Pay with DICT8 Extra Plus

[Whitestar55]

Hi all, has anyone else started a new thread yet?

I'm not sure but I think it refers to self-employed people who set up a company and then employ and pay themselves a salary through that company, the company being the intermediary. In the case of the transcription companies it looks like they are the intermediaries, acting more like an agency. Self-employment classification is a grey area. I think if we were truly self-employed we would have direct negotiation with the clients rather than through an intermediary controlling/supervising how we do the work (only allowing access to certain specialties and a small number of tasks at a time, specifying layout/format of letters, removing tasks if not completed in a certain time, QC/proofreading our work and providing feedback, not allowing us to provide someone else to do the work without their authority, plus the companies that ask for specific working hours/times or number of tasks typed). I can't see that we would be liable to pay more tax or national insurance because we are individual 'self-employed' workers and are not providing the services through our own companies. As far as I'm aware the companies 'employ' SE contractors to avoid paying employer's NI, and other benefits and even though they have to pay corporation tax it still works out cheaper for them. I'm not an expert, this is just information I've gleaned from various websites.

@Whitestar55 thanks. When I tried to find out more it seemed to refer to people who use tax avoidance schemes and I remember that question is asked on the tax form.

cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/business/what-is-ir35/#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20complying%20with%20the%20IR35,any%20material%20changes%20to%20the%20contract.%20More%20items

It's still confusing, but Jeremy Hunt has reversed the scrapping of IR35 so it looks like things will remain the same anyway.

inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/ir35-scrapped-is-being-changes-tax-rules-reversed-jeremy-hunt-statement-1915708

So basically you can set up a limited company as a director and make yourself an employee of that company and pay yourself a low salary, meaning low tax and NI, and you are actually employing yourself because you are a director (basically owner) of the company. Limited companies pay shares of the profits to the directors/investors and this I think is taxed at a lower rate. So you would pay yourself a low salary but would compensate by receiving shares taxed at a lower rate than your salary.

It seems we are classed as sole traders, so we shouldn't be affected, and as the report states, Jeremy Hunt has reversed the scrapping of IR35 (for now) anyway.

@joewe41 - did you get your foot pedal to work to Tpro? I had some odd dictations this morning, have noticed that occasionally the usually good dictators sound distorted. Then there has been the email about cloud based systems and I wonder if that is the cause, new software. However, on two letters my foot pedal suddenly stopped and the only way I could get it to work was to put the letter in the WIP folder and then retrieve it. All rather odd.

@Gally123 Hi, yes. I use Kaspersky as internet security and the safe browsing mode in it was preventing the foot pedal working. Bizarre as everything else worked so had to take that off in the end. Find some of the specialties difficult like cardiac. Do we have to pick up all specialties or can we concentrate on certain ones? I try them but end up returning. Still, most of it is good.

@joewe41 It might depend on your hospital and your team leaders, however with mine it varies, some days I can type what I want to, other days (like today) they message and say can you do such and such. Some days they want the urgents done, other days it backlog stuff. I do try and avoid some specialties, I do not like cardiac, or diabetic, or eyes. I can do simple ENT and orthopaedics. I used to have rheumatology on my list but that has now gone, (not that I did much of that) the specialities vary. One of my hospitals has vascular the other does not. I try and stick with the specialties I know but also it helps to be aware of the good and bad dictators irrespective of their specialty! I have typed people I knew and were good even when I had never done that specialty before and try and avoid others in my preferred specialties.

I'm sorry if this has been asked before but do you have to commit to hours/days working for TPro or is it flexible like Dict8? (which is great when there's work but it's rather thin on the ground at the moment). Thanks.

@joewe41 like you I find if the dictation is good you can do any specialty. I like do a varied range. The only one I don’t get on with is neurology. I have just made so much more with Tpro than dict8 at the mo I’m sticking with them. I also like the contact you get they talk to you as a human being and even wish me a good weekend if it’s a Friday when I’m emailing plus the feedback is all relevant and I always get thanked for my efforts. Also the fact I can access old patient letters is so helpful and even getting sent a bleep list means you know who all the juniors are if referred to in a letter. They have thought about what you need to make remote editing/typing work. I really feel part of a Team again and realise how appalling dict8 treat their transcribers.

