Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

RE: Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

Sal the 1st — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:53:58 GMT

[quote user="apache"]

I've been told many of the corporates won't touch you unless you are ltd

[/quote]

which is why many of them can't get locums

agree regular work with one practice is a problem. I know I was a part time employee/employee rather than a locum a few times but then I was both employed and self employed

RE: Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 17:00:37 GMT

Great advice apache

RE: Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

apache — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:23:24 GMT

The problem, as a business owner, is not if you do a single locum shift/day/week it's when you do regular work that it becomes tricky. The HMRC can inspect the practice and can fine them because if the work is regular then you can't be self employed, you are an employee. If VN Ltd bills me then I am contracting that out to another company and the limited company gives me a degree of protection.

My advice would be to find an accountant who knows the industry and take their advice. If you get this wrong you put yourself in trouble and possibly the people you want to work for. That's far from ideal. A good accountant will save you more money than he/she costs as they understand far more about what you can claim relief on etc.

I've been told many of the corporates won't touch you unless you are ltd so it depends how appealing you want to be and how much work there is around. If you are doing this full time then limited company is probably the way, or umbrella and they take their cut. If you want to do regular work for a number of practices then consider negotiating and going on their payroll.

Remember when setting fees that you need to allow for no sick pay or holiday pay. No subscriptions or CPD allowances. Uniform? Equipment? etc.

The other thing - do you have kids or do you plan to in the future? The maternity pay situation is better with a limited company. You also only pay tax on what you draw not what you make.

RE: Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 08:56:39 GMT

Likely can't sign up with a recruiter unless Ltd Co or with an Umbrella as, under HMRC regs, they could be liable for your unpaid taxes so most if not all will decline to service you...

Edit.

That said, you can run as a successful self employed sole trader with the research work yourself. Pressure to find on going work and definitely unknown quantity in areas of country never been to before without any back up from a recruiter in case of problems but a good contract (I mean your own contract between you and the practice) for protection is hugely recommended. Think Judge Rinder disputes... "Do you have a contract? No?" ... Sigh...

Hth

RE: Self employed Locum Nurse- NO umbrella compant or ltd company.

Sal the 1st — Sun, 24 Mar 2019 20:27:49 GMT

its a while ago but I was a self employed locum -had no problem finding work. I used to state on my invoice that I was responsible for my own tax and NI. I put my train fares in with my expenses ,I don't drive but I suspect you will need to record mileages to be able to do this with your own vehicle. HMRC used to run short courses , think it was a couple of days? for newly self employed which showed you how to keep records and what could be offset against tax etc. Might be worth giving them a ring. The other option is if it is a short locum you may be able to have tax and NI deducted at source if the practice will put you on their books - then everybody is happy.

Just a little warning - don't go for a daily rate, there is potential for abuse - i know because i was daft enough to do that in the beginning. A day can last as long as the employer wants it to, an hourly rate will make sure you get paid for the hours you put in