Any body on here have any comments on the Contract ADR are trying to get people to sign. From what i have read of it. Its all for them and that many different. things to apply with that you would never meet their demands so you would end up being shafted. The best part is its with a new company name PPF,So basically your starting for a new company and shafted.
Were you offered the choice to go self-employed?
I wasnt offered the 37hr contract, which I would have refused anyway, but have chosen to go s/e. A lot of of agency drivers are agency because they dont want to be tied in to a contract/job. Signing their contract just goes against that.
I definitely didnt fancy a contract. Up here in the North East day shift agency drivers can only get about £7 P/H (with exceptions), so as self employed I go up to £8 and £12 after 8hrs. Having not had a pay rise since I started on the agency over 4 years ago, I welcome the opportunity to earn a bit more. Although I realise theres no holiday pay.
I am with ADR. I have asked a lot of questions which finally got answered after nearly 2 weeks.
There are huge implications of going through any other company as a s/e driver. IR35 raises it’s head if Limited Company.
You either go PAYE through ADR on a min hrs contract, or through a company I believe called ‘essential’ as a ‘self employed driver’. They stop a fee around £10 I believe each week for accountants charges plus a small fee for ‘their services’ to you. The claim is …and you will like this…‘they use an HMRC approved scheme’.
Let me tell you, as the HMRC will also tell you…‘there is no such thing as an HMRC approved scheme’. The HMRC give ‘guidance’ and ‘for instances’ on the HMRC site BUT, this is NOT an approved scheme, as they say 'Each company is treated in their own way’ and 'each individuals circumstances are different. Thefore there can be no blanket ‘scheme’. They will not and do not endorce any such schemes. It is a play on words used by the companies that ‘offer’ these services. Look at it this way, these companies are a business. They need income and YOU are their income, for virtually doing nothing you cannot do yourself and with a good accountant. An accountant will charge around £500 per year accounts and file all company/HMRC papers for you. Mine will not let me do anything as she ‘has her own way’ of doing things. If you did the accounts on a spread sheet yourself, the accountant still has to go over and check it all so no money saved doing it yourself. They will not sign anything off that cannot be proven.
As an ex financial and mortgage adviser, I have the knowledge to look at these schemes. As an electrical contractor and lorry driver, I have used a limited company and still do for their tax advantages but do NOT go in to using a Limited Company lightly. The company has to be set up correctly to ensure you can carry out the required activities. Just ‘buying a Limited Company’ does not give you the right to ‘just do anything’.
The articles of association have to have the activites in their summary. I think that is the right document, can’t remember:)
Above all, remember that IR35 states that if you supply purely labour on an hourly basis, paid by the hour with no stock at risk (in short) makes you a disguised employee and therefore have to pay company and employee NI etc. There is a flow chart on the HMRC site which basically throws you all over the place and gets you back to …employee:(
It is a very dirty scheme! Self Employed with tracable self employed number is a better position but agencies run scared of that. You have a valid s/e number, then you are tracable!
For the extra we receive down here for Limited Company rates, it really is not worth it. Electrical contracting attracts around a 30% premium, here driving it is a lowly pound AND I have told them as much!
Just because you trade as a limited company does NOT give you o/t rates over a certain hour either. You work to the same contracts that an employed person does but just a pound extra. No sick pay entitlement, no holiday pay. As for benefits from the state…long story and very difficult to attain unless you resign as director of the limited company.
So basically, Beware of these so called companies that offer you these ‘approved schemes’. You will be better off going as a direct Limited Company with your own accountant. He/she will have much more knowledge than these talking heads on the phones.
Hope this helps…and yes I still work for ADR but only weekends and adhoc days when I want to.
Cherkhan, Yes its a company called Esentual. They will charge me 6% of my weekly gross to invoice ADR and pay me. I must then file my own self assesment at year end.
Yes thats a bit steep, Ive asked about leaving them out and doing it all myself, but have been told by ADR that is not possible, I must go through Esentual. I dont have a choice.
Things arent as I would wish, but maybe its the best of a bad job. Another agency isnt even an option, as the others around here have totally buried their heads in relation to the AWR now in force, and are doing nothing for their drivers.
Early days, we`ll have to see how it all pans out.
Yes, you are right, it is a rip-off, £1200 a year fees on (for example) £400/week earnings - the sooner these leech companies are got rid of, the better.
