Newly Self-employed? Thinking of going it alone?
Self-employment suits many people, their families and style of work. The longer they do it, the better it gets.
But starting up isn’t always easy. There are new problems to face without help from someone in charge.
Our stories are based on true experiences. We use and refer to official information sources.
Serious about business. The business team at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is committed to helping small firms and start-ups. And not just committed. They’re doing some good stuff to give local people the best chance of starting a successful firm. Have a look at their page on How we can support your business. They […]
Keep checking process and billing (and remember who’s paying). Robert had designed a universal device to help the mobility and safety of older or partly disabled people in their homes. He now needed advice about manufacturing and who could make a demonstration prototype he could use in obtaining start-up finance. He approached a local university […]
Look before you leap. I was working in a restaurant for about 5 years as the head chef when I saw a job advertised for a restaurant manager. The pay looked attractive and the restaurant itself meant I could get to work in under 20 minutes. I applied and got the job but the owner […]
Citizens Advice recommendations. Work and a regular income are vital to our sense of security. Yet we have seen rapid change in these areas. The workforce is increasingly diverse and mobile – many more people now work for themselves, via agencies and with hours that vary. At Citizens Advice we see workers and employers struggling to balance the […]
Terms of Trade. Read the small print. Two brothers are in business. They do small extensions, kitchen and bathroom refurbishment or updating. One brother asked for advice because a supplier had refused to take back a bath that appeared defective. If he had been a consumer, the supplier would have had to remedy the fault – […]
Government to review participation gap. The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) is planning to look at how government pensions policy affects self-employed people. In an upbeat press release – Review of automatic enrolment to build on success (12/12/16) – they say they will “consider how the growing numbers of self-employed people can be helped to save for their retirement”. […]
You might want to ignore HMRC but they won’t ignore you. A Director received an enquiry from HMRC about income from work done by his business a few years before. He ignored the enquiry but later received a tax demand based on estimated receipts. He challenged the estimate but then was sent a request to […]
“But I feel I was left out to dry.” I was on Job Seekers, but finding it difficult to get a job possibly because I am dyslexic and have problems reading, writing and doing paperwork. I am also no use with computers. It was about two years ago when we discussed my difficulties at Job […]
Stage 1 – Thinking Ahead. There’s so much online about the requirements and responsibilities of being self-employed it’s hard to know where to start. One option is the Citizens Advice Check List. It spells out the different forms of self-employment. It covers the requirements and responsibilities to do with tax, insurance, health and safety etc. And it links to other […]
Minister floats self-employed auto-enrolment. The government is planning a review of pensions in 2017. The minister responsible, Richard Harrington, reported in the Financial Times, says bringing self-employed people into the auto-enrolment system should be on the agenda. Self-employed workers would pay extra national insurance contributions and the money used to buy private ‘auto-enrolment’ pensions. Mr Harrington said: “The self-employed aren’t all people […]