Cash in hand?

[scotscorner]

We have recently got a new cleaner and she has been very clear about cash in hand only (first time we’ve met her). The old ones were very professional; had invoices and clearly trying to run it as a proper business - though same price!

It got me thinking about how I feel about cash in hand. Obviously it doesn’t absolutely mean that someone is failing to declare income but it’s an indicator. Interested in views - does ‘cash in hand’ put you off hiring a tradesperson / self-employed person or do you think it’s none of your business?

YANBU - it would put me off
YABU - it’s none of your business

If your terms are 24 hours in advance or no service that cuts out the non payment issue.

That's evasion (crime) not avoidance (legal).

Yes tax avoidance (legal) is much easier for rich people to access . Poor people are more likely to evade.

I pay 45% marginal rate as does Sunak for his PAYE earnings. In fact I earn more than Sunak does if you just count his MP and PM salaries. He will pay exactly the same rate as I do for that portion of his income.

However the bulk of his income was achieved through capital gains rather than employment and these attract a lower tax rate as they would for all of us.

He’s had no special treatment.

I couldn’t give a fuck whether or not my cleaner declares her money.

She has a PAYE job, young children (one chronically ill), and is financially struggling. If me and her other couple of clients can make a hard life a bit easier then good.

I don't think he has had any special treatment.

The tax system is just inherently unfair.

I get paid cash in hand but everything is done properly - it's just the lady I work for isn't goot with tech and has recently been diagnosed with dementia so paying cash and writing it down in her book is the easiest way for both of us. She can check she's paid me and how much, and it means we have to go out at least once a week (which is a massive boost to her MH) to get the money.

I'm not of the opinion that cash always means off the books, but MN in general has slight double standards about it
Tradespeople asking for cash = definitely dodgy, avoiding tax
Cleaner asking for cash - meh, doesn't bother me!

😂
Oh Dear

Why not just pay her an amount to cover the tax as well as the agreed rate for the job then instead of committing fraud?

No service is good if there is no payment. It is not possible for cleaners or small businesses to replace the income lost due to unpaid bills or late cancellations. Larger companies have credit controllers to ensure timely payments (I perform this role for DP's business).
When agreeing to use a service, people should pay their bills according to the terms and conditions laid out either verbally or written. In this case, the terms are cash. If the customer does not agree with these terms, they are free to go elsewhere.

£20 per hour, North (Yorkshire) and I don’t mind having someone in the house. We don’t have too much worth stealing! Just could do with a hand given floofy dog, baby, full time job and a husband who’s away with work quite often 🙂

Asked for some tasks specifically that I know I am bad for/need done a lot (vacuuming, bed changing, bathroom deep clean) and otherwise happy to leave to their discretion .

I couldn't care less if my cleaner, who works in a care home on minimum wage, earns a bit extra once every 2 weeks cleaning.

Jesus she's hardly banking in the Cayman's.

Why is it that folks begrudge the poor, but billions evaded goes with barely a mention.

For a big job which was done by a tradesman no as you won't have any comeback if anything goes wrong. For a cleaner I couldn't care less if they weren't declaring all their earnings. The only thing that would put me off is remembering to get cash out to pay them.

Exactly

I don't dispute that. I'm just pointing out that if my clients don't pay in advance in accordance with my terms and conditions the service doesn't happen, which is why I pay my cleaner in the same way so that she doesn't have to ask me for payment.

All that means is that I either waste my evening chasing payment for the following day, or they don't pay me and I lose out completely (no payment, no work and no time to find a replacement client for that slot).

Get a grip.

I suppose it depends on the nature of the business. New clients have to pay on booking or I don't hold the slot.

Yes agree! If £20 cash pays for the cleaner to get to Dentist,decent bottle wine, school shoes etc then absolutely yes .

Oh and I give my cleaner a cash bonus at Christmas. That's a gift.

🤣 I have no words

Why fine for a cleaner? She should be paying tax if appropriate and not potentially scamming benefits?
If she stole from the OP (also a crime) would that also be ok?

I'm a dog walker with a lot of ad-hoc clients whose bookings change each week depending on their shifts, so it would be a real pain to try and keep track of loads of advance payments everyday.

For example, tomorrow I have 16 animals booked in but they're all on different schedules and the owners all owe different amounts of money.

One daily Monday-Friday client with three dogs.
One client who is normally three days a week, but only needs me once next week due to the holidays.
One client who is normally a daily client, but again only needs me once next week due to half term.
One three day a week dog whose days change regularly depending on shifts.
Two pet-sit dogs who I don't normally look after at all, plus two cats from the same household.
Two dogs who get visits twice a week, but the days vary depending on shifts.
Two ad-hoc dogs who have one set day a week and other random days depending on shifts and my availabilty.

That's a LOT of payments to have to chase on a daily basis.

I’m happy to pay cash, including for trades people.