Does the 24 month rule apply here?

[ukltdcon]

Hi,

Not trying to be clever as I genuinely work 60-80 hours every week and technically does it exempt me from the 24 month rule.

I've been thinking about my situation I'm a long way off the 24 month rule, but I'm wondering wether it even applies to me. I regularly take on many hours of freelance work and have more than one contract however the main contract is for 37.5 hours a week. As I understand this rule it's if you spend 40% or more of your working time at a clients location then this applies.

If I was to spend 60% of my working week hours, at home e.g evenings,weekends etc and I have valid timesheets and invoices and payments from clients to back this up I would be permanently exempt anyways?

I'm not currently an employee of my ltd company but if i was, it is possible to work upto 78 hours a week legally as you can opt-out of the break rules so it would be possible as 1 day on the main contract would be working from home anyways.

The other question I have is that sometimes not all my hours would be paid for e.g I could spend 2 hours trying to solve an issue where I have only quoted 1 hour would it be 2 hours or 1 hour that counts against this rule if required it would be easy to keep recorded evidence of this.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Yes, you need to evaluate the 40% rule before the 24 month rule kicks in.

I'm afraid I didn't understand a word of the rest of your post.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

IMHO it would apply. The 24 month rule applies to claims for travel and accommodation expenses; the only place you travel to is your 37.5 hours per week contract and therefore it is where you travel to 100% of the time. You also need to be aware that the 24 month rule comes into force as soon as you become aware that the contract will exceed 24 months not when it does exceed 24 months

[northernladuk]

I bet your accountant is glad you didn't ask them first!

[SueEllen]

It's the working time directive you are opting out of not the break rules.

[WTFH]

Quick question... does your main client know that you are doing several other jobs at the same time?


There's nothing wrong with having multiple contracts as long as they don't have a negative impact on each other. i.e. if you are working 80 hours per week every week, are you getting enough rest/relaxation so that the quality of your work does not suffer?


From reading your post it seems like there is a lot going through your mind and it's a tad confusing for me.


Am I right in thinking:
1. You have a main contract which is 37.5 hours per week.
2. 1 day per week of that contract is working from home.
3. You have several other contracts.
4. You do some work unpaid.
5. You are not an employee of your limited company.


Questions:
1. What way are you currently being paid? (is it ClientCo - Agent - Umbrella - You, ClientCo - YourCo - You, or something else?)
2. How long have you been contracting for?
3. What does your accountant say?
4. If most of your working life is spent at home, then the travel expenses only relate to one contract. Is that contract a long distance away?
5. How long is the 37.5hr contract for? How long has it been going on so far?

[LondonManc]

Quick question... does your main client know that you are doing several other jobs at the same time?


There's nothing wrong with having multiple contracts as long as they don't have a negative impact on each other. i.e. if you are working 80 hours per week every week, are you getting enough rest/relaxation so that the quality of your work does not suffer?


From reading your post it seems like there is a lot going through your mind and it's a tad confusing for me.


Am I right in thinking:
1. You have a main contract which is 37.5 hours per week.
2. 1 day per week of that contract is working from home.
3. You have several other contracts.
4. You do some work unpaid.
5. You are not an employee of your limited company.


Questions:
1. What way are you currently being paid? (is it ClientCo - Agent - Umbrella - You, ClientCo - YourCo - You, or something else?)
2. How long have you been contracting for?
3. What does your accountant say?
4. If most of your working life is spent at home, then the travel expenses only relate to one contract. Is that contract a long distance away?
5. How long is the 37.5hr contract for? How long has it been going on so far?

Mostly caffeine by the look of it.

[ukltdcon]

Thanks for the info yes mostly caffeine Crafty HMRC definitely thought this one through..

First gig in contracting it's short distance aways , had ltd company for 8 years and do my own accounts, I did have an accountant for the first few years though.

Just trying to maximise any gains that can be had through the system.

I don't take a salary yet as I was employed most of the year so waiting till April

[WordIsBond]

This is your first gig, you were employed most of the year, but you have had LtdCo for 8 years?

[WordIsBond]

There's nothing wrong with having multiple contracts as long as they don't have a negative impact on each other. i.e. if you are working 80 hours per week every week, are you getting enough rest/relaxation so that the quality of your work does not suffer?

I did 75-80 hours a week for 8 months once, about two thirds WFH. Killer project. I was a lot younger than I am now, though.

WFH does make it more tolerable. You can put in a 14 hour day and take several breaks through the day. It's not sustainable but you can do it and maintain efficiency for quite a while if your ability to concentrate/focus is strong.