Big decision - self employed Yodel driver?

Welshhobo

Hi all,

I've been looking for work as the lockdown has left me completely on my backside (i'm usually self-employed in the live events sector, i wasn't eligable for the income support scheme). I have applied for multiple jobs but the only thing thats turned up is self-employed work with Yodel. They got in touch with me pretty sharpish as i told them i own a van and was interviewed 2 days after applying. The interview went well and i was basically told that they wanted me to start ASAP but i would need to do the following things first:

• Get VAT registered
• Upgrade my insurance to business + haulage
• Get Goods in Transit insurnace (up to £25k)
• Get PLI cover (up to £2m)

Thats all fine, it comes to around £550 for the initial investment of getting all those things together which i can just about afford if i pull from my savings. The trouble i'm having is whether this will all be worth it. If anyone has experience working for Yodel recently i would really appreciate your input. I was in such an anxious rush to get through the interview process that i didn't ask all the questions i should have, nor remember vital things i was told. The biggest issue is that i can't remember how much the interviewer said i would get for delivering each parcel. It is either £1 or £1.25. They also said they'd "start me off" of 50-60 packages a day, but that will grow faster and faster on the lead up to christmas. I'm also having trouble with the VAT registration part and have been denied the status - most likely as i didn't fill the forms in correctly. I have a friend who works for HMRC though who will help me out with that. I don't really want to contact the interviewer as it may seem crass and have someone else lined up for the job. If you can answer any of the following questions i would be supremely grateful:

1. How much do you earn per parcel delivered?
2. How many parcels do you average per mile?
3. How many parcels do you average per day?
4. Do you have to use their fuel card?
5. Do they pay for fuel?
6. If you have to pay for your fuel through their fuel card, is 20% deducted for VAT?

The VAT stuff is a bit scary as i don't have a clue what i'm doing in regards to that and can't really afford an accountant to help me. I'm hoping my tax friend will be able to help out tomorrrow.

Thanks

dacouch

The increase for Christmas is from the last week in November or Black Friday

pramsay13

I don't know about Yodel specifically although my understanding of these types of jobs is that it is possible to make a bit of money if your vehicle costs are low, you live reasonably close to where you collect the parcels, and you can shift all the parcels reasonably quickly and efficiently.
I'm not sure why you need to be vat registered. If they are paying you per parcel it shouldn't matter to them what your legal status is.

greyteam1959

Talked to a self employed courier in my area the other day.
Him & his wife are delivering 200 packages each per day.
He says they have been at Christmas delivery levels for the last 3 months.
Don't know who he is delivering for but it could be Amazon.

Lomast

as I understand it the route you get and how close you are to the depot dictate how much you earn
 I know someone that took an Amazon job. Had to drive 25 miles to the depot then drive 150 miles over 14 hours to complete his round then 25 back to the depot. He learnt £150 for the day but by the time he took fuel insurance  and wear and tear out he was earning £6.75 an hour

Welshhobo

greyteam1959 said:

Talked to a self employed courier in my area the other day.
Him & his wife are delivering 200 packages each per day.
He says they have been at Christmas delivery levels for the last 3 months.
Don't know who he is delivering for but it could be Amazon.

This sounds very promising if kept to my local area and on par with what a friend of mine who works for them has claimed but i find it hard to believe.

Welshhobo

Lomast said:

as I understand it the route you get and how close you are to the depot dictate how much you earn
 I know someone that took an Amazon job. Had to drive 25 miles to the depot then drive 150 miles over 14 hours to complete his round then 25 back to the depot. He learnt £150 for the day but by the time he took fuel insurance  and wear and tear out he was earning £6.75 an hour

This is what i'm worried about. I worked out a spreadsheet where, if i average less than 3 parcels or less per mile, i would need to deliver upwards of 150 parcels in a day just to make minimum wage after expenses. The math doesn't go with what i've heard people claim they're making.

Marcon

Welshhobo said:

The VAT stuff is a bit scary as i don't have a clue what i'm doing in regards to that and can't really afford an accountant to help me. I'm hoping my tax friend will be able to help out tomorrrow.

If you go to this link and look at post 3, you'll see why being VAT registered works in your favour: https://boards.footymad.net/showthread.php?t=38196408

203846930

I am posting on this thread rather than start a new one.

I have a chance to do a similar role with Yodel but they deliver a set amount of parcels to my home address and I have a small area to work in that is close to home using my own car.
Is it possible to earn a decent hourly rate doing this after expenses?