New job - Sin Bin advice : Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:22 pm  

Requesting advice from the wonderful inhabitants of The Sin Bin, mainly because no one I know has found themselves in the sane position as me.

I've been offered a new job as a Field Sales Rep. It involves B2B sales, is full time and payed on a commission basis only. However I will technically self employed and have been told I have to pay my own tax and NI. I'm currently unemployed, and in no mood to turn the role down unless I have serious concerns about the legality of it.

I'm basically interested to know if anyone else has been in a similar position. What tips and advice could you give that would help me adjust to self employment of this nature? I have always been an employee in my previous roles, so this will be a new experience for me.

In addition I am interested to know of any rights I may have, and what the 'employer' can or cannot do.

Re: New job - Sin Bin advice : Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:47 pm  

Firstly there is no employer/employee relationship, you are a service provider, you do not have all the rights a regular employee has. This has some good points and some bad points.

You will need to inform HMRC within 28 days that you are self employed, they will send you all the details, they also offer some short seminars for the newly self employed, go on one, they are invaluable.

Accurate book keeping is a must, you will need advice on what is acceptable for your business.

Also remember that the amount you get paid is not all yours, you have NI and Tax to come off that.

Re: New job - Sin Bin advice : Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:28 am  

I'd echo what BG has said, take all the advice that HMRC have to give, some would say speak to an accountant too, I wouldn't rush down that route immediately, use HMRC's advice and read their information then keep all receipts (get into the habit of asking for and saving them), get remittance advices from your employer at every payment (get them to itemise what they are paying your for), learn how to produce your own invoices and reference everything (give every sale a number and write that number on the remittance when you get paid for it).

Basically devote enough time every week to do the paperwork every week, put aside a Friday afternoon for instance - if you do this even on a simple spreadsheet then HMRC will advise you next year how much tax to pay and at least in the short term you won't need an accountant, however if you make a small fortune at the job it might be a good idea to consult one.

Don't be afraid to make tough decisions, this isn't playing at working, you are not earning anything until you start selling and you're going to have to spend quite a bit of money before those payments start to come in, if its not working out after three months then review your situation very critically and don't keep hoping that things will get better - its up to you to make it better.

The people who are employing your are not your employers, they are your customers, treat them as such and make sure they pay you on time and make sure that you submit your invoices on time and that they are clearly marked when you expect payment in accordance with the terms you have agreed - have they agreed with you what area you will cover and do you have exclusive rights to that area, you can't argue about this later so make sure its in writing.

On the plus side, it can be very rewarding, personally and financially.

Re: New job - Sin Bin advice : Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:41 am  

Apart from setting aside money for HMRC, you'll also need contingency reserves to cover sick days, holidays and simple downturns. February has been a crap month for me, some days it's seemed like I've been paying to work but as long as I can tick over for a while, I'll be OK.

Re: New job - Sin Bin advice : Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:19 am  

What will you be selling ?