Employed Vs Self-Employed advice needed

max2009

A lot of transport companies have self-employed drivers who work for them only.Whoever told you that you cannot have self-employed drivers is talking garbage.

Ste_C

lesley1960 wrote: »

I was under the impression you cannot be self employed if you work only for one company . We have had a few conversations with HMRC about this in relation to our transport company and we know we cannot have self employed drivers , even if they only work for as on occassions .

HMRC are wrong - and if you spoke to them over the phone it wouldn't be a surprise to me, seeing as their call staff seem to get no more than 5 minutes training before they're unleashed! You can be self employed and only have one customer.

Equally, I could have 3 jobs with say, 3 different pubs but it wouldn't mean I was self employed.

ceeforcat

I would form the view that there is no possibility of you being considered to be self- employed. This is covered thoroughly in the posting below. It certainly does not look to me that you are in full control of

a) hours worked b) rate received

You do not have a separate business account.

You do not advertise. You do not invoice. These would be expected of any self employed person.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1372539

MissMotivation

Interesting, I'm glad I asked as the guy who owns the Company made it sound so easy to do and that it would definitely be of benefit to be self-employed. I wonder if he know what he is doing

RayWolfe

A paste from HMR&C website:
You don't seem to be self employed.

Employed or self-employed?

In order to answer this question it is necessary to determine whether the person works under a contract of service (employees) or under a contract for services (self-employed, independent contractor). For tax and NICs purposes, there is no statutory definition of a contract of service or of a contract for services. What the parties call their relationship, or what they consider it to be, is not conclusive. It is the reality of the relationship that matters.
In order to determine the nature of a contract, it is necessary to apply common law principles. The courts have, over the years, laid down some factors and tests that are relevant, which is included in the overview below.
As a general guide as to whether a worker is an employee or self-employed; if the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, then the worker is probably an employee:

• Do they have to do the work themselves?
• Can someone tell them at any time what to do, where to carry out the work or when and how to do it?
• Can they work a set amount of hours?
• Can someone move them from task to task?
• Are they paid by the hour, week, or month?
• Can they get overtime pay or bonus payment?

If the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, it will usually mean that the worker is self-employed:

• Can they hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense?
• Do they risk their own money?
• Do they provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tools that many employees provide for themselves?
• Do they agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
• Can they decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
• Do they regularly work for a number of different people?
• Do they have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense?

negg

Self-employed have a legal right to choose their working hours and the amount of their wage. If they are telling you what hours you have to work, how many holiday days you can take a year or a fixed wage per hour or year, then you are employed by law.

One interesting side point, is if you are classed as self-employed by your 'employer' and you don't bother to fill in the tax returns at all, it is the employer that will have to pay your tax if the Inland Revenue state you should have been employed.

I have one friend who got paid for three years in a job at £5 per hour (a number of years ago) and when he left the Inland Revenue became involved. The company I worked for (we worked for the same company) stated it was £5 on which he should pay tax, the Inland Revenue stated that if we paid him £5, it was net as we were responsible for the employees tax! The reasons given? My boss set his hours and/or wage, therefore employed by law.