You have to do 500,000 characters a month which can be done at any time you like. So no set times but just a set amount, which is not the case with Dict8. If you can do 1m characters you get paid 10% more for the lot. 500,000 characters pays around £420 but there is an exchange rate involved since they are in Ireland so it could vary a little. They seem okay with not hitting the target for a short while when you start, but they basically don't want to process smaller amounts.

I actually like the way DICT8 leave you to get on with it. I think working for the other company I'd feel like an employee with a boss, without employee's benefits.

Thank you for the info. Sorry one more question, on average how many hours does it take to complete 500,000 characters?

@Whitestar55 - the way I look at is to consider a hairdresser. Most are self-employed and rent a chair in the shop, often hiring a person to wash the hair. They may do as they please to some extent but they are limited by the shop opening hours, the times of the customers appointments (if any) and they also have to do (to some extent) what the customer wishes, ie if someone wants red highlights they are not going to return if given blonde streaks instead. If a hairdresser styles my hair (and not been for ages) differently to how I requested it I am not happy. Hence as typists we are confined by DICT8 layout etc and may be guided by Tpro as to which letters they request we do which have become more urgent ( akin to someone dropping in and needing an "urgent" hair appointment for a job interview which may upset the appointment bookings slightly but you do not necessarily turn them away as you need the money). Being self-employed does not necessarily mean you can do what you want. Ask a painter and decorator!

@Gally123 I know, I understand, but I don't think we are paid enough as 'freelance' transcriptionists. Hairdressers and other true freelancers can set their own rates.

As far as I'm concerned these transcription companies are agencies, who should be offering better rates of pay and other benefits, not exploiting the employee disguised as a freelance worker status.

@Whitestar55 - I agree with you about the pay - DICT8 might have been good money years ago when it first started but with no pay rise for years and years, esp in these times, it is not good. However, it is down to supply and demand, and as long as there are people willing to do the work for what they offer they will not change it, esp as other companies that have sprung all seem to offer the same rates. Tpro used to offer more but it dropped its rates accordingly so now there is no incentive for companies to pay more.

It's a gig economy workforce that benefits the companies' profits by being a cheaper workforce, through loopholes in the law, who have to work their assess off to make a living. I know it suits many of us to have the freedom and flexibility, but that doesn't justify the exploitation.

I have no incentive to apply to any more of these transcription companies. I've also seen a hybrid on site and remote working NHS Trust transcribing job advertised, so maybe in the near future more Trusts will follow and hopefully offer purely remote working eventually.

I'm with Whitestar, i'll stick to Dict8 as from today, I was forced to apply for carers allowance, i tried not to go down the benefit road for so long now but as i sat all day at my pc from around 9 to 10 last night and although i wasn't constantly badgering the dict8 refresh button i typed 3 letters! For one speciality, thats pants and todays been just 1 though i've been busy making the application. I can't sit tied to my pc and neglet my autisic son so Dict8 may only get me when they email me from now on, or at least i can perhaps just about make up the buffer with it if they give me the allowance. Rest of the week will be thankfully spent with my son which is why i left full time in the first place.

Frazzledbynature same here, I care for my elderly mother who lives with us and have had no option but to apply for carers allowance. Not something I wanted to do but I have no option.

There are a couple of doctors on Tpro dictating "Bon Secure Hospital" (as opposed to Bon Secours). 😆

@Gally123 😂

Typoqueen, sorry I don't know the answer to this yet, I've only just started this week and so am not at full speed yet. I can tell you that there is a dashboard with a graph which includes your typing time and number of chars, but that would be less than the actual time taken because of changing between letters, looking stuff up, etc.

Good luck with your claim. You have to submit P45's, last time I worked was at Asda in the pharmacy and you know what? No sign of a P45 from them! They paid my last trickle of pay into my bank account but as that was a month later I had been kicked out of accessing my online profile which got you access to your pay slips. It's lucky all the details were listed in my tax details on my gov.uk account! I then had to provide print outs of my Dict8 invoices also. All went in the post yesterday. Fingers crossed the papers are accepted. There's no way of retrieving a P45 we've discovered, not that I need it for a job but i expect perhaps claiming pensions too? Dunno!