Please Can Someone Advise: Working From Home.

SambaRamba

Hello, I have a few questions that perhaps someone may be able to help me out with.

My ex-workplace has approached me and asked if i'll do a few hours work for them each week working from my home computer. The pay will be £50 per week, (not alot I know but i'm a stay at home mum while my partner works so it would be nice to have something different to do while the little one sleeps).


To work from home I understand that i'll need to apply for a certificate of small earnings exemption at the inland revenue.

Would I list myself as a sole trader?

Do I need a special home insurance?

I have checked my mortgage conditions and they state that the property must not be let or used for busines purposes, no tenancies are to be created and nobody other than the applicant and applicants immediate family have the right to occupy the property from the date of completion of the mortgage without the written consent of the Society.

I take it this means I must have written permission from my lender to work from my home. Am I right.

Is there anything else I might need to know? Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my questions.

Jo_anne_2

I was hoping someone knowledgeable would reply as I am in the same position as you! I work part-time from home for my previous employer on a freelance basis. I informed the IR that I was going to do this and had to fill in a form to notify them of my self employed status and apply to pay class D national insurance contributions. I don't think the exclusions on your mortgage/house insurance apply to a few hours working on a computer but are more appropriate for businesses holding stock or whatever. Good luck.

WHA

If you are working for just one employer and doing basically what they tell you to do, then you are not self employed and they should be paying you through their payroll, with payslips etc.

Neither you nor your employer can "elect" to be self employed (sole trader).

To be self employed, you have to act like a business, which usually means several customers, having the power to work when you want and how you want, and several other criteria.

SambaRamba

Thanks for the replis, both of which have been very helpful. I'll have a word with the manager and she what she says about the payroll idea WHA. And Jo, thanks for your answer to my mortage query.