tax credits

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

I did Hermes for 2 years, and, I started out doing a small round 3 days a week out of a Fiesta, ended running my own Sprinter van.

Hermes is a massive con. Your field manager is god, and you are at the mercy of their whims. They will tell you anything you want to hear, all of it will be lies.
Some things to bear in mind:
The 50p a day insurance is genuine, but its only third party. Its enough to cover you with the police and stop them impounding your car, but you’ll get nothing out it for yourself. They had to get this insurance deal as to many of their couriers were getting pulled, and they know they don’t pay enough for people to afford their own insurance.

Basic parcel rate is 45p, and has been for 20 years. You will get 5p extra if you are collecting from a sub depot. Rural routes pay more, try and get one if you can as thats the only way to make real money.
Some parcels are huge, and there is no option not to take it. Bear this in mind, as your round can mean several trips in a car if youve not got space.
You get NO sick cover, NO holiday cover. You have to find and pay for your own, and you’ll have to pay someone to do it for you.
Make sure you have a spare car you can borrow, if yours breaks down(and it will doing this work) and you can’t work, your work will be withdrawn.
If you have arranged cover, if they don’t show its yours neck, and your work will be withdrawn if the route doesnt get delivered.
This time of year is quite. At sale times and xmas volumes will treble or even quadruple, and you can easily be out delivering till 9 or 10 at night to clear the back log, be prepared.
All parcels must be attempted 3 times, all for a single 45p, chuck em over gates, in recycling bins, with neighbours, anything to get them off your hands first attempt.
Some days you will earn less than your fuel money, be prepared.
Keep your own records, Hermes never pay what they should.
Hand hand terminals can flake out on you, make sure you have a working printer so you can print off paper manifests when needed, otherwise you dont get paid.
Pay is monthly after the initial period, and they are long months to keep your car fueled while waiting to be paid.
Catalogues are a massive pain, weight tons, pay 30p, and you may have to clear several hundred in less than a week, on top of your normal parcels. Be prepared to work Sunday doing them.

All of that said, the job is what you make it. Going a little extra for your customers, gives them confidence to order online and means more money for you. Get to know them and you’ll soon know which neighbours(old biddies always take a parcel in) to leave stuff at and which flower pot to stuff it behind. Knowing your customers is key. Get a PAYG mobile for them to call you on, dont give them your main number as weirdos will call you a midnight about parcels. Advertise the collections service and myHermes service. Somedays you can get paid twice for the same parcel as customer may return it same day. Home eBayers and small businesses are great if you can advertise the myHermes service to them, as a few bulk customers can net you £££’s for just one stop.

The last year I did it I earned £30000+, but only had 1 week off in 2 years, working 6 days a week, from 7am upto 8pm at night. I just couldn’t hack it anymore, and as less parcels would mean working for nothing, I gave it up as soon as my license was clean again.

22

Thank you for your excellent post , now you have put me in a quandry I really am not sure now after reading your post , on the 1 hand it looks like I can earn a decent living but on the other hand maybe not , to make things clear when the girl and I say girl because she sounded very young rang me from there office to see if I was interested , I stated yes maybe but I only have a saloon car and not ideal , she stated that would be fine they are small parcels and will fit in in 1 go ,I will not fancy keep making trips back to the depot to keep collecting parcels , also when you say if im ill and don’t get cover they take the round off me are you saying its basically being sacked ,and that’s it .
My main concern is if I can get tax credit and my rent still paid because she has told me I will only deliver an average of 55 a day and working mon to sat as you know that after fuel has been taken out will not be worth it , if I have to find £400 a mnth rent and all my other living expences she has confirmed I will be delivering in my immediate locality ie Ipswich and no further afield because I told her that if I have 2 drive miles to deliver then im not interested as the fuel cost will not justify the job ,you have now gt me thinking is it worth bothering with .
a friend of mine that told me about this said shes really happy and starts at 8 and finishes her round by 12 every day and on average earns between 550 and 700 every month , what is your real advice do you think I should do it or not …
To put it in perspective at the mo im desperate for a job , I get £140 a fortnight to live on which I cant , ie I cant afford 2 heat or buy food pay bills etc well I can buy food but then cant afford gas to heat the flat or pay other bills ie water and small council tax , obviously I would prefer a proper delivery job even on min wage , but in nearly 3 yrs of trying I haven’t been able to get employment , without wanting to sound arrogant , I cant understand why , I have 20yrs class1 exp clean licence knowledge of map reading ( I do not have class1 or will be able to get it back owing to sleep apnea before you ask ) that’s why im looking for a van delivery job , but despite applying for dozens if not hundreds of vacancies all I get if I get a reply is a rejection…

23

Not sure how to answer your benefits question I’m afraid.

As for Hermes. Most of the “Field Manager” are young girls on a power trip. The only time they tell the truth is when their mouth is closed.

