Any fallout from registering as self employed?

[P_J_R]

A good friend of mine has recently started work for a landscaping company. The boss has around six young guys working for him, but not employed by him, as he says he can't afford to employ them directly. He asks for an invoice at the end of every week and pays them all by cheque leaving the guys to sort out whether they pay tax etc!

My mate says at least two of them have been working for him for about six years and have never paid any tax or stamp on their earnings. Said mate wants to pay his dues so reckons he'll register as being self employed, but having done a bit of research I've told him he's not strictly self employed as he works for the same person each week.

He loves the job and doesn't want to leave so hence the question as to whether there will be any fallout for him from HMRC if they find out he's not, strictly speaking, self employed?

Forgot to mention that the boss is married to an accountant, so she must be aware that what he's doing is illegal IMHO.

Any advice I can pass on gratefully received.

Edited by P_J_R on Friday 12th November 18:17

[P_J_R]

Cyberprog said:

Steve H said:

from what I know the boss should be deducting 20% and giving the guy a certificate to show this

I await to be corrected as I am no expert

That doesn't sound totally correct!

OP: I doubt that your friend would be considered self-employed in the inland revenue's definition of the status. Odds are his boss should be employing the guys and organising things like PAYE and contracts of employment, which is obviously a lot of work!

Shop the chap to the revenue anonymously if your mate doesn't convince him to do the right thing!

Trust me, I wouldn't hesitate to shop the bd as long as it didn't impact on my mate!

[P_J_R]

If the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, it will usually mean that the worker is self-employed:

• Can they hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense?
• Do they risk their own money?
• Do they provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tools that many employees provide for themselves?
• Do they agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
• Can they decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
• Do they regularly work for a number of different people?
• Do they have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense?

The above is from the HMRC site, so my mate would answer NO to every one of them, hence my original question.

Edited to add some interesting reading! http://www.essex.ac.uk/sociology/CRESI/Archive/Eva...

Edited by P_J_R on Sunday 14th November 16:06