How to invoice my employer for work done freelance?

[EqualStevens]

Hi, this is just copy/pasted from a thread I started earlier in _Chat - hope someone can help!

I'm taking on some extra work for my employer on a freelance basis. They don't want to pay me for it in with my normal pay because then they'd have to pay taxes & NI which wouldn't make it worth their while using me as opposed to their previous freelancer, so I need to do them an invoice.

I'm not registered freelance/self employed or whatever so how do I create an invoice? What information needs to be on there? Can I specify payment terms/late payment penalties? (My company is French and AWFUL at paying on time).

What about tax? Do I now have to fill in a tax self-declaration and pay tax at the end of the year?

This is a bit of a minefield to be honest! Your employer is trying to avoid paying tax (which is a crime) and the Revenue will not be too happy with your employer if they find out. It's your employer's risk though, not yours, so you can do as they are asking you to do.

You will need to register as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs (look online on www.hmrc.gov.uk) and yes, you will have to file a self-assessment tax return and pay tax on your income as a 'freelancer'.

You can just create an invoice in Word, it doesn't need to be complicated. Your business name (as registered with the Revenue, probably just your name), address, invoice date, payment due date, details of the work done, invoice value. Yes you can say that interest will be charged on late payment but I wouldn't hold your breath on it being paid!

Hope that helps.

they are breaking the law if they are paying you to do your normal job without deducting paye
if the work is absolutely different and you do not do it in the office or under their direct control you could swing it but be very wary

Thanks both of you for your replies.

It is different sort of...sorry to drip feed...the company is French but also operational in the UK. I am employed by the UK branch of the company but the self-employed work will be for the French branch of the company. The self employed work will be a magnification of a tiny part of the job I do for the UK side of the company.

drip feeding is fine - essential precaution against self outing!

If the invoice you raise will be to the SarL part of the business rather than the Ltd part you should be fine
but it will make sense to register as self employed if it is likely to happen again