Saloon car is not ideal. Amazon is a big contract, and a lot of stuff is in big boxes. Also, its not unusual to get say, a set of 4 kitchen barstools or something from Next for one customer. The field manager has no control over parcel size, so any promises she makes is a lie. There are guides where you can reject oversize parcels, however, they have to be very big for this. There is high turnover of staff at Hermes, as people try it and walk, often on the same day. Most people there are there through desperation rather than choice. You can never be sacked, they just don’t give you any work. As you are classed as self employed you have no rights at all, even though you work under their direction. 55 sounds about right, but a quiet day could be as little as 20 or 30, so you only get £15, not worth getting out of bed. There are ways of playing the system, but you need to learn the tricks, and things have got harder since I left.

End of the day. Give it go and don’t tell the dole office until you know you’ll stick with it. What sort of area will you be delivering? Rough areas can be a pain as you can’t leave parcels in back gardens and such. Rural areas you can leave on the doorstep and not need to worry. The parcel manifests arn’t in order, so it pays to sort your route plan out in your head, then load the parcels in the car in order, takes 1/2 hour in the morning but saves hours during the day. One route may get you pocket money, if you keep your housing benefit then you would be slightly better off. If you could get more than one route, and make it known to other couriers you’ll cover their holidays, you can boost your income.

One last thing, you will have to register for Self Assesment for your tax, so bear that in mind. You could just not declare it, but if the tax man ever does catch up with you your stuffed.

24

I really appreciate your input , sorry to be a bit thick but and im not condoning fiddling but if they have my nat insurance number I presume I have to give it , are you saying until I know after a week of doing it I can get away wivout informing the dole office , it does make sence because like you say I might not to carry on after a week if it turns out to be rubbish and it wld save a lot of hassle signing off and resigning .
as for tax am I right that if I earn less than £8000 a year then I don’t pay any tax anyway on my earnings , so that wont be a prob then , when she comes round Friday to chat to me I will show her my car its not practicle to be honest a e class merc , obviously I cant take large parcels in it as you know , whatever happens I cant afford 2 lose my housing benefit and I will make tentative enquiries at the job centre on fri morn ,explaining that I have the poss position of this job and wat I have been told it pays and the hours and ask them , I will lay my cards on the table and tell her I will not keep returning back and forth to collect extra parcels if they dnt fit in in the 1st place , and I do not posess a printer so if the scanner packs up then they will have 2 supply me a replacement otherwise the parcels do not get delivered …

25

you wont have to give Hermes your national insurance, as they pay no tax on your behalf, they essentially invoice themselves on your behalf then pay you. You can do a great fiddle by going VAT registered, and, though its more paperwork, its worthwhile. You may not have pay tax, its still best to do a Self Assesment (your local tax office will be suprisingly helpful with advice on this). I certainly wouldn’t tell the dole office until you’ve tried it, but it would still be worth talking to them about your benefits position. Make it clear to the Job Centre its a self employed position without set hours, but low income.
Many Hermes workers are on the fiddle, many claiming benefits and not declaring tax etc. Hermes relies on this as they don’t pay a fair wage and know it. The CEO, Carole Woodhead is a complete crook in my book, abusing the spirit of employment law without actually breaking any laws. The whole operation is built on sand, paying slave wages with no rights for their workers, they rely on a high turnover of increasingly desperate people or people who think they make a fortune but are working 18 hours a day for the pleasure.
Only you can answer whether its better than the dole, but just remember, all the field managers will lie, they will tell you anything, believe nothing.

26

ricardo62:
Thank you for your excellent post , now you have put me in a quandry I really am not sure now after reading your post , on the 1 hand it looks like I can earn a decent living but on the other hand maybe not , to make things clear when the girl and I say girl because she sounded very young rang me from there office to see if I was interested , I stated yes maybe but I only have a saloon car and not ideal , she stated that would be fine they are small parcels and will fit in in 1 go ,I will not fancy keep making trips back to the depot to keep collecting parcels , also when you say if im ill and don’t get cover they take the round off me are you saying its basically being sacked ,and that’s it .
My main concern is if I can get tax credit and my rent still paid because she has told me I will only deliver an average of 55 a day and working mon to sat as you know that after fuel has been taken out will not be worth it , if I have to find £400 a mnth rent and all my other living expences she has confirmed I will be delivering in my immediate locality ie Ipswich and no further afield because I told her that if I have 2 drive miles to deliver then im not interested as the fuel cost will not justify the job ,you have now gt me thinking is it worth bothering with .
a friend of mine that told me about this said shes really happy and starts at 8 and finishes her round by 12 every day and on average earns between 550 and 700 every month , what is your real advice do you think I should do it or not …
To put it in perspective at the mo im desperate for a job , I get £140 a fortnight to live on which I cant , ie I cant afford 2 heat or buy food pay bills etc well I can buy food but then cant afford gas to heat the flat or pay other bills ie water and small council tax , obviously I would prefer a proper delivery job even on min wage , but in nearly 3 yrs of trying I haven’t been able to get employment , without wanting to sound arrogant , I cant understand why , I have 20yrs class1 exp clean licence knowledge of map reading ( I do not have class1 or will be able to get it back owing to sleep apnea before you ask ) that’s why im looking for a van delivery job , but despite applying for dozens if not hundreds of vacancies all I get if I get a reply is a rejection…

If you do the maths on that £550 you friend earns based on working 8-12 5 days a week 52 weeks a year that 208hours a month or £2.64 per hour ( that nearly £4 an hour BELOW the legal minimum wage an employee would get) even at £700 a month its still only £3.36 per hour!! The sooner these clowns that run Herpes (yes I didnt mistype it :wink: ) get clamped down on the better no one should be expected or can even live on that sort of money, not knocking the poster for wanting to work but companies paying these sorts of rates create 2 things 1) big profits for themselves and 2) a dependancy on tax credits to survive

27

ok thanks you been a great help and in that case I will as they say if you cant beat em join em …

28

ricardo62:
and conor its not my insurance I need to ring

I think your insurance company will see it differently!

