I have some work with an agent this coming week, in a 3.5t van. I have been advised I am not PAYE but S/E. With this in mind:
-how does the vehicle insurance work, will I be fully covered and how can I confirm this?
-how does my tax work? Currently on JSA as been out of work recently.
Thanks
Luke
Since been advised that I will need to sort tax myself but a bit reluctant to go the umbrella route…
Any advice from anyone? Never done this kind of work before.
Thanks
LDP:
I have some work with an agent this coming week, in a 3.5t van. I have been advised I am not PAYE but S/E. With this in mind:-how does the vehicle insurance work, will I be fully covered and how can I confirm this?
-how does my tax work? Currently on JSA as been out of work recently.Thanks
Luke
First to answer your questions. You will be insured for driving the companies vehicles on their insurance so no need to worry about that. As for paying tax, I assume when you say the agency have told you your S/E they mean you are going to be a Ltd Co. which is not actually self employed by definition because you are an employee of your own company. Proper self employment is working as a sole trader but virtually no agencies accept you for that because there is more liability on there part should there be an HMRC investigation, with a Ltd Co. they can distance themselves from such an investigation - saying that there is probably a 99.9% chance of this never happening. Anyway you will be paying your own tax by means of a year end self assessment form.
Now to my second point and that is you should only go down the Ltd Co. route for the right reasons and not because the agency tells you too. By that I mean you need to actually understand what being a Ltd Co. means, how it works, what are the benefits, what are the pitfalls. You really need to get some advice from a qualified accountant who will advise you of these things and you will also need the accountant to prepare your end of year accounts as this is a legal requirement. Most other things you can do yourself and save yourself more in their fee’s. It sounds to me though that the agency have you doing this through an umbrella company which you should avoid because they are a rip off and a lot of their practices are borderline between legal and not.
Please please please seek some proper advice before starting up a Ltd Co. and know what you are getting yourself into, there are too many stories in these forums from drivers who’ve been pushed into it and ended up in a mess because they don’t know what they are doing. Its a lot more profitable to the agency and that’s why they push you in this direction but if done properly its also a lot more beneficial to the individual.
I don’t want to name the company but they have told me I am simply s/e. And that the money will be paid directly into my bank account. It’s all a bit over complicated really… all I wanted to do was drive and earn a few quid whilst waiting for my hgv tests!
If I do the work this week then advise hmrc at a later date of my earnings from them would this be okay do you think?
Thanks.
Also I’ve read about needing public liability insurance what is this and will I need it next week? ?
LDP:
I don’t want to name the company but they have told me I am simply s/e. And that the money will be paid directly into my bank account. It’s all a bit over complicated really… all I wanted to do was drive and earn a few quid whilst waiting for my hgv tests!If I do the work this week then advise hmrc at a later date of my earnings from them would this be okay do you think?
Thanks.
Why have they told you your S/E■■? I’m sorry but you should only go this way if you know about it and want to do it not because they tell you as I stated in my last post. Why are you going ahead with something that is “over complicated” - does that mean you don’t actually know what your getting into, otherwise please explain because I’m just trying to help and give you the best advice to avoid being screwed over. My guess is that you are simply on their umbrella scheme in which case you will be paying either a set amount per week or a % of your earnings for them to do your payroll. Sorry to sound blunt here but this again is a classic case of drivers just going along with the agency because its beneficial to them.
To answer your second point then in short “NO” it doesn’t work like that technically, if you work through either your Ltd Co. or as a sole trader then you do the work, then send the agency/client directly an invoice at the end of the week for the hours worked and then they pay you the following week and at the end of the year you do a self assessment tax return - obviously there’s a lot more to it and its more complicated but in a nutshell that’s the basic concept.
If you just want to drive, earn the money without all the hassle of the above then tell the agency you want to work with them on a PAYE basis like any normal employee, that way you work the hours, they do your payroll including paying any national insurance contributions and tax deductions then pay you the net amount left over - plus you get holiday pay and other employee benefits.
LDP:
Also I’ve read about needing public liability insurance what is this and will I need it next week? ?[/quoteIf you are going to work through your Ltd Co. and do it properly then yes its advisable. A lot of agencies will tell you its compulsory - its not at all and neither is it a legal requirement but for what it actually costs its worth getting just to cover yourself. Me personally I have got £2 million cover and that costs me just over £100 for the year so it gives me peace of mind for any situation.
Thanks for the replies.
They have given me a form for a company called ‘go contracting’ who I presume are an umbrella company.
I had that many forms to fill in the other day I didn’t even stop and think about all this.
