Self employed benefits..

Ross_stocker

Hi, I am hoping someone can advice me..
I have been to a job interview to work within a family run care agency as a care co-ordinator, the business is fairly new having only been operating for 2 years but is building up a good client base and also staff.
In the interview it was mentioned that I would be self employed as all the current staff are and they are not yet PAYE registered as a company. My question is, what rights would this give me as an employee and how would it work!? I understand I wouldn't be entitled to sick pay or holiday so would have to budget for this accordingly but would it be risky for me to take the job if I was offered!?

Guest101

Ross_stocker wrote: »

Hi, I am hoping someone can advice me..
I have been to a job interview to work within a family run care agency as a care co-ordinator, the business is fairly new having only been operating for 2 years but is building up a good client base and also staff.
In the interview it was mentioned that I would be self employed as all the current staff are and they are not yet PAYE registered as a company. My question is, what rights would this give me as an employee and how would it work!? I understand I wouldn't be entitled to sick pay or holiday so would have to budget for this accordingly but would it be risky for me to take the job if I was offered!?

Oh my....


If you are self employed - you do not have any employee rights...


But you aren't self employed - this company is (like many care companies) taking the mick. You don't choose when and where to work, you are being employed by this company to be there during the hours they set.

sangie595

Ross_stocker wrote: »

Hi, I am hoping someone can advice me..
I have been to a job interview to work within a family run care agency as a care co-ordinator, the business is fairly new having only been operating for 2 years but is building up a good client base and also staff.
In the interview it was mentioned that I would be self employed as all the current staff are and they are not yet PAYE registered as a company. My question is, what rights would this give me as an employee and how would it work!? I understand I wouldn't be entitled to sick pay or holiday so would have to budget for this accordingly but would it be risky for me to take the job if I was offered!?

Yes. They are breaking the law, and don't care about it! "Not yet registered" isn't a choice. Have they also "not yet registered" for DBS checks too? Because in a care agency that is also the law! Two years is plenty of time to get their act together, and there is no excuse for this. That isn't "fairly new" - it is a fairly long time to not care that they are breaking the law.

Masomnia

No rights as above. Personally I'd report them to HMRC.

McKneff

HMRC decide who is self employed or not, not the employers....

It is illegal.

Ross_stocker

Thankyou... so my question is how have they managed to employ a large number of staff and been undetected!? Also, I believe many other companies work in the same way LIDL being one of them in that their staff work in a self employed way by having to do their own tax and NI!?

sangie595

Ross_stocker wrote: »

Thankyou... so my question is how have they managed to employ a large number of staff and been undetected!? Also, I believe many other companies work in the same way LIDL being one of them in that their staff work in a self employed way by having to do their own tax and NI!?

We cannot answer that! All we can tell you that if someone is required to work specified hours, and cannot contract the work to someone else at will, they are not self-employed, and what is being done here is illegal.

Lidl actually pat the Living Wage - which is higher than the national living wage - to all their employees. I can find no evidence of your claim otherwise that their employees are self-employed. In fact, they appear to be one of the better low wage employers!

Let me ask you. If this company have so little regard for basic employment law that everyone knows about, how highly do you think they place care for their vulnerable clients? And also, can you answer the question that I asked about DBS checks?

I am with others here - I think this should be reported. Exploitation of workers caring for the vulnerable is almost as low as you can get. It's bad enough that most "care" agencies have appalling working conditions anyway, but denying them basic employment rights disgusts me.

Masomnia

I think in these situations no one finds out because no one reports them, I guess because people who do these roles are pretty desperate for the work and can't afford to take a moral high ground. HMRC can't check the circumstances of everyone's employment.

In a perfect world we could resign in protest and complain to the authorities, but when you have kids to feed and resigning would limit your entitlement to benefits it's not always so easy.

SailorSam

I was self-employed for many years driving the Cab, so paid in cash.
It was a very poorly paid. We earned so little that i never even went over the income tax threshold.

bugslet

Wandering off the OPs original thread, did you ownhire/lease the cab Sam? That would then indicate that you were self-employed.

Coincidentally, I've been to an industry seminar this morning and the issue of what constitutes self-employment and what doesn't was one of the topics.

SailorSam

I bought the Cab & Plate. At the time i'd bought my house for £17.5k with a 25yr mortgage, and only a couple of years later got the Cab for exactly the same price only this time the loan was only over 3yrs. Scared the hell out of me being in so much debt, and each time it got paid off we went back into more debt to get a newer Cab.
Holidays ?? Even days off were a luxury. But you had to think of it like you'd bought something like a shop, you'd bought yourself a job.