Should have been a plumber

[Declan52]

That's some wage for fixing leaky taps and clearing blocked bogs!!! Think @Nickfromwales should get the sat nav on the van set for London when his spell as a one armed bandit is over.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5496089/london-plumber-210k-a-year-pimlico-stephen-fry/

[Russell griffiths]

Just wait for the taxman to find him, and Pimlico plumbers. 

[Nickfromwales]

I wouldn't take a pay cut for anyone ?

[Declan52]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

Just wait for the taxman to find him, and Pimlico plumbers. 

There all self employed so he should be doing it right. 

[Hecateh]

Strict rules about what counts as self employed these days. 

If you work only for one company wit agreed hours then you are NOT 'self employed'.  (If all their other work is cash in hand they can't count it 'cos that's illegal anyway)

To be self employed you have to be 'offered' work and be able to turn it down - if you don't have the option to turn it down without suffering repercussions then it is not 'self employed' 

The way round this is to be working under contract - but to do that you need to work for, or be, a limited company 

When it suits both sides though it rarely attracts the attention of the INLR

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

4 minutes ago, Hecateh said:

To be self employed you have to be 'offered' work and be able to turn it down - if you don't have the option to turn it down without suffering repercussions then it is not 'self employed' 

 

 

I'm pretty sure this is how Pimlico Plumbers works.  In essence it's a bit like a franchise, where the plumbers are offered jobs and can take them or not.  Those that are prepared to take on a lot of jobs and work long hours, earn the most.

 

I'm pretty sure it's a system that was well thought through, as the guy that runs it has made a mint, and seems to have a reasonable reputation.  The advantage for the plumbers is that they get the "brand advantage" of being Pimlico Plumbers, with the livery etc, and they get to choose which jobs to take on.  In effect they are all sub-contracted self-employed plumbers who need to maintain certain standards and response times in order to retain the rights to use the livery and get work from Pimlico.

[Oz07]

If that's the 210k bloke I just can't see it myself. There's got to be a catch. Is he supplying other labour or materials? Is this his turnover or his profit? Did this include a one off year where a capital gain was made? No way is a one man band subcontract plumber earning 4K a week in profit. 

[Jeremy Harris]

That article is a bit selective.  He's working in Kensington and Chelsea, probably THE most expensive area in the UK as far as pay rates for trades.  He's working long hours, too.  Having glimpsed at the crazy prices that are charged in this part of London, I can easily believe that he's making this much money.

[Oz07]

I still can't see it. It's got to be turnover not profit! I hope he's got a ltd company if it is profit! What would effective tax rate be on sole trader profit of 210k? 80k?

[Oz07]

I bet they supply materials and this figure is total earnings. The fact materials are supplied would help them argue the self employed case and encourage the jobs to be done efficiently 

[Hecateh]

32 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 

I'm pretty sure this is how Pimlico Plumbers works.  In essence it's a bit like a franchise, where the plumbers are offered jobs and can take them or not.  Those that are prepared to take on a lot of jobs and work long hours, earn the most.

 

I'm pretty sure it's a system that was well thought through, as the guy that runs it has made a mint, and seems to have a reasonable reputation.  The advantage for the plumbers is that they get the "brand advantage" of being Pimlico Plumbers, with the livery etc, and they get to choose which jobs to take on.  In effect they are all sub-contracted self-employed plumbers who need to maintain certain standards and response times in order to retain the rights to use the livery and get work from Pimlico.

As a franchise though surely, legally, they should set up a limited company, otherwise, they are technically employed.

I don't really know that much about, only what I learned 'self employed' as a trainer, nvq assessor - and knowing that my sister, who worked on contract for Zurich had to set up a company to put her money through as otherwise she was classed as employed despite doing other occasional work 

[Ferdinand]

Rates

 

http://www.pimlicoplumbers.com/services/central-heating

 

Expensive, but perhaps not outrageous for Kensington. Eg boiler service 100-170 for weekday to Sunday rates.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Ferdinand