Irregular hours - temping for second job?

WishICouldFindMySlippers

I'm a chef. I'm paid by the hour, with no actual set hours - just a rota system with shifts scribbled on it for as and when. January was a slow month (as always in hospitality tbh) and Feb isnt shaping up to be much better. Things will pick up around March, and thanks to advance booking we'll be fine until around Christmas.

Been thinking about registering for a recruitment agency, but I've no real idea how it works. Can I just walk in and see what they've got going for that day? As I don't really know what days I'll be working in the week, I don't really want to be agreeing to working say next Tuesday, only to get a phonecall from my kitchen on the Monday asking me to come in.

Also, how would it work tax-wise? I don't want to get my wrist slapped by the taxman for not paying, but I dont want to be working for free either

paddyrg

Talk to a specialist catering agency like http://www.cateringinternational.co.uk/ - they will give you all the answers you need! I suspect there will only be occasional walk-in work, but if you know even a day or two ahead when you're free they may be able to sort you out.

They will likely pay you PAYE, so the tax man will just take his cut as per any other job, and if you've overpaid tax at the year end you can get a rebate. You'll also likely accrue some holiday pay via the agency too.