed somewhere along the line if you’re only getting a +£1 increase for going LTD ?
I know nothing at all about these schemes.
just wondering if by paying himself £156 per week, does that make him eligible for benefits etc?
tax credits, housing benefit etc.
Not this particular member but in general.
I also imagine that any “dividend” at the end of the year will also attract tax so will even out the non tax throughout the year
Or does being a company director (as I imagine he will be) prevent you from making claims?
maybe getting this all wrong (probably am )
Not having a go at this particular driver but querying the system.
If the “Ltd Co” pays him £165 per week and then he claims benefits for low wages etc., and then goes on to pay himself a large dividend at year end (which would actually be the remains of the wages he hasn’t paid himself weekly), then as taxpayers are we subsidising him?
I imagine that the dividend will be taxable and so am not concerned about the tax implications, merely the benefits issue.
Also, if his Ltd co only pays him £165 per week is he limiting himself to working only around 26 hours (26x minimum wage), as working more hours would mean that the Ltd co would not be paying the min wage to him ?
Terry T:
I might be missing something here but aren’t you getting robbed somewhere along the line if you’re only getting a +£1 increase for going LTD ?
I’ve been telling them this for half a decade and they still haven’t worked it out.
del949:
maybe getting this all wrong (probably am )
Not having a go at this particular driver but querying the system.
If the “Ltd Co” pays him £165 per week and then he claims benefits for low wages etc., and then goes on to pay himself a large dividend at year end (which would actually be the remains of the wages he hasn’t paid himself weekly), then as taxpayers are we subsidising him?
I imagine that the dividend will be taxable and so am not concerned about the tax implications, merely the benefits issue.
Also, if his Ltd co only pays him £165 per week is he limiting himself to working only around 26 hours (26x minimum wage), as working more hours would mean that the Ltd co would not be paying the min wage to him ?
i think your wright about minimum wage, as he would be classed as an employee he would have to pay himself the hours he works and the amount of said minimum wage and pay tax and NI contributions
£6.19 x 40 = £247.60 (lees 13.21 tax and 11.83 NI) -25.04 = £222.56 (Sorry 2013/14 tax year rate used)
and if he works more than 40 hours he still as to pay each extra hour at NMW
minimum wage does not apply to a director, any dividend comes from company profit for which the ltd co has paid tax at 20% dividends are taxed at 10% i think it is but you are then given a 10% credit on the first 40k thus making them tax free to you but remember the company has paid tax on it.
dividends must be declared as income when claiming tax credits etc.
your mobile phone (contract, not payg) can be billed to the ltd co. along with other allowable expenses (travelling at 25p per mile etc.) so reducing company income hence less tax, the first £9k you pay yourself is tax free but is also an expense to the company so comes off the pre tax profits.
all in all earning 40k reduces the tax bill around 2-3k per year by being a ltd co.
had registration for LTD last week.accounter said yes put 150 for wages,all another for company profit.income tax same anyway.but don t need pay NIN.saving.about benefit don t know
Henrys cat:
Good luck with the agency, but think you’ll get nowhere. They set the rate and thats it.
I’m a sole trader and do a little bit for the odd firm, I charge £12/hrs mon - fri and £15 weekend and bank holiday. Depending on where you get your work from will also depend on how long it will take to get paid. I only work for OD’s and small firms, and luckily get paid the following week of doing the work, 2 od’s pay on the day I finish for them.
This is roughly the figures I was thinking about Im pretty sure they will b willing to pay this as they know how hard I work
Some good advice guys tnx. The figure I wrote is what ive been advised to pay myself by my accountant as I obviously need to put aside monies for tax and business cost.
Everyday is a school day surely we should all stick together we could negotiate better rates
surely being Limited I can ask for a pay rise or is it best to just approach companies direct and under cut Agencies.
make sure you negotiate! 
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