Maybe it would be best if I called them to confirm how it works…
Like I said I’m out of work at the moment and whilst doing my hgv qualifications I need to earn a few bob to make ends meet.
Cheers
LDP:
Thanks for the replies.They have given me a form for a company called ‘go contracting’ who I presume are an umbrella company.
I had that many forms to fill in the other day I didn’t even stop and think about all this.
Maybe it would be best if I called them to confirm how it works…
Like I said I’m out of work at the moment and whilst doing my hgv qualifications I need to earn a few bob to make ends meet.
Cheers
Yes they will be an umbrella company, I cannot stress enough how much you should avoid them unless you like handing over some of your hard earned money for no reward. Tell the agency you want to be PAYE and if they say no then there are loads of others who will have you on PAYE.
Fair enough you want to earn some money but that doesn’t mean you should let agencies walk all over you, bottom line is they push you towards umbrella companies because they benefit financially from them, in all likelihood through an umbrella company you will also end up paying their employers national insurance contribution as well as the umbrella companies fee’s for doing your payroll.
Well I rang before and got a load of ■■■■ over the phone, so not the best first experience with an agency to say the least! So off the job and their books now.
Going to make some phone calls tomorrow and find a decent agency who will offer me PAYE.
Thanks everyone.
LDP:
Well I rang before and got a load of [zb] over the phone, so not the best first experience with an agency to say the least! So off the job and their books now.Going to make some phone calls tomorrow and find a decent agency who will offer me PAYE.
Thanks everyone.[/quote,
Agency showing their true colours then, at least you found out before getting involved with them. They clearly don’t like the fact you’ve stood your ground and not allowed them to rip you off. If you know how to handle and deal with agencies they can be great to work for. I for one am in no rush to go back to permanent employment anytime soon.
tmcassett:
LDP:
Well I rang before and got a load of [zb] over the phone, so not the best first experience with an agency to say the least! So off the job and their books now.Going to make some phone calls tomorrow and find a decent agency who will offer me PAYE.
Thanks everyone.
[/quote,Agency showing their true colours then, at least you found out before getting involved with them. They clearly don’t like the fact you’ve stood your ground and not allowed them to rip you off. If you know how to handle and deal with agencies they can be great to work for. I for one am in no rush to go back to permanent employment anytime soon.
I used to work for the co-operative food and used to speak to a lot of the agency drivers who delivered to the store. They told me to get in with a good agency and from memory they were with ADR Network so will give them a try.
What are the other well respected agents? Driver hire and best connection also spring to mind.
I have not worked for ADR so cannot comment.
Best Connection were very good (as agencies go).
Driver Hire is a franchise operation so the way they operate depends on who is running your local branch. They told me I would be PAYE and then put me into an umbrella scheme without me knowing until I (eventually) got some pay-slips.
I worked for ADR network at their crick branch out of NFT Asda earlier this year, no complaints - always got work on the days I wanted, never cancelled or last minute time changes, always paid the right amount on time and could also pretty much pick my start time depending what suited me that day which is all you want from an agency. That was my personal experience but ADR do not have a good reputation on these boards from what I’ve read. Guess its a case of try for yourself and find out. I should say also that as far as I’m aware all the contracts ADR have they are usually the lead vendors/providers at that site/company.
No experience of Best Connection or Driver Hire but as mentioned Driver Hire will more than likely only take you on their Umbrella scheme.
Also try and search for the smaller more independent agencies because there’s a good chance of building a better relationship and reputation and your less likely to get messed around - I’m not saying it won’t happen though as the very nature of agency work means it can.
In my experience the national agencies with each branch ran as a franchise such as Driver Hire, Best Connection, Milestone etc also tend to pay slightly less - again that’s my experience.
Going into local driver hire branch tomorrow. They said they can offer me PAYE work which is all I want.
ADR said I need a bit of experience before they take me on.
Anyone from the Manchester / Salford area found any small local agents who are good?
Thanks.
Hi,
I’m a newly qualified driver. I am with Staff UK in Bolton. They have been good so far - I have been with them for 4 months. Have always had work, and am PAYE.
I live in Salford, and am working out of Kearsley at the moment. Have had work in Trafford Park as well.
Eleanor:
Hi,
I’m a newly qualified driver. I am with Staff UK in Bolton. They have been good so far - I have been with them for 4 months. Have always had work, and am PAYE.
I live in Salford, and am working out of Kearsley at the moment. Have had work in Trafford Park as well.
Thanks Eleanor. Will give them a call tomorrow.