howellsy42

i work for a road surfacing company and ive worked for them for six and a half years. my my role within the company is road planer driver and in the summer months i run a four man gang surface dressing.
the company have just put me through my class 2 hgv and i was also put though my b +e trailer test by them a few years back.im able to do most things in the company but im also the only one that can do the surface dressing and planing, im sort of a plant fitter as well.
work have been offering for people to go self empolyed - the reason they say is they then dont have to pay as much national insurance and other things.
at the mo when im planing i get paid £111 a day and if im surface dressing i get £118. i get 20 days holiday a year 5 of them have to be saved for xmas holidays as the company usually shuts down for approx 2wks - sometimes 3 depending on weather. i also get my public/bank holidays, sick pay doesnt really exsist.
if i was to go self employed my boss has offered me £150 a day flat rate for the year no matter what im doing.we do also get overtime eg a night shift would b double pay and a saturday is usually shift+1/2.
if i went self employed there is a company that is working alongside my boss that would pay our tax we have to pay our national insurance and at the end of the year they will do our tax returns for £174.

so what do you all think?

donny andi

iTrader: (3)

I've been self employed for years now.......still miss that Friday feeling , no pay when I go on holiday etc etc .......absolute nightmare keeping books upto date....the amount of receipts I loose is unreal
And trying to keep one step in front of the tax man takes some work

End of the day though I don't think I'd change it
It's all swings and roundabouts........but the cash jobs make it a winner for me

CSW_Scoobie

The reason won't be for your benefit. I would imagine the company are trying to cut costs. By making you self employed if there was no work they would n't have to pay you. Not having to pay your holiday and Christmas time off will save them at least £3000. Have a real good look at how many days at the moment you spend not doing much, these days will end up costing you as if they have nothing for you to do they won't pay you.

As much as your company likes you you will be a contractor, and business will come first, the relationship will change. i don't think you will be any better off.

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Very unwise to admit to defrauding the Inland Revenue.

octanejunky

iTrader: (3)

Go self employed and get your own accountant to do a return yearly. Type 2 national insurance (building trade) is £8 per month yeeeoooo!!!!

Brun

My first feeling was why would your boss offer to pay you more if there wasn't sommat in it for the company????

Lee247

I'm self employed and would never change. I love it.
Be warned though, HMRC frown upon people being self employed for only one Company. They are wise to the fact the Companies are trying to save on employers ni.
I have 10 Companies I do the accounts/payroll for.

WRXBOB

Self employed everytime. After 12 years I have zero regrets.

mylilscooby

mate im the network operations manager for the M25 and tbh on the books all day long on the road mate!! all it takes is one idiot in your gang to do something and thats you lot done!! and once a crew has done something it gets about on the road!! i have done TM for guys like you for 7 years on the road before coming in office and it happened a few times where one minute plainers and tarmacers been goonered and another lot of self employed people have came in......... think about the security mate

RA Dunk

Do you mean self employed or set up as a limited buisness?

Mikej857

Like someone has already said your company isnt offering you this because they like you but because they know by going self employed not only do they not have to pay you any holiday pay but thye can also get away with not paying you if there is not work and ultmatley this could then increase the amount of days you have no work?

Being self employed is swings and roundabouts, I was self employed for 5 years and found it very confusing and labour intensive even with an accountant. I am now on the books and find it a lot easier being able to take my annual leave and not have to worry if I can pay the bills just because I have chosen I want a holiday.

leecalcars

iTrader: (37)

Been self employed sc60 back in the day then 714/715...etc, then ltd company,it has worked for me being a contract electrician rough with the smooth as they say, but in all honesty i think it works out the same just employers have less paper work to do as your accountant will sort most of it for a small fee as mentioned.

Take into account also NO holiday pay,NO sick PAY and NO bankholidays so the little extra you get is soon eaten up with the above.

Make sure you set up a direct debit for a class one stamp or no state pension !

The beauty of it is you can come and go as you please but as said the tax man dosnt like it if you are with 1 company only i move about a bit and am going to spain to work for 5 mths soon so will earn a packet from that.

hope it gives you some idea but at the end of the day the choice is yours in the current market you have to take what you can when you can .

RA Dunk

Don't you pay less tax as well if your set up as a limited company? been thinking about this as well, I'm paying about 200 a month just now NI as an agency worker offshore.

Chip

Set up as a limited company is better as you pay yourself a low wage then take a divi after all expenses are paid out. NI is very little as well this way. But you need to be careful that you dont fall under the IR35 rule http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35/ or you will end up paying a fortune in tax.

Get advice from an accountant is the best thing to do.

Good advice here as well:

http://www.contractorcalculator.co.u...sses_ir35.aspx

Chip

RA Dunk

Bahh! took the ir35 test and failed miserably!

howellsy42

i wasnt looking to set up a limited company just go self empolyed the company that would pay us is called hudsons i know a few of my mates work though them and i would only be looking to stay with who i work for now so wouldnt move around we had 3 weeks off over xmas and i only got paid for 5 days of that and that was from my holiday pay so the unpaid times off is normal any way i did some rough figures and i could be 10k better off before tax if i go self employed

salsa-king

and if you go self employed, they can get rid of you when they have no work on... so don't have to pay you anything to make you redundant!

they'll be a reason why they want you to go S/employed.

No holiday or sick pay, paternity leave etc.

oh and the hassel being S/e trying to get loan/mortgage etc.

StickyMicky

Personally, i wouldn't, i was self employed for 6 years, and yes it has its perks, but it also has some right PITA pitfalls.

Adrian F

I was a self employed sparks in the 90's and the revenue basicly stopped you being that if you worked mostly for 1 company, not sure how you get round that though i know there are ways but tbh i went on to PAYE but with a rubbish contract because it was easier than having to spend ages chasing work and then having companies knock you for payments etc. Eventually got a decent PAYE contract in 1999 and that was the best for 10 years.

Self employed can work but only if you are going to be able to get regular work from different clients if working for one company you lose all your rights and they are only paying you a sweetner out of the NI and holiday pay they save at the slightest down turn subbies are always the 1st to get the push

this is true in construction anyway

500

Being a sub contractor, the company can fire you off whenever they want, at the moment you have job security and employees rights, I personally wouldn't give them up!

Chip

You will also have to register with the CIS scheme as well.

Chip