Working as self employed on top of being employed

Hms25

I'm employed full time but I have taken on a second job ( zero hour contract).
Do I need to register as self employed? How does it work regarding tax, tax code etc ?
Who do I have to contact?
Thank you

SparklesJD

A zero-hours contract doesn't necessarily mean you are self-employed... are you genuinely self-employed or is it more that you're 'bank' staff? i.e. not guaranteed any hours, but still an employee? It should be clear from your terms and conditions and/or offer letter.

If you're an employee, your employer will be responsible for paying your tax and NI on the PAYE system, regardless of how many hours you work for them. You will need to complete a P60 (as you won't have a P45 to give them) and you are likely to be taxed at the basic rate for the second job - HMRC will treat your existing job as your 'main' job and apply your personal allowance there. https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/pay-and-tax-when-working-in-more-than-one-job

If you are self-employed, yes, you will need to register with HMRC and there are deadlines to register, but I think you've got a while yet: https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/registration/newbusiness/introduction.

Regardless of whether you're employed or self-employed, it will be vital for you to keep good records of what hours you've worked, don't rely on your employer / agency or on your memory, it's surprisingly easy to forget a few hours here and there. It will also make it much easier to calculate your tax and NI liability if you are self-employed if you have it all in one place (although keep all your invoices, payslips, etc.)

ohreally

Is your employer content with your arrangement re working time regulation compliance....

If an employer knows or suspects that one of its employees has another job, it should make reasonable enquiries of the employee to ascertain how many hours a week in total he or she is working. If, following such enquiries, it transpires that the employee is working more than an average of 48 hours a week in total, the employer should, in order to comply with the Working Time Regulations 1998, ask the employee whether he or she wishes to sign an opt-out agreement. The employer should point out that, if the employee declines to do so, action will have to be taken to ensure that he or she does not work in excess of 48 hours a week on average. More importantly, if in the employer's view the number of hours being worked might threaten the health or safety of the employee (or of others), the employer must take all reasonable steps to remove the health or safety risk. This might mean instructing the employee to give up the other job, or reduce the number of hours being worked there (if that is reasonable). The priority should be to protect the health and safety of all workers by ensuring that no individual works such long hours as to be a danger to him- or herself or to others.

danica322

Self-employed is a situation in which an individual works for himself instead of working for an employer that pays a salary or a wage. A self-employed individual earns his income through conducting profitable operations from a trade or business that he operates directly.