Have you thought about going properly self-employed & contracting directly to the companies you are driving for? Ideally, & legally, you need more than one, but it’s worth asking whether they would even consider it as many would like to get shot of agencies if they could. I’ve approached two companies I have driven for regularly over the years, and both are planning to take on drivers directly. I remember it used to be very common before agencies started getting in on the act, so wouldn’t it be great if everyone who is setting themselves up as Ltd Co does it legitimately and bypasses the agencies completely - can but dream I suppose.
Reading between the lines they want to transfer you to a different contract after 11 weeks then another company for 11 weeks then to a third after that so the 11 weeks a cured at the first becomes void. thus avoiding paying extra money. this on the books.
No. The previously worked 11 weeks doesnt become void. Or so Im told anyway. Go back in after a gap and its week 12. So after 11 weeks you`re as good as out.
I work through the agency for Wincanton who will only deal with ADR as a national contract unfortunately, so its not an option to seek a way in as a sole trader, but indeed I would suggest to anyone who does work for a smaller company and has built up a rapport with them, to go direct. Everyones a winner…except the poor agency of course.
It would be unreasonable to expect the larger companies like Wincanton, DHL, Stobbies ect to deal with a multitude of different sole traders. Its just not feasible from an administrative point.
Its going to be interesting to see what happens here.
cheekymonkey:
No. The previously worked 11 weeks doesnt become void. Or so Im told anyway. Go back in after a gap and its week 12. So after 11 weeks you`re as good as out.
I’m fairly certain a break of 6+ weeks puts the accrual clock back to zero, shall find a link later on, so swapping an employee around after 7 or more weeks will get around the ‘problem’.
I notice Morrisons have also gone down the Swedish Derogation route. Just shows what a farce the whole law is becoming
ADR is the trading name for a group of companys under the PPF unbrella other companys in this group are purepay and a company called ESENTUAL yes that right they own or are involved with two unbrella companys so not only making money of you for driving but also for sorting out your money.The thing with Esentual is if you only work 40 hrs a week its good but once you work over 40 the money just dont seem to work out.I was on purepay for a year then switched to Esentual for two years ,which is the max you can get payed by a unbrella company if your place of work remains the same for two years .have now been S/E for a while and its much better for me.
Robertthegreat:
Any body on here have any comments on the Contract ADR are trying to get people to sign. From what i have read of it. Its all for them and that many different. things to apply with that you would never meet their demands so you would end up being shafted. The best part is its with a new company name PPF,So basically your starting for a new company and shafted.
You mean that they send Drivers from Hinkley to work at welham green? 
Was in August,not January when quiet.
HI I would like to know if any drivers in Scotland would like start up their own agency to take over from ADR . This agency along with others seem to be ripping off drivers with making them sign contracts that require them to pay their own NI and the company essential taking the cost of this out of the drivers take home pay. I would like to hear from any drivers who would like to join up and start their own agency which gets paid from the company and puts all profits back into insurance CPC and courses such as ADR certification and is non profit making.
ive just started working through agency,whats all this mean 
i overheard someone talking about this last night but its all new to me. i just thought you told them when you was available for work and that was it.btw my agency havnt mentioned anything about contracts yet.
i was a self employed welder about 10 years ago,the company who i got all my work through stopped 18% of my wages for tax(so that i didn`t end up with a big tax bill)and i paid my own ni contributions via direct debit.
at the end of the tax year i dumped a biscuit tin full of reciepts on my accountants desk and that was it…job done nothing to pay,so i would say i would go that way again if needed.
so am i right in thinking that the agency contract says you have to work a set number of hours
The agency contract won’t make you work set hours,but if you give up your rights to equal treatment they will pay you set number of hours,don’t do it no pay.The work they give you can be anything they have on any money not just driving.
won`t be signing no contract then 
I’m new to truck net but find some of the items up for discussion quite interesting.as for working for ADR . I’ve been on there books for the best part of seven years but always having another agency in the back ground in case there was ever a cancellation or nothing available… The talk of signing a contract with ADR is new to me but I do remember essensual they were biggest joke ever,and I was glad to go self employed to get away from them.i have been reliably informed that ADR is owned by the wife of the big boss of NFT so if you want to work for NFT you must go through ADR. The office that I work through is just the same as every other agency …lies and promises that don’t mean anything but can mean disappointment to you at the end of the day…I have made a good living from them but that means going self employed,get a good accountant(mine is very good and very reasonable £35 per month) also ADR is what’s called self billing so there is no need to mess about with invoices.(Blue Arrow agency is the same) If I am asked to work from another depot the rewards can be very good.The bottom line is I work the days I want to work with no pressure from any one exept the wife. Good luck alan tee