The Dark Wob

I thought one of the deciding things was if people only worked* for that one company?

Tax and employment law in this country is unfit for purpose and a fucking joke.
The main purpose in most of it is to provide lucrative employment for lawyers, tax experts and HMRC wonks.

There is more than one form of self-employment of course.

You can be a self-employed sole trader, or you can run your own limited company.

It's needlessly complex.

Hooli wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:04 am I thought one of the deciding things was if people only worked* for that one company?

It's a consideration, but when getting those courier, non-account "cash jobs", you were contractually providing a service for another company.

Eddie Honda wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:10 pm

Hooli wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:04 am I thought one of the deciding things was if people only worked* for that one company?

It's a consideration, but when getting those courier, non-account "cash jobs", you were contractually providing a service for another company.

So to me that's two companies you're working for then. I don't pretend to understand the rules though, I've never needed too.

But you might get several different cash jobs in a tax year, so several companies.

Eddie Honda wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:14 pm But you might get several different cash jobs in a tax year, so several companies.

Yeah obviously, I was just thinking of the one cash job. So you're working for 1+n companies &therefore not an employee.

Well you might only get one job, but if you're free able to go chasing work elsewhere...

Hooli wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:55 pm

Eddie Honda wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:10 pm

Hooli wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:04 am I thought one of the deciding things was if people only worked* for that one company?

It's a consideration, but when getting those courier, non-account "cash jobs", you were contractually providing a service for another company.

So to me that's two companies you're working for then. I don't pretend to understand the rules though, I've never needed too.

One of the problems is that all the rules are complex and rely on interpretation and arguing.
Also the tax rules are totally separate from the employment law ones, so you can be ruled an employee for tax, but still not entitled to sick pay, paid holiday and other employment rights. It is, like most things involving politics and admin in the UK, an utter shitshow.

To my certain knowledge as far as the tax man knows no courier has ever, in the history of the courier industry, done a cash job. I certainly never* did.

brandersnatch wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:27 pm To my certain knowledge as far as the tax man knows no courier has ever, in the history of the courier industry, done a cash job. I certainly never* did.

There was a guy I worked with at Delta (aka Steve "Dyson" - the was no loss of suction when it came to hoovering up work) - He did get quizzed by the Inland Revenue and for the total value of cheques they'd determined he'd banked from non-account jobs, they also determined he'd made the same again in cash.

Like me taxi driving tips, I declared them all*

"Don't take the piss out of the taxman, he'll bum you for it. Never tax the piss out of the VAT-man, he'll ride you raw." - sort of the same thing now since the IR and HMCE merged.