DICT8 Plus Transcription Group 2023

[Whitestar55]

Here's the new thread. Hope everyone finds it x

@Carosel2 @danblack87 @Gally123 @TypoQueen1 @Lunnuni @deflatedbirthday @nomadchild @Frazzledbynature @Chrissols @cathyk2002 @Pinksville

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

@Pinksville Can only assume the error fixed yesterday as status now showing date of cheque issued 27/06; however, it has still not arrived??

Having 2 days off typing as had knee injection and need to rest the joint, not complaining as Wimbledon and Tour de France to watch, very happy. Back to it tomorrow though. I’ll enjoy it awhile I can.

@nomadchild Recover soon and enjoy the Wimbledon.

@Pinksville : My cheque has just arrived so should clear by next Tuesday I guess!!! Will have taken 2 weeks to receive payment for work in June 🙄

Does anyone actually get a nice clear dictation these days?

@danblack87 so did mine LOL !

I did some at weekend. Hadn't done any for a while. All very clear but very very short letters so didn't really earn much for the number of letters produced. 😕

Nearly all the Dict8 stuff I have been getting has been appalling quality and very little of it. I had a low line count for last month. Glad there is T pro to make up the difference!

Hi all. This is a further email from my MP. She says she thinks I should be classified as an agency worker! I doubt it is that easy though. As the attachment she provided says, it depends on the contract. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. I have removed the salutation etc so as not to share personal details.

'I am writing as I have now received a response to my emails sent to the Department of Health and the Minister for Women and Equalities on your behalf.

I have attached the response in its entirety to this email.

From reading the response of the minister, it would seem that you should be classed as an agency worker:

Recent case law states that a business is typically considered an agency (and so needs to comply with the EAA 1973 and associated regulations) wherever they are acting as an intermediary between someone looking for work and a business looking to hire a member of staff. An individual is typically considered an agency worker (and covered by these additional protections) if they have a contract with an agency but work temporarily for and under the control of a separate business

I think there are two lines that could very usefully be pursued here. Firstly, the link to the government website will allow you to determine whether you are receiving your full entitlements. Once you have done this, I would urge you to get in touch with EAS for them to assess your situation and determine whether this is something they can take forward for you.

I hope that you receive a positive outcome in this case, and please do not hesitate to get in touch regarding this or any other matter.

With best wishes,

Helen'

Here is the text of the attachment she sent, also with my personal details removed:

An individual’s entitlement to employment rights (such as holiday pay or the minimum wage) are determined by their employment status. The term agency worker is not an employment status. Agency workers can have different employment statuses, which will depend on the reality of their situation and contractual arrangement. The Employment Agencies Act 1973 (the EAA 1973) and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (the Conduct Regulations) provide additional protections to agency workers irrespective of their employment status. These are enforced on
their behalf by the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate, which regulates the recruitment sector. Recent case law states that a business is typically considered an agency (and so needs to comply with the EAA 1973 and associated regulations) wherever they are acting as an intermediary between someone looking for work and a business looking to hire a member of
staff. An individual is typically considered an agency worker (and covered by these additional protections) if they have a contract with an agency but work temporarily for and under the control of a separate business. There is more information on the rights of agency workers on gov.uk at the following link (www.gov.uk/agency-workers-your-rights). Whether the business
activity your constituent describes could be considered as agency work (and the resulting impact on their entitlement) depends on the factual and contractual reality in each situation.

I hope you will appreciate that the Government cannot comment on or provide legal advice about individual situations, but I hope the information provided is helpful in addressing your constituent’s concerns. They may wish to share details of their experience with EAS and can do this by email ([email protected]) or phone (020 7215 4477). EAS will then make an initial assessment to determine if there is anything that might fall within their remit. If so, they will work investigate it and with the agent to address any potential issues and take enforcement action where necessary.
Thank you again for taking the time to write, I hope this is helpful.
Yours ever,
KEVIN HOLLINRAKE MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Department for Business and Trade

It seems I have nothing to lose by emailing the EAS. Again, will let you know how I get on.

Very interesting reading there Lunnuni

When I started on DICT8 I used to get the normal proof read “error message” but now all I seem to get are “well done” messages stating that I transcribed a letter to a high standard! I was flattered with the first one but now I get them all the time ! I’m not bigging myself up by any means but wondered if anyone else is getting these as I’m thinking they might be desperate to keep staff ?!

@Lunnuni thanks for posting that. Will have to read it a couple of times to digest.

@Billybea yes I've been getting those as well. We went through a spate of it a couple of years ago then they stopped. I think they're trying to sweeten us. As you say, it has got a bit daft considering they are supposed to be randomly selecting tasks I seem to be getting them all the time and I'm not doing that many tasks. Take it with a pinch of salt.

@Billybea then they will knock you for six with a tsunami of abuse

Same here, almost daily well done emails ????

Same here

I got a well done email today saying I'd typed a letter perfectly. It was a speciality I only did one letter for and I know for a fact I had two notes on it saying the dictation was unclear!!

I'm interested in signing up for t-pro. Is it particularly difficult to get signed up with them?

Anyone else feel it would be better if Dict8's template came up when a task is chosen to save having to type it all the time, would let us get through more tasks or is it their idea to make us work extra for the pittance they pay ??!! Speciality I do is always busy🙄

@cathyk2002 - I suspect that would have to pay more for their software to have a template in place of a blank page. Heaven forbid their expenses go up!

@cathyk2002 would be better, might stop the moaning feedback about formatting !!!

I'm wondering why all the constant glory feedback we all seem to be getting at the moment when they state that once established they only check every now and again ??? are they concerned about their bullying perhaps ????

I was getting feedback every day but nothing since 6 days ago apart from one yesterday to say a lot of work waiting to be done - did notice was at 84 tasks then one refresh and had dropped to 43 ??

Yep, suppose you're right there as I remember WinScribe I used in NHS wanted 700+ to change one name on a template, so we just changed it ourselves when using that template.

Another question for folks been doing this for a while - what kind of yearly tax/insurance do you pay a year, just a rough estimate ??

@cathyk2002 - my tax and national insurance changes every year - it depends on how much I have earned, and how much my expenses are. In a year when I have bought a new laptop which cost nearly £1000 and I charged half to my expenses (on the basis that half the time I use for work and half the time I use for pleasure) my expenses were higher so I paid less tax. For years when my expenses were low (mainly stamps, envelopes, printing of invoices at the local library at 20p each, plus the bus fare there and back each month and when gas and electricity did not cost so much for heating, lighting powering said laptop) my tax was higher. The most I have paid was just under £1,000, which is a lot to have to pay just after Christmas! (But nowhere near what I paid working in the hospital when deductions were a few hundred pounds each month!!!)

Thanks Gally123, I did wonder about power for laptop, so how would that be worked out ?? When I applied to HMRC a company called Tax2u came up to handle all that, does anyone else deal with them ??