need HELP!!!

Srah

Hello
I am not sure if I am in the right forum...
I will try to be short
I use to work for nearly 3 years for Costa Coffee Franchise company
The company haven`t being paying my taxes since my firs day of employment.At the end of last tax year they gave me check for the deductions the have done (I am receiving weekly payment and accordingly pay slips )have never received P60 Or P45.
this year the case is different they are not willing to give me back what they were holding for the tax year April 2011 till April 2012.
I am no longer part of the company I have left in December last year.
I have paid my taxes for this period as I am registered in the tax office as self- employed . Basically on my pay slip says that they do deduct from me. but they dont pay anything . My tax code is BR and the thing is they haven`t registered me as employee and they are just pocketing the deductions they are making on my weekly payments.I have had several conversations with the owner of the company ,my ex boss and she is just shouting on the phone not willing to meet me or to give me my money back.
I have red all HMRC laws of employment taxes ....but don1:eek:t know how to deal with the situation! The amount they need to give me back is £6228!I do rely on those money!!
What to do people please help!!!

xylophone

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employment-status/index.htm
might be worth a look - suggest you contact HMRC to clarify.

Srah

Thanks for the link but the fact that she said to me that they are holding my taxes ,so they can protect themselves from the fact that they are employing me.For tax year 2010-2011 she wrote me personally a check with the deducted from them amount .This year is different as I have been working 60 hours per week on a higher rate and the deductions are £90 pound per week .I have completed my self assessment on line and have paid the tax office £1014 separately I do my pay NI with direct debit.
I am Bulgarian nation and was not aware of the fact that I do need work permit to work as employee.That is why she was telling me that they can not confirm employing me to the tax office and I am not registered there and she will hold the money till I pay my taxes at the end of each tax year and show her the completed tax return form.

agrinnall

Difficult situation, you're working illegally and the employer is acting illegally. If you bring the situation to the attention of HMRC then you are effectively declaring your own illegal working too. I suggest you sort out your work permit first, then contact HMRC.

John_Pierpoint

I think I am right in saying that Bulgarians are not allowed to work as anything but self employed at the moment - this employment was self evidently not "self employment".
You could say that from the government's point of view that a Bulgarian has stolen a British job, and the employer has stolen 20% if the wages (plus some weekly tax called National Insurance).
No honour amongst thieves.
[I am sort of reminded of the minister, whose wife agreed to take his speeding penalty points - in my opinion both should be penalised].

Were this Bulgarian working in the construction industry as a self employed subcontractor, his customer would have stopped tax from his invoiced payments, it would be up to him to complete an annual tax return and reclaim the tax from the uk government.

I have nothing against Bulgarians as people, a Bulgarian has just completed some plastering work for a relative, doing a better, cheaper job than the British person he replaced. Hopefully he will declare these earnings to HMRC and pay his taxes ? Anyone care to comment on how this Bulgarian would have been treated in Germany?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9888250/Costa-Coffee-barista-Im-going-to-cling-on-to-this-job.html

Employing a Bulgarian or Romanian National in the UK.
From 1st January 2007, as European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, Bulgarians and Romanians have been able to move and reside freely in any EU Member State. Bulgarian and Romanian nationals wanting to work in the UK will need to obtain authorisation to work before starting any employment, unless they are exempt from doing so.
Section 1: Categories of employment requiring an Accession Worker Card
This authorisation will normally take the form of an Accession worker card. For certain categories of employment, the Bulgarian or Romanian national will be able to apply to the Home Office for an Accession worker card without the need for an employer to apply for a work permit. These categories are:
(a) Airport based operational ground staff of an overseas airline
(b) “Au pair” placements
(c) Domestic workers in a private household
(d) Ministers of religion, missionaries or members of a religious order
(e) Overseas government employment
(f) Postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners
(g) Private servants in a diplomatic household
(h) Representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting
organisation
(i) Sole representatives
(j) Teachers or language assistants
(k) Overseas qualified nurses coming for a period of supervised practice
(l) Voluntary workers
If the employment does not fall into one of these categories, the process for obtaining authorisation to work is in two stages:
• The UK employer first applies for approval of the employment under the work permit arrangements.
• The Bulgarian and Romanian national must then apply for an Accession worker
card. See the further information available at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/eea/bulgariaromania/applying/
The UK employer should complete the work permit application forms (WP1, WP3, SR1, PD1, MTI1, WPSI and SB1) using the relevant guidance notes as below:
• Business and Commercial,
• Training and Work Experience,
• Sports and Entertainments,
• Sectors Based Scheme, and
• Student Internships.
Employing a Bulgarian or Romanian National in the UK
Version 01/2012

Bulgarians normally need a yellow card before they can obtain self-employment work legally in the UK. The right to work as an employee is conferred by a blue card.
In theory, the self employed Bulgarian has 3 months in which to get his paperwork organised (similar to the situation when any of us start a business) However a Romanian reports this as the reality:

A Romanian guy comes to the uk and wants to register as a self employed person. he calls HMRC and asks for a UTR number so he can work legally and pay taxes, he gets the answer : ” You need a national insurance number first!” ok…so he calls the NINO people but they say you have to prove that you are working in order to get a NINO number… and then you ask how can I work without a NINO in order to get a NINO and they say you can work 3 months as self-employed without any “papers” and during this time you have to get your NINO and AFTER that you get your UTR and AFTER that you get your yellow card….. so to be legal you have to get an employer to hire you as a self-employed person with no NINO and no UTR in the hope that you get those and become 100% legal…..come on!!!! I’ve been through all that, and it’s a NIGHTMARE.and when you wait for a yellow card for 6-12 months you eat grass…because it’s free.
If you are the Spanish guy (or any other EU citizen)you get your NINO in a week and work and get benefits from the second week.