29

edwardj:

ricardo62:
Thank you for your excellent post , now you have put me in a quandry I really am not sure now after reading your post , on the 1 hand it looks like I can earn a decent living but on the other hand maybe not , to make things clear when the girl and I say girl because she sounded very young rang me from there office to see if I was interested , I stated yes maybe but I only have a saloon car and not ideal , she stated that would be fine they are small parcels and will fit in in 1 go ,I will not fancy keep making trips back to the depot to keep collecting parcels , also when you say if im ill and don’t get cover they take the round off me are you saying its basically being sacked ,and that’s it .
My main concern is if I can get tax credit and my rent still paid because she has told me I will only deliver an average of 55 a day and working mon to sat as you know that after fuel has been taken out will not be worth it , if I have to find £400 a mnth rent and all my other living expences she has confirmed I will be delivering in my immediate locality ie Ipswich and no further afield because I told her that if I have 2 drive miles to deliver then im not interested as the fuel cost will not justify the job ,you have now gt me thinking is it worth bothering with .
a friend of mine that told me about this said shes really happy and starts at 8 and finishes her round by 12 every day and on average earns between 550 and 700 every month , what is your real advice do you think I should do it or not …
To put it in perspective at the mo im desperate for a job , I get £140 a fortnight to live on which I cant , ie I cant afford 2 heat or buy food pay bills etc well I can buy food but then cant afford gas to heat the flat or pay other bills ie water and small council tax , obviously I would prefer a proper delivery job even on min wage , but in nearly 3 yrs of trying I haven’t been able to get employment , without wanting to sound arrogant , I cant understand why , I have 20yrs class1 exp clean licence knowledge of map reading ( I do not have class1 or will be able to get it back owing to sleep apnea before you ask ) that’s why im looking for a van delivery job , but despite applying for dozens if not hundreds of vacancies all I get if I get a reply is a rejection…

If you do the maths on that £550 you friend earns based on working 8-12 5 days a week 52 weeks a year that 208hours a month or £2.64 per hour ( that nearly £4 an hour BELOW the legal minimum wage an employee would get) even at £700 a month its still only £3.36 per hour!! The sooner these clowns that run Herpes (yes I didnt mistype it :wink: ) get clamped down on the better no one should be expected or can even live on that sort of money, not knocking the poster for wanting to work but companies paying these sorts of rates create 2 things 1) big profits for themselves and 2) a dependancy on tax credits to survive

your right its not a living wage ed and I do agree but when your desperate■■?

30

I was told when claiming tax credits that you had to earn a minimum of 24 hours @ minimum wage per week to qualify. Anything less than that, and you’re not considered to be “working”.
Unless you can guarantee at least that income each and every week, the claim is soon going to run into a brick wall when the work gets a bit quiet some weeks, and you’ve only got a handful of parcels to deliver all day at full cost and time to yourself, but without even covering your fuel costs.

Self employed, but reporting to someone else for orders is a con, and the worst of all possible worlds. I’d recommend not bothering going self-employed unless you get to be your own boss at very least, not just in charge of all the overheads to be paid for, which is what this “job” sounds like. :neutral_face:

31

ROG:
POLITICAL COMMENT

Just goes to show the Govt spin on the term ‘in work’

The OP will be off JSA so deemed to be in work but will not be off benefits

That’s why tax credits were introduced. 3000,000 unemployed became 1.5 million overnight. they just paid the same under a different name.

32

Winseer:
I was told when claiming tax credits that you had to earn a minimum of 24 hours @ minimum wage per week to qualify. Anything less than that, and you’re not considered to be “working”.
Unless you can guarantee at least that income each and every week, the claim is soon going to run into a brick wall when the work gets a bit quiet some weeks, and you’ve only got a handful of parcels to deliver all day at full cost and time to yourself, but without even covering your fuel costs.

Self employed, but reporting to someone else for orders is a con, and the worst of all possible worlds. I’d recommend not bothering going self-employed unless you get to be your own boss at very least, not just in charge of all the overheads to be paid for, which is what this “job” sounds like. :neutral_face:

If your self employed there is no need to pay your self minimum wage, you can pay your self less! The less you earn, the more you get in benefits, you are working so you can claim tax credits, you can also claim housing and council tax benifits. Most councils have an online calculator to show how much you would be entitled to, tax credits also have an online calculator, go do both with what you think you may earn doing parcel deliveries.
Doing this sort of work as self employed is better than doing it as an employed person if your gonna play the benefits system!