need help with wages slips and lots of other things

almond

hi
long story so will keep it brief
self employed travel agent working for guy who has a branch for XXX travel
started over a year ago.
Contract
made him send me one in jan this year via email
to be honest its a joke

pay slips
as an when he feels like it not itemised all via email

wages
should be the 16th of the month as of now I am still waiting for this
months. so far 3x £30 bank charges for going o/d
stories so far for all my wages that had been late in the last year
wrong bank details
got lost in post
went missing
parent company computer went down so nobody got paid
wages were wrong by £300 blamed parent company

I contacted his parent company in feb since I was being bullied but they
could not do anything.
he is not paying me the correct money but the way the wages are done
I can't work out how to do a pay run the only way I can do it is by
booking and its going to take me a week at least (which I am prepared to
do)
I have now come to the end of the road i am sick of the lies but I am not
letting him get away with this and need advice on what to do and were to go
I am going to play it quiet and calm until I get what I need regarding paperwork.
its the question of employed via self employed again and acas can't help
best laugh is he won young business man of the year for the local area
were he works. If only they knew !!!! two girls from his branch have
left the first one he blamed for just less the £1000 going missing that was
in jan and the second left two weeks ago and guess what she never came back to work after the way he was with her bullying and he told me that
he put a note on her desk saying smile for the camera thief, yes another
£1000 went missing and she got the blame.
I have been in travel for over 20 years and did'nt think I was so daft to be
taken in like this. I really need help and advice
thanks in advance for any ideas

Conor_3

So you're self employed. Basically you're stuffed. One of the tenets of Self Employment is that you're liable for any losses which includes a customer (your boss) not paying.

You weren't entitled to a contract which is why you haven't got one and you're not entitled to wage slips. In fact you should be invoicing him for your wages.

You have registered as Self Employed with the Inland Revenue?

The only recourse you have is to send him a "Statement of Account" detailing how much money is outstanding and then issue invoices before finally going down the County Court route.

People will accept taking a job on on a "self employed basis" but most don't accept the full ramifications and the lack of protection you have which you'd have as an employee.

almond

hi
not sure what to say but I have been self employed for the last eight years
I think it the way all homeworkers are employed but have always had a pay slip a contract.
he tells me what to do when to work and can only work for him
any other ideas welcome

honeypop

almond wrote: »

he tells me what to do when to work and can only work for him

I vaguely remember reading something about this a while back, if you class yourself as self-employed but only work for 1 company, then there are different rules. I will have a look and come back if I find what I'm on about...

Apart from that, Conor is right in that as self-employed you don't have any right to a contract or pay slip, you need to be invoicing for the work, no matter what the work is.

honeypop

Ok,

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir56.htm

This will help you to decide if you ARE actually self-employed, if you answer yes to ALL the following:
Can you hire someone to do the work for you or engage helpers at your own expense?
Do you risk your own money?
Do you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job, not just the small tools many employees provide for themselves?
Do you agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
Can you decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
Do you regularly work for a number of different people?
Do you have to correct unsatisfactory work in your own time and at your own expense?

If you can't answer yes to all of those, then you are probably defined as an employee and he should have been paying your tax and NIC. There is more information on what to do if you are unsure of your position in that link above.

almond

hi
have never invoiced him before he does since wages slips in a fashion
as and when he feels like it but they are never broke down and when
I asked for them for my tax I was told did i want him to put lower amounts

honeypop

There's a number to call on that link to discuss with someone exactly what you are asking here and they will be able to advise you on what you should do.

I assume since you have classed yourself as self-employed for over a year, that you have been paying the correct taxes?

Conor_3

almond wrote: »

hi
have never invoiced him before he does since wages slips in a fashion
as and when he feels like it but they are never broke down and when
I asked for them for my tax I was told did i want him to put lower amounts

THe thing is by saying you're self employed, he saves himself an employers NI bill which is 12.5% of your gross wages.

I'm sorry to tell you this but it sounds like he's been doing things illegally. I have a funny feeling that you'll find that he's not been paying your NI or Income Tax and it's quite possible that you may end up with a bill for them. If you're classed as Self Employed and you're not registered with HMR&C then you're open to a fine for not registering within 3 months of commencement of SE.

Do you get a quarterly Class 2 NIC bill from HMR&C for about £28?

He's as bent as a 9 bob note.

YOU NEED TO GET PROPER LEGAL ADVICE NOW.

almond

hi
to clear up the self employed issues I have been paying my stamp for the last eight years and my own tax. A few years ago when I worked for another
homeworking travel agent the tax man decided to look into the homeworking
and whether we were self employed and from what i remember they never carried it through.
i need to know what information I should try and get to help my case since I am going for another interview on thursday and for now are just keeping my head down. I am going take this all the way but were I don't know do I
go to the small claims court and inform his employer what is going on.

ohreally

What does your accountant make of all this and what has been his advice?

almond

ohreally wrote: »

What does your accountant make of all this and what has been his advice?

I don't have an accountant just do my tax on line only earn about £15k a year

It is possible, in some limited cases, to be self-employed for tax purposes but classified as a 'worker' or an 'employee' for employment rights purposes.
This can occur because Employment Tribunals or courts may not consider all of the same facts when considering classification for employment rights purposes that HM Revenue and Customs, the Commissioners (who rule on tax and National Insurance matters) or courts do when considering classification for tax and National Insurance purposes.
this seems to be what travel agent homeworkers are classified as