As someone who has worked as an illegal economic migrant in Canada & Switzerland - it is the same old system. In the USA it was a green card.

Me thinks there are a lot of "spare" unemployable people in our "global economy".

Srah

People I do appreciate your answers but the thing is that she was aware of my situation .I went there asking for job I do have NIN I do have UTR I do pay a lot of taxes each year .I live with my partner we pay £126 cancel tax TV licence and all what I need to pay .I do not consider myself as THIEF stealing British people jobs!!! I can face the penalties I can face ,if someone consider me as guilty!I have nothing to hide !I was working 60 hours per week because there was never enough staff (I am not responsible for finding and hiring new staff).For more than a year I though it is all good ! Then she started to give payslips which are partly cut !That lady is employing Asian young people with student visas (they have never been in college or UNI )working there full time (more than 50 hours per week).She has 8 franchise stores and no one has signed contract.There are case in which she was not paying holidays ,never sick pay!Never over time ! Cases holding payments for no reason........... Yes all foreigners all desperate for job all keeping their mouth shut ,do not ask any questions ..just keep on working because they need the money!She avoids employing British ..because they know their rights and ask questions ,wants holidays,want contract,want P60,P45....and the foreigners does not !

xylophone

I do have UTR I do pay a lot of taxes each year .I live with my partner we pay £126 cancel tax TV licence and all what I need to pay .

Then contact HMRC and sort it out - it is possible of course that the Man from HMRC may be calling on the lady with the franchises?

Errata

As above, and if the OP was regularly instructed by the owner of the business on when and how to do their job HMRC will not consider them to be self-employed.

Fire_Fox

Srah wrote: »

People I do appreciate your answers but the thing is that she was aware of my situation .I went there asking for job I do have NIN I do have UTR I do pay a lot of taxes each year .I live with my partner we pay £126 cancel tax TV licence and all what I need to pay .I do not consider myself as THIEF stealing British people jobs!!! I can face the penalties I can face ,if someone consider me as guilty!I have nothing to hide !I was working 60 hours per week because there was never enough staff (I am not responsible for finding and hiring new staff).For more than a year I though it is all good ! Then she started to give payslips which are partly cut !That lady is employing Asian young people with student visas (they have never been in college or UNI )working there full time (more than 50 hours per week).She has 8 franchise stores and no one has signed contract.There are case in which she was not paying holidays ,never sick pay!Never over time ! Cases holding payments for no reason........... Yes all foreigners all desperate for job all keeping their mouth shut ,do not ask any questions ..just keep on working because they need the money!She avoids employing British ..because they know their rights and ask questions ,wants holidays,want contract,want P60,P45....and the foreigners does not !

Then it is your duty as a responsible UK taxpayer to report this person to the authorities.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/preventing-illegal-working/
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/contact/contactspage/?item=191703
http://www.costa-business.co.uk/
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline-sections.htm

Sorry but if you were working illegally you won't see that tax again. Council tax and TV license and nothing to do with income tax, they pay for completely different services.

Srah

Ok I have managed to put it all right and clear with the help of a citizen advise bureau and a solicitor dealing all his life with cases like mine! Don`t want to rush it and tell what is going to happen but good things will happen with me:)and bad things will happen to her!And costa company will help me get what is mine because the case, for those who know, it is huge because of the big name of the company! I am a human being and no matter where I am coming from I do work hard and i am a responsible tax payer !Never ask for benefits ,never will!I have never heard or saw a Bulgarian on the streets ,on benefits,in cancel housing.....Just want to ask people in Britain what is the problem with Bulgarian if you even haven`t met one?Just a remainder -if you do have bank account -you do pay taxes,no way around!Which human being doesn't have one?Simple as!In a matter of fact self employed do have interest of paying taxes .... you were not aware of that!

John_Pierpoint

Bangladesh

166 million persons.
144k sq kilometres.
1,153 per sq kilometre.
34.8 seconds death rate.
. 8.6 seconds birth rate.

Poland

38.4 million persons.
313k sq kilometres.
122 per sq kilometre.
1.4 minutes death rate
1.4 minutes birth rate

Bulgaria

7 million persons.
111k sq kilometres.
63 per sq kilometre.
5.1 minutes death rate
7.8 minutes birth rate

UK

63 million persons.
245k sq kilometres.
257 per sq kilometre.
54.2 seconds death rate
41.0 seconds birth rate

World

7,123 million persons [ 7,123,469,000] if reading this tomorrow morning add another 100,000, as the world population is rising at about 10,000 per hour.

In the great sum of things, I don't feel threatened by the arrival of Bulgarians. though there is a conspiracy theory that "the left" had a hidden agenda, when arranging the arrival of 700,000 Poles [it was probably simple c0ck-up, like the justification for the National Health Service. That said it would be self financing because the workforce would be healthy and more productive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_migration_to_the_United_Kingdom

Unfortunately in this technological global market it requires a huge investment to create each new job, starting with at least 13 years of schooling costing 6 figures.

These basic figures suggest that internally the UK has extra 500 persons per day looking for its support, but the economy is "flatlining" - so new workers do indeed need to work "smarter not harder" if they are to generate new jobs without introducing new capital into the economy. The probability is that they will be draining capital in the form of remittances to their country of origin. These remittance payments to poorer economies are worth double the amount of official "aid" from the UK government and probably are twice as effective per pound.

Anyway good luck srah in trying to get back what you are contractually owed and let us know how you get on converting your yellow card into a blue one.