casual work,auto entrepreneur? can any one help?

[steve]

hi ,i have been working on my own house here in france for the past few months and have my tools and mini digger etc here to complete the house and gardens. i had very little work back home so decided to finish our house here. during this time i have been approached by several people english as well as locals asking me to do jobs for them as well.i am not registered /resident here as i still have my ties with ireland although as said the work has dried up there but i have work offered here.i have looked online at maybe starting auto entrepreneur here but a small time jobbing builder seems to have no section plus ive basic bcp and tech passes from uk from over 30 years ago and dont fancy training or resitting exams here as my french at the moment is very basic . also not sure how much work i would get here long term to start going down that road. could you do work on a casual basis where they pay your tax? any help on the easiest and best way for me to do a few jobs here and there but legally.if i was resident can you earn and do a tax return each year for casual work? any advice welcome.

[EuroTrash]

One of the problems is that if you set up as a builder under AE, by law you have to take out various insurances and AFAIK there is no option to stop and start insurance so you'd have to keep paying even when you had no work. These insurances are expensive and your charges are calculated on gross earnings, you cannot offset costs.

I don't know what kind of building work you can do under the CESU (cheque emploi) system, it might be worth having a google but I think you'd be limited to very small DIY type jobs.

Unfortunately it's unlikely that you'd get anyone to employ you an employment contract because it's very expensive to be an employer in France.

Income tax isn't really an issue, the problem is the social security contributions which are very high indeed.

Sorry to be negative, of course it's possible to make a living as a builder but it's not easy to get started.

[steve]

hi thanks for the reply, i dont mind paying tax/social charge on what i earn,infact i would love to do these few jobs and pay my dues, that way i could see what jobs turn up and pay as you earn. the other option would to stay here for a few months ,work then return to ireland and pay my cheques in to my bank ,pay my stamps and let my irish accountant carry on doing my books. not ideal but would it be legal and above board.

[EuroTrash]

Hi again. Yes if you stay resident in Ireland and most of your income is earned in Ireland I imagine it would be legal to do some work in France that is 'ancillary' to your work in Ireland. In the UK the rules is that if you do that, you have to inform the tax authorities and fill in a form, and if you meet the criteria as a 'cross border worker' they issue a workers S1 form that covers your healthcare while you're in France. Otherwise, paying your stamp in the UK would not cover your healthcare in France and obviously in your job you need to be sure your healthcare is covered in case you get ill or have an accident, This also squares things with the French authorities, because otherwise, if you're not registered to work in France and you don't have an S1 to prove that you are working under the UK 'umbrella', you could be accused of working on the black. However I'm not sure if it works the same for Ireland.

Are you relying on an EHIC for healthcare at the moment?

The other thing is the insurance, as mentioned, if you don't have that it will limit you in the long term as to what you can do because you will find that some potential clients won't use you if your work isn't covered by the same level of insurance that that French tradesmen would provide.

Not trying to put you off, just suggesting a few things to think about. As with a lot of things the French system puts a lot of rules and regs in your way. Unfortunately France isn't exactly the land of opportunity, it's not a small-business-friendly country and there isn't a lot of scope for thinking outside the box and doing things differently, once you get into the system you have to do things their way so think carefully before you commit yourself. Good luck with it whatever you decide.

[YCCMB]

This document, whilst it doesn't contain any useful information which might directly answer your questions, as it's designed for companies posting construction workers to other EU countries, does seem to contain some information about bodies who may be able to better advise you.

[url]http://www.posting-workers.eu/[/url]

This second link is probably more directly linked to your question....but it's fair to assume that the French authorities might feign ignorance of such legislation. [url]http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/posted-workers/index_en.htm[/url]. It's still not exactly your situation, as it involves people working on larger construction sites rather than as independent self-employed workers...and as far as that is concerned, Eurotrash's point regarding your own third party liability insurance being necessary is still vital.