Help please - lone trader or partner?

Mrs_Pepperpot_2

Hi - please feel free to move if this is in the wrong place.

My husband has been training with my father, unpaid, for 8 months as a heating engineer and has just passed his OFTEC exams.

My dad has been self employed for years but now they are not sure how to proceed.

As far as we can see they have the option of being two self employed people working under the same roof (My dad's office) or go into partnership.

Does anyone know the relative pros and cons of these or are there other options???

Thanks for any advice:o

Notmyrealname

The partnership needs to have the shares written down, i.e 50/50. Any profit for self employment is split along those lines. There would need to be three sets of self assessment filed - one for the partnership as a whole then one for each of the partners.

The downfalls happen when one feels he is doing more work than the other but is still only entitled to his share of the profits as defined in the partnership.

Annisele

There's also the option of your Dad continuing as a sole trader, and taking on your partner as an employee.

Emmzi

How do they get on? No point being partners if dad feels he should be the "managing" partenr IYWSIM

I'd go employee for now until I knew the trade better then self employed