I need some advice please

KEV

I`ve spent the last 10 years doing a cash in hand job ,building drive ways, which due to the sad death of my employer has now ended. I need to get back into work desperately, with a real job this time, but i`m not sure if i can. I`ve read on some websites and heard from lots of people that most employers will not employ someone whos worked cash in hand as it is not classed as real work.
Firstly I need references from former employers which obviously i can`t get. I`ve been told by a friend that i should type out my own references by pinching company logos off of websites from a couple of small businesses that are local to me and then make my own fake headed company paper and then use the contact details ie: addresses and phone numbers of my family or friends.
I know that this is very dishonest but i`m not sure what else to do. He claims that i could easily get away with this. Firstly he said all you have to do is make sure that the business you pick to pinch the logo from is a real registered business and will appear on the Company House website just incase they chose to look there. If they do look there then the only names of people that work for that company that they`ll see are the directors and you dont have to be a director or the other top brass of a company in order to have been given a postion within that company to be referee ie: managers, supervisors, team leaders ect.....
He then said take look on the most exstensive business search engine out there, 192.com, and make sure that its a business that gives the vaguest of information about itself like alot of them do and then pick that one because if 192.com doesn`t have much info, like the name of the manager or how many people work there, then no over site like that will.
As I said i know that this is dishonest but i really dont know what to do and its giving me sleepless nights worring about it hence the lateness of this post.
I also don`t know what to do about a P45. Will a P46 work? Can they still find out that i`ve paid no tax in this tax year or ever if i tell them i`ve lost my P45 and will have to fill out a P46 for them instead?
I`m so confussed and stressed out about what to do i hope someone can give some good advice please,thank you.

seven-day-weekend

As regards references, why don't you ask one or two of the former people you have done drives for to write you one commenting upon the quality of your work? And then you can also ask someone else who knows you (not a relative) for a character reference, . If anyone asks for an employer's reference, you could say that your previous employer has died, he had a one-man business and therefore you are unable to get a reference from him. This has the advantage of being true! Then you could supply the 'customer reference' mentioned above.

As regards the tax I cannot advise.

One thing you should NOT do is commit fraud by making up false refences. No-one on here will advise you on how to do that.

I hope you manage to get a 'real' job this time.

stazi

My good advice is stop breaking the law. Both working 'cash in hand' and falsifying references are ILLEGAL.
You now have a choice -
To join the same 'club' as the rest of us- The Income Tax and National Insurance Club, or remain illegal - it's your choice.
As soon as you 'pop up' on the HMRC 'radar' and start to pay IT and NIC with a 'real job' , the HMRC may start asking you 'What have you been doing for the last 10 years?' Hope you have your answer ready.

fengirl_2

Sadly, this is the result of accepting an unlawful situation for all these years. Technically, your late employer was liable for the tax and NIC on your wages, but should this situation come to the attention of HMRC, I would guess they would come to you for the tax and NIC rather than try and deal with the executors of your late employers estate who may or may not have the money to pay them.
Working cash in hand is very tempting, but this arrangement leaves you without sick pay, holiday pay, maternity/paternity/adoption pay, insurance, employment protection and a pension...and, as you have found out, it puts you in a very difficult situation when looking for a new job.

Emmzi

Try these guys, or another agency first. I'm sure they have met many people in your situation.

http://www.laborready.com/default.aspx

You can build up a legal tax record and references over months, and move on from there. It won't be great pay, but it'll be a start.

I have no idea what the benefits office will say to you - I think you either have to come clean, or not sign on.

KEV

I should have mentioned that i have just signed on at the job centre. Before they let me sign on they told me i had to go up to the tax office and explain the situation first. The only tax that they told me i was liable for was for this years tax and that i will be sent a self assessment tax form and that i would only have to pay voluntary NIC if i wanted to which would count towards a future pension.
Do you think that i should just tell a potential employer straight out at the interview that i`ve spent most of my life working cash in hand. Alright i know that i never paid tax,which is wrong, but i did always work my !!!! off and that and should count for something surely.

seven-day-weekend

I don't know the answer to the above question but am bumping it up so that others may answer. I think it is good the the OP wants to go 'legit' so I think he needs our help to do so.

Savvy_Sue

KEV wrote: »

Do you think that i should just tell a potential employer straight out at the interview that i`ve spent most of my life working cash in hand. Alright i know that i never paid tax,which is wrong, but i did always work my !!!! off and that and should count for something surely.

I think the answer to this is that it's not really your new employer's business how you ordered your affairs in the past. If asked directly, don't lie, but I don't see that they need to know.

Terrylw1

Hi,

I would wait to see what the tax office say about your tax liability. Remember they can still amend tax records up to 2 years but hopefully they will just want 1. They can estimate further back I think where you don't have records to prove it since they use the years where they can work it out.

I would suggest you get some free advice from the CAB on this. It's a very tricky situation because an employer might be sympathetic or might just think you're another tax dodger. The CAB may be able to give you some advice on how you go about it with new employers.

It probably would be a good idea to get something on your CV, even if it's a job you're not that interested in. At least then you have something to refer to.

If you are going down the self assessment route, you may have a saving grace. When you submit this you will be joining the rest of us tax payers. This means you can claim that you have been working as a self employer XXXXX which means that you have something on your CV. I don't know what you could say for the previous years, maybe the CAB can advise on that.

People lie all the time about their past jobs & experience but to go as far as doing what oyu are suggesting is very different. If you get caught out then they may report you to the company that you are claiming you worked from. This may cause legal trouble for you since they won't like you fraudulently claiming to be one of their employees. That may be covered under laws governing fraud & deception.

Oh, and what if they call your refs and they aren't on the ball and land you in it. Then you're stuffed as they may go further with it.

I agree with the previous poster, you could get a ref from the last few people you did jobs for which would tie into your self employed status. Thats good advice from 7 day weekend.