Call Centres

[jaysay]

It seems that the Call Centres are being brought back into this country from all pionts east. It appears that a lot of the big companies who use these call centres are at last seeing sense, with British Gas being one of the first. But even so they are not being set up in huge centres, the staff are being cited in heir own homes. They use their own PC and phone and have to pay for their own training which is about £200 including VAT, but then you work at home with hours to suit yourself. For me this is a good idea, if only for the reason that at least ou'll be able to understand what the person on the other end of the line is talking about

[pipinfort]

Sounds like a good idea to me........hate it when you can`t tell what they are saying..........

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by jaysay

It seems that the Call Centres are being brought back into this country from all pionts east. It appears that a lot of the big companies who use these call centres are at last seeing sense, with British Gas being one of the first. But even so they are not being set up in huge centres, the staff are being cited in heir own homes. They use their own PC and phone and have to pay for their own training which is about £200 including VAT, but then you work at home with hours to suit yourself. For me this is a good idea, if only for the reason that at least ou'll be able to understand what the person on the other end of the line is talking about

Interesting idea. But!

There’s always a “but” isn’t there?

The company won’t have the expense of providing a building, equipment etc for the call operators - that will fall at the feet of each call operator.

Their Council Tax will be increased to take into account that their home is being used as a placed of paid work even if a room is not set aside for this purpose.

The no smoking law in a work place will also come into effect.

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Their Council Tax will be increased to take into account that their home is being used as a placed of paid work even if a room is not set aside for this purpose.

I think that should read 'may be' as opposed to 'will be'. From what I have seen of examples from the VOA it's unlikely if you're only equipment is a PC and telephone line.

Personally I think the benefits for many people far outwiegh the disadvantages and the training fee. It gives a lot of people chance to work when they are otherwise restricted by circumstances. It even gives thos who don't want the daily slog of commuting to have a less stress free lifestyle.

[derekgas]

This is a good idea, if it works! Big company greedy politics again though, the least expense to the company, the money used to set up call centres abroad was another waste though, and it is the BG customers who have paid for that, they will also pay for them closing down again and the redundancy payments due to the employees, the chances are, that many of the people who take up the new jobs will be immigrants, and they will probably find a government grant to fund the training, so will still be us who pay in any event.

[accyman]

i thought it was illigal to make people put money up front to get a job ?

unless this is a very clever loop hole i dont see how they can get away with charging £200 for training

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by accyman

i thought it was illigal to make people put money up front to get a job ?

unless this is a very clever loop hole i dont see how they can get away with charging £200 for training

Don't think it's illegal, just unwise unless you are certain of the company you are dealing with. Aren't most driving instructors employed on a pay for your training and we will give you a job basis ?

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

I think that should read 'may be' as opposed to 'will be'. From what I have seen of examples from the VOA it's unlikely if you're only equipment is a PC and telephone line.

Personally I think the benefits for many people far outwiegh the disadvantages and the training fee. It gives a lot of people chance to work when they are otherwise restricted by circumstances. It even gives thos who don't want the daily slog of commuting to have a less stress free lifestyle.

The rules about Council Tax on running a business from a private residence are quite clear even if you use part of your living room and just a PC and phone. Of course the local authority has to find out first but who is going to tell them?

But as you say there are certain advantages in working at home and also disadvantages. But on balance it could be a useful idea.

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by accyman

i thought it was illigal to make people put money up front to get a job ?

unless this is a very clever loop hole i dont see how they can get away with charging £200 for training

I think that applies if you become an employee.

It may not apply if you become self employed.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by accyman

i thought it was illigal to make people put money up front to get a job ?

unless this is a very clever loop hole i dont see how they can get away with charging £200 for training

The company I was quotting was British Gas the cost was about £187 plus Vat, with a job at the end of the training accyman, seems okay to me

[accyman]

Originally Posted by jaysay

The company I was quotting was British Gas the cost was about £187 plus Vat, with a job at the end of the training accyman, seems okay to me

i would expect training to be free , i have never had a job where they have charged me for training infact i would say its the companies duty to train its staff as it is them that benefit from the training , its not as if the training is going to be of any use anywhere else

if not illigal it should be

a driving instructor does pay for his own qualifications but he can take those qualifications elsewhere and even go self employed with them so its a bit different in that respect

[West Ender]

Originally Posted by jambutty

I think that applies if you become an employee.

It may not apply if you become self employed.

Agreed, so on the face of it perhaps anyone doing this work is going to be self-employed, which has advantages. For instance they could probably offset the £200 against their turnover, as a legitimate business expenditure, and claim various expenses like phone calls etc. (that's out - not in ) to reduce their tax bill. It would only be a case of keeping records and submitting a tax return every year.

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by West Ender

Agreed, so on the face of it perhaps anyone doing this work is going to be self-employed, which has advantages. For instance they could probably offset the £200 against their turnover, as a legitimate business expenditure, and claim various expenses like phone calls etc. (that's out - not in ) to reduce their tax bill. It would only be a case of keeping records and submitting a tax return every year.

But as self employed working from a private residence you fall foul of the Council Tax laws. However whatever portion of Council Tax is attributed to ‘the business’ that is a legitimate business expense and therefore tax deductible. The same would apply for the phone. You would have to come to some agreement with the taxman on how much of the line rental is attributed to the business.

It’s a can of worms but not unsolvable.

I’d like to see the details of such a scheme though before praising it too much.