Agency work

How do you go about becoming self employed? Am thinking about working for an agency was wondering what the pros and cons are?Been cards in most of my working life,couple of cash in hand years during the bleak 1980's.Any advice?

Im self employed and all i want now is to find a firm who put you on the cards. Best thing is the rebate,but when it comes to getting laid off n holidays n days off its ****. If you did decide for change id stay away from agencies they pay a **** hourly rate then you have to pay to get the money you have worked for. I only jump on agency for couple days if im out of work n need a stop off. Hope this helps.

theres a couple of agency boys where i am ......... i think its bad news ...
low hourly rate.....
aggro getting money BUT lots of promises

First thing is to get your CIS registration number from the tax office when you get your appointment. They will also tell you how you can pay your insurance stamp(NI contributions). Get this number asap 1969 then you will be paying the going tax rate for self employed. Until then you will be paying 30 per cent, which you dont want.
As regarding agency work, there are good payers and bad, like firms in a way.
I have dealt with a lot of agencies in the past, there are some good ones out there, such as Forefront, Thorn Baker and a good few others, but there are some you should avoid like the plague. As the previous posting explains, being self-employed doesnt mean you need to work for agencies.

Stop where you are 1969 with your cards in, the grass isnt always greener on the other side mate

whaty no-one has told you yet is you can be employed and self employed at the same time !

it just all goes down on your tax return as taxable earnings,another thing that you could do with is an accountant to do your return with unless you feel confident to do it yourself , it isn't that hard - however a good accountant will have the knowledge of all the little extra things you can claim for and he'll do it all for a fixed fee,normally taken out of your rebate,that way your not paying money up front that you havent got and it gives them the incentive to work quicker so thay can be payed, a smaller company or individual will have lower overheads and so fees,my son just commissioned a local guy and cost him £250.....big companies will charge you a percentage of the rebate which could run into several hundred pound for the same ammount of work so be carefull who you choose( try word of mouth from another scaff

GM gives good council here. The only winners with self-employed workforce, from what I have seen, are the employer's. Large employers with a mainly self-employed workforce save thousands on NI contributions alone and can drop labour at a moments notice.
If you are a really good scaff you may make it work but for the majority it isnt a good move.

1969 if you have work via sub contract, you can always pm me for further info mate regarding time sheets, pricework and good rates via agencies ect.
I have noticed that you have been in the game as long as me.
By what I have noticed, you have been 'cards in' for almost all your scaffolding life. My career has been different as I have nearly always been a 'subby'.
Any info you need, just pm.
John

Thanks boys,some sound advice.Think I will stay put for now,better the devil you know,even if they are crap!!

I prefer the freedom of being Self Employed.
I like the idea of coming and going as i please, even though i dont really do that, lol.

The tax is better... 20% across the board, instead of the 33% then upto 40%+ or what ever if your lucky enough to earn well.
I dont take massive time off work and the last few years - having young kids and trying to make ends meet, i aint done much in the way of long holidays... so it suits me.

But it depends on how you are...
I like being Self Employed tbh.

I Agree With Jason And John The Manc,Iv Been A Subbie Almost All My Scaffolding Life And Prefer The Freedom And No Hassle, You Go To The Job,Do The Job, Get Paid For The Whats Not To Like?

lets face it the real appeal of being on the cards are myths
1-job security...you are just as likley to get droppped like a hot potato when work get slow as a self employed worker

2-sickness benifit...only paid after the 4th day and statatory @approx £12 a day - S/E= a personal sickness and accident plan can cover your full wages from day 1 for as little as £60 a year

3- holiday pay 28 days intitlement(most contractual agreements rely on basic hrs only and have to be taken when told or agreed with employer-- S/E = the tax rebate money you get is more than you would have received as an employee & you can take your hols whenever you want for as long as you want.

4- as an employee i will receive free training...in truth although many feed you the story that they will pay for your training the fact is very few do...S/E= the cost of any training tickets you pay for get offset against your tax bill so ineffect u get your tickets for free

i find the biggest bonus to being self employed is the freedom to work where & when and who i wanna work for....also the old the more i work the more i earn is true, its not a set hourly rate all the time
and of course its not entirely untrue that an employer likes you to be S/E as he makes more money cos he dont pay NI,hols etc...but whilst he doesnt have shell out all that xtra NI conts(and lets face it ,its only goes on benifits for illegal scroungers ) he can afford to pay you more than he would if you were on the cards
so in a nut shell .....go for it it cant do you any harm,

Spot on.
100% agree.