how long can you work for the same person

jonejayc

Hi
is there a time limit on how long you can work for the same person, as i am self employed, is there a time limit which makes me employed by him, or if i work for various people throughout the year how long can i work for each one
hope this makes sense
thanks

ukbill69

I think time is 2 years if your claiming travel costs etc, but dont worry to much.

vsumouse

but im sure next year this limit goes down to 6 months if you continuosly work for one person,

lemontart

ooher did not know that...........guess I am in trouble as have worked for me myself and I for nearly 9 yrs now.............

Beth
xx

Bossyboots

We have someone self employed working for us and he has been doing so for 9 years! We also had a self employed cleaner working for us for three years.

We had a tax inspection three years ago and no quibble was raised then.

There are strict definitions of what is self employed and employed and it is when you cross those lines it becomes difficult. We are invoiced for the work done by our self employed person and from that is deducted a percentage for use of office space, staff, stationery etc. This differentiates him from being employed by us.

Raksha

I think the legislation you are referring to is called IR 35, this covers people who are self employed, but could, in theory, actually be employed by you - in the case of the cleaner, would you be happy for the work to be done by somebody else nominated by the cleaner, does the cleaner provide their own materials etc.

jat100

I think that it is more of a problem for the person/company that you are working for than you. If you have worked for the same person under contract for more than 2 years, you could legally claim that you are an employee and are therefore entitled to the same benefits as those who work directly for the company, i.e. paid holidays, bonuses, etc., etc.

However, if all of your expenses are paid by you personally and reimbursed to you on receipt of an invoice and all of your working materials are provided by you, then there shouldn't be any problem.