20hrs a week PAYE plus freelance work

[fluffles]

I'm currently working full time but my contract ends soon. I have seen a few 20-25 hr a week jobs i like the look of (and none full time) and if i applied for one of the part time jobs i'd try to pick up some freelance consultancy work.

But, i've never been self-employed.. and i don't know how to sort it out.. and also do i have to register as 'self employed' if i am a PAYE employee for 20+hrs a week??

Or do i just declare my extra income on a tax form at hte end of the year?

thanks for any advice.

As far as I recall, you have to register as self-employed within 3 months of becoming so. The HMRC website is the best place to start.

Then you have to fill in a tax return each year declaring your freelance income.

Oh, and every form from here on in will be a PITA because you can't tick one box

And HMRC will probably ask you to clarify your position with a really annoying form too (not automatically, but I had to do this several times as my change in employments status coincided with maternity leave and becoming part-time self-employed!)

You just ahve to keep an eye on any conflict of interest - I haven't had a problem so far, but I work in charity sector. Some employers can be a bit wary of it, depending on what area you work in.

so do you think the PAYE job covers NI contributions? or do i have to do that too?

and if i have a part-time PAYE job and lose it can i get jobseekers? or does a few hours a week of self-employed prevent that?

aaarghhhh to many questions!!!

You pay Class 1 NI via PAYE (depending on earnings) and you pay something like £11 a month in NI Class 2 - details here. Depending on your self-employed earnings you may also pay Class 4.

I think that if your self-employed hours are less than 16hrs per week, then you may still qualify for Jobseekers as long as your NI contributions are up-to-date and there may be some income/savings rules too.