Work - The pros and the cons... - The Bear and Badger

LivDiv

One thing they need to be wary of is HMRC are due to come down hard on contractors in April.
Enforcement of IR35 has been largely slack over the years but Hammond has seen a golden goose.

Basically, if they are doing the same job as yourself and have been on the contract for a long period (more than 6 months) HMRC are coming.
They will end up paying the same tax as an employee (a primary reason they have more than you), potential fines for the company and individual. Plus depending on how they are registered they will have to pay company NI as well.

Dinostar77

Yeh I've heard them moan about contractors getting screwed with every budget announcement, however financially id still be better off.

I may try to do it for awhile, if only so we can upsize to a bigger house, get the mortgage paid asap or a chuck of it then switch back to full time employee life and top up my pension.

LivDiv

It's something I know my dad thought about a lot.
Similar situation, colleagues left or were made redundant then within months were back as contractors and would stay for years.

He remained a company man, then the company folded literally the day he was suppose to go in to sign the necessary paperwork for him to retire. (Monarch Airlines)

A lot of his mates did well out of contracting, especially those younger than him.
Personally I think being a company man in 2019 is a mug's game. I think the vast majority of companies put on workers too much and would drop them at a moments notice as reward.

If you feel like you can get more contracting go for it. How secure is anyone's job anyway these days?

EvilRedEye

LivDiv wrote:

One thing they need to be wary of is HMRC are due to come down hard on contractors in April.

Eek, thanks for flagging this.

LivDiv

No worries.
It's more a change of enforcement strategy than rules but it's somewhat alarming how few seem to be aware of it.

Most of my clients are fine. I'm given a brief and a deadline, I deliver, I invoice.

One client though I tend to go into their studio to cover busy periods or holiday cover. I stick to their hours, use their equipment and assigned the work they need doing.
I've had to change how I work with them. I now work from home, using my equipment. Each task has a separate purchase order number.

Iirc the new conditions are as follows, you don't have to abide by all of them but enough to convince anyone that may investigate.

1. Provide your own tools and equipment.
2. Be able to provide an alternate worker in your absence. (As in the company must be willing to accept them as opposed to having a roladex of names)
3. Choose where you work.
4. Choose your working hours.
5. Choose the manner in which the task is completed.
6. Work to an outcome rather than a time period.
7. No association with the employer such as director.
8. Not filling a role that traditionally exists without a current employee such as chairman.

This has already been rolled out to the public sector so very much expect it to hit private.

EvilRedEye

I think we do actually cover all of those currently. Someone suggested to me that contractors should only work 11 months of the year to avoid counting as employees - currently they basically have something on at all times. Not had chance to look into it yet - I'm only really being drafted into this as our HR is outsourced to the parent company in Singapore and is a bit useless.

LivDiv

Just to be clear as well. I actually support enforcing IR35.
I don't think companies should be able to bypass their responsibilities like sick pay, holiday pay, pensions and redundancy as easily as they have in the past. I also think people in long, secure contracts should pay the same tax as those fully employed. Like I say, how secure is a job anyway?

The new rules involve a bit of over spill which is why I have changed my working methods with that client. I dont think I break the new rules but being investigated is a ballache well worth avoiding in of itself.

Spoiler:

EvilRedEye

Tbh, all our contractors are genuinely just contractors in spirit, we just give academics a bit of extra work to do on the side on top of their main jobs - it's just making sure we aren't triggering any rules without being aware of it.

Jaco

IR35 is a potential nightmare. So many are unaware of it. I now refuse to go on-site, insist on using my own equipment and keep my own hours. Only was to be sure.

RedDave2

Jaco wrote:

IR35 is a potential nightmare. So many are unaware of it. I now refuse to go on-site, insist on using my own equipment and keep my own hours. Only was to be sure.

You could always try nuking the site from orbit.

tigersgogrrr

Working in teaching is very secure. One of the things I don't often think about, but I do dodge so many worries concerning the business going bust or whatever.

Sometimes thing about going into a private industry because I could earn more but then I realise I have no actual skills.

beano

And working at private anything when there's a public version makes you a tory

tigersgogrrr

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/07/01/stressed-teachers-offered-electric-shock-therapy-combat-anxiety/amp/

Forward thinking approaches! Don't look at the root cause, just allow teachers to fucking electrify themselves so they can cope.

LarryDavid

“For the next ten minutes I want you to study the questions on page 37 and formulate some answers with the person sat next to you, I’m just off to electrocute my brain back into coherence...”

