hi i am about to start a job working saturday and sunday in the north west area driving a artic tautliner on day work and being self employed was wondering what the a fair rate per hour is any help would be appreciated
thanks
Sorry cannot help with pay rates in the North East but I wish you well with the Job, good luck 
are you going to paid by invoicing the firm your self or are you doing it through nova. im on nova and im on £9.25 ph and time and half after 8 hrs.
if your doing it yourself make sure you get a claus in that its a minimum of 10 hrs.
thanks for that i am invocing them
what is nova and why do you need a 10hr min
wylie:
thanks for that i am invocing them
what is nova and why do you need a 10hr min
there is various threads about nova but to be on nova you have to be paid through an agency. if you want to see what they are about its… novaservices.co.uk
and you want 10 hr min so if they send you home after 5 hrs you still get a decent wage you dont want to get up and spoil your weekend for 50quid do you.
im self employed and i charge £110 per day monday to friday £120 for saturday and £150 for sundays/bank holidays
As an employed driver you would be expecting Time and a half for Saturday and Double Time for Sunday. So at a reasonable £8 per hour basic, this becomes £12 per hour Saturday and £16 per hour Sunday.
But…you’re Invoicing them direct, so add on another 25% to cover your admin costs, travelling expenses to and from site, tax and N.I. contribution, ‘profit margin’ ( you’re self employed to make a profit for yourself, not to save this firm employment costs!)
So that is now £15 ph Saturday, £20 ph Sunday. As mentioned, agree on 10 hrs minimum per occasion.
Does this sound too much ? Remind them that an agency would be asking another 40 or 50% on top again !! - i.e. approx. £22 Sat. / £28 Sun. 
Be sure to GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING before you start even the first shift “to avoid mis-understandings” 
2 copies, - they keep one and their ‘authorised person’ signs the other and hands it back to you for you to keep in your files.(For the accountant at the end of the year, obviously )
If you invoice the firms how long does it normally take to get paid?
That would be up to you to agree with the client. 
And would be shown in your ‘Terms & Conditions’ - which you have got ‘IN WRITING’. …and also at the bottom of each and every Invoice that you send 'em. (Important, that bit.)
e.g. “payment due in full 21 days from the date shown on this invoice” - send an Invoice each week, don’t wait a few weeks and send a bunch together, you’ll end up waiting longer than you need to for the money to arrive.
Deesider:
That would be up to you to agree with the client.
And would be shown in your ‘Terms & Conditions’ - which you have got ‘IN WRITING’.e.g. “payment due in full 21 days from the date shown on this invoice” - send an Invoice each week, don’t wait a few weeks and send a bunch together, you’ll end up waiting longer than you need to for the money to arrive.
Do you find most companies stick to the terms and conditions or do you still end up waiting a couple of months for your money?
It has to be said, that it is usually the larger firms, and especially the ‘blue chip’ companies that will exceed the payment terms that were agreed upon at the start of the business relationship. 
“Our accounts office only processes cheques on the 28th of the month, we must have missed your invoice - can you send us a copy ?”
“We must have missed your invoice, the Director who signs the cheques is on holiday now for 2 weeks”
- I’ve heard 'em all -
…So I stopped working for them, before they owed me sums I would be having nightmares about !!
I concentrated instead on the smaller firms who had a better understanding and sympathy towards a small, or in my case, one man business.
There was always a far better relationship with the staff, too - first name terms with the lady who processes your invoice for payment, for example. (The most important person in the place, as far as I was concerned.)
A big tin of Roses Chocs. every Christmas for the office staff to share / Bottle of Whisky for the Boss, etc. ( All tax deductable, too - a modest, legitimate business expense. )
you are getting alot of different advice and the best i can give is…
judge the stuation for yourself every firm is different and over charge try and judge it just right. so firms you will get away with more but family firms wont want to pay so much. just tread very carefully
my limited experience of working for small firms is once they owe you a few bob and work gets a bit short you will be at the bottom of a very long list of people that want paying, it’s a lot easier to find another driver than it is to pay somebody money you havn’t really got or want to part with! i’ve heard every excuse in the book, i even had a firm turn round and tell me after three months of pratting me about that they didn’t owe me any money because they’d over paid me on previouse invoices! i was one step away from taking one of their wagons when they finally coughed up, a nightmare.
Always think, if they go bust, what would I lose? When the figure gives you nightmares, then you’ve lost a grip on your business! Its better for the nerves to stay in bed and lose money!
You can charge admin and interest on o/s bills (small business payment legislation), but don’t expect to work for them again if you go down that route.
If they pay weekly wages to the regular drivers, then I would try for 7 days. If they pay wages monthly, then look for your invoices to be paid the same. If you’re an owner driver, don’t be surprised at 60 day (even though you’ve already paid the diesel!)
Deesider:
Remind them that an agency would be asking another 40 or 50% on top again !! - i.e. approx. £22 Sat. / £28 Sun.
/quote]Has anyone got any real figures for what agencies charge? I mean as in have actually seen them rather than just gonig on gossip?
Yes…
and I stand by what I said and you’ve quoted above.
Took the plunge today. Asked TM at place I’m at with agency , which I’ve been going to on and off for 12 years, whether he’d be interested in me doing relief work self employed. Said yes. I told him my rates and he agreed. Was even nice enough to tell me what my agency were charging.
Needless to say, the agencies excuse that there was no room for a wagerise was twaddle and whilst we were only getting time and a quarter overtime, they were billing it out at time and a half.
I felt far less guilty about pulling the rug out from under them and its given me the confidence to approach a few other companies I like doing work for.
Bad part is its 60 days for payment (TM is gonna try to change it) but I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle that. If it all goes pearshaped then it’ll be by the end of July - middle of holiday season - so I’ll just ring up an agency and start work again.
Fingers, toes, arms, legs crossed.
Conor:
Bad part is its 60 days for payment (TM is gonna try to change it) but I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle that…
Tell them what your terms are and remember you can charge interest on anything over 30days. (Late payment rules)
However, it sounds like you are working for a decent TM and having him onside will be half the battle. Good Luck
Hmmm. best of luck, I couldn’t wait 30 days let alone 60. Nice idea though.
killsville:
Conor:
Bad part is its 60 days for payment (TM is gonna try to change it) but I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle that…Tell them what your terms are and remember you can charge interest on anything over 30days. (Late payment rules)
However, it sounds like you are working for a decent TM and having him onside will be half the battle. Good Luck
Late payment rules? I thought that if 60 days had been agreed it would have been binding ie no interest chargable?