*classroom lights dim*

What an absolutely fucking mental ‘solution’ to the stresses of teaching. If your job requires continuous electro-convulsive shock therapy to get you through the day it’s probably time to demand some changes from your bosses or simply up and leave...

The Daddy

Ridiculous, but it’s £550 and of course shit bag academies are gonna jump on this as a cheap and easy fix.

Also, where’s the funny name thread?

Peter Caunt, of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, said: "We know this type of therapy works.

“The key to this study is to find out how cost-effective it can be compared to conventional treatments involving tablets and cognitive behavioural therapies.”

Diluted Dante

Every fucking call I seem to be getting at work right now

Tempy

My favourite calls used to be

"My laptop doesn't work, it's very important it works because I run my business off it! I need it fixed immediately and I want to speak to your manager because I am sick of you already!"

Ok... so you bought a bottom of the line, £300 Acer laptop, with no cover, no business support plan, and made it the cornerstone of your empire... without even bother to learn how to google "wifi won't connect" and this is now my problem?

RedDave2

Tempy wrote:

My favourite calls used to be "My laptop doesn't work, it's very important it works because I run my business off it! I need it fixed immediately and I want to speak to your manager because I am sick of you already!" Ok... so you bought a bottom of the line, £300 Acer laptop, with no cover, no business support plan, and made it the cornerstone of your empire... without even bother to learn how to google "wifi won't connect" and this is now my problem?

Never underestimate stupidity. Had a broken walk in fridge when I was on holiday. The acting chef tried everything. got an electrician to look at the fuse board, got an engineer to check out the motor and condenser etc. Finally resorted to calling me to ask for advice (and had run up about €200 in call out charges at this point in the day)

I asked what was the display showing (normally its where the digital temperature of the fridge is shown)

He told me it was blank.

I asked him to try turning it off for 10 seconds and restarting because it should be showing something.

The following silence was so pure....

Diluted Dante

Tempy wrote:

My favourite calls used to be "My laptop doesn't work, it's very important it works because I run my business off it! I need it fixed immediately and I want to speak to your manager because I am sick of you already!" Ok... so you bought a bottom of the line, £300 Acer laptop, with no cover, no business support plan, and made it the cornerstone of your empire... without even bother to learn how to google "wifi won't connect" and this is now my problem?

Aye, that was Talk Talk all over. You're running your entire business off a £3 a month Samsung Galaxy Y, and you have no contingency plan for this?

Just had a nice and simple call though, that unless you know what to do you wouldn't know how to fix, so I feel like I'm not completely wasting my time today.

JonB

Diluted Dante wrote:

Every fucking call I seem to be getting at work right now

Squeeze the llama.

Diluted Dante

It got squeezed a fuck ton on the call with the dissapearing football.

Dark Soldier

I always love the calls that expect you to completely rework the entire business to suit them. Yes love I'll happily send a lorry on an Aberdeen to London route to pick up and deliver the last ten quid dish cloth we have across the business.

Of course sir, we'll stop and search the entire warehouse to try and find two metres of material that we stopped selling three years ago. No sir you can't speak to my manager but you can fuck the fuck off.

Wookienopants

I don’t know how you guys have the patience for that stuff on the phone.
I hate dealing with people on the phone at the best of times.

Tempy

The basic necessity of putting a roof over our heads.

Dark Soldier

I enjoy helping people, old lonely people get the best help. The rest of em I enjoy doing the wanker sign to when they call.

LivDiv

Here DS I wanted a hat stand and the ones on your website I didnt like. I demand an option which is exactly what I have in mind.

cockbeard

Just pull something off your top of your head

Diluted Dante

Dark Soldier wrote:

I enjoy helping people, old lonely people get the best help. The rest of em I enjoy doing the wanker sign to when they call.

I frequently do this to my colleagues phone when their client is clearly being a wanker, which amuses him no end.

Wookienopants wrote:

I don’t know how you guys have the patience for that stuff on the phone. I hate dealing with people on the phone at the best of times.

We have a mute button.

Lord_Griff

http://thechive.com/2019/01/10/legit-reasons-for-why-gamers-make-the-best-employees-to-hire-16-photos/

The Daddy

Wow.

Gamers can inadvertently learn languages, math skills, survival skills and even how to load and shoot a gun. Some even know how to rob a bank or jack a car and get away with it.

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