Questions Thread

[The Bear]

Do you have unlimited data and tethering on your mobile contract? That's also a potential route to go. 

[Grebfromgrebland]

On 10/02/2026 at 12:39, bovril said:

Does anyone use a 4G router as their main internet? I need to potentially work remotely from my family home for a bit but the internet is crap, and apparently can't be improved because of our area. 

 

Just wondering really how it works, how reliable it is, and what are the best providers. 

I did for a while and it was a waste of time for us but we were trying to run the house off it and there's probably to many devices for it to handle.

 

Probably fine for much normal people 

[bovril]

On 05/02/2026 at 13:44, DJW1 said:

I assume your daughter has dual nationality (you didn´t state it explicitly).  If she does, then  it seems she needs a UK passport to enter the UK. If she doesn´t then it seems she needs an EU (Bulgarian?) or UK passport. Is that correct?

I recently applied for a new UK passport from Spain. It was easy and quick, but expensive. I don´t know the situation for children.

I have a friend who lives in Sweden, as a dual national. He doesn´t have a UK passport any more and so can´t enter the UK. He has a Swedish passport but he can´t enter the UK with that (whereas 9 million passport-holding Swedes can!)

There are some "ex pat" web pages that discuss these matters

Good luck!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/13/dual-nationals-denied-entry-to-uk-british-passport-border-control

 

As expected this is going to be a huge headache for thousands 

[theessexfox]

Has anyone had a lodger and used the Rent a Room scheme? There's the £7.5k a year limit before tax kicks in - I'm in London so it'll be a fair bit more than that. If you've used this - do you use household bills in the amount counted as rental income (and therefore that you pay tax on)?

[SemperEadem]

What is the difference on here between a member and a forum supporter?

[Izzy]

31 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

What is the difference on here between a member and a forum supporter?

I think anyone who registers for an account/username automatically becomes a member of the forum.

 

A Forum Supporter is a member who has donated at some stage (I think)

[The Blur]

Is it possible to successfully heat a conservatory without curtains etc in the winter?

[foxfanazer]

This could well be a really dim question but I'll ask anyway.

 

I've been offered a job which can be taken as either self employed or employed by the company. The self employed is £2 p/h more but doesn't include holiday pay. I also have no experience of working self employed so would need to figure out the tax side of things. 

 

What would be the best option?

[Zear0]

4 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

This could well be a really dim question but I'll ask anyway.

 

I've been offered a job which can be taken as either self employed or employed by the company. The self employed is £2 p/h more but doesn't include holiday pay. I also have no experience of working self employed so would need to figure out the tax side of things. 

 

What would be the best option?

Depends on your circumstances. I went self employed in 2023 and in hindsight was daft to wait that long. That said, I had a young family and the security of an employment contract was beneficial. As you mention you’ll get perks like sick pay, pension contributions and redundancy if things go awry. Also getting finance when self employed is a bit more restrictive.

 

 The benefits of self employment are simple in that it’s significantly more lucrative. I more then doubled my pay for essentially doing the same job and have since grown it into my own business employing others that has changed my families life. They said, £2 per hour doesn’t seen much to offset the loss in pension contributions and the cost to admin your own affairs. I’d always encourage people to go out alone but it has its risks. Good luck with whatever you go for!

[foxfanazer]

1 minute ago, Zear0 said:

Depends on your circumstances. I went self employed in 2023 and in hindsight was daft to wait that long. That said, I had a young family and the security of an employment contract was beneficial. As you mention you’ll get perks like sick pay, pension contributions and redundancy if things go awry. Also getting finance when self employed is a bit more restrictive.

 

 The benefits of self employment are simple in that it’s significantly more lucrative. I more then doubled my pay for essentially doing the same job and have since grown it into my own business employing others that has changed my families life. They said, £2 per hour doesn’t seen much to offset the loss in pension contributions and the cost to admin your own affairs. I’d always encourage people to go out alone but it has its risks. Good luck with whatever you go for!

That's really helpful, thank you. 

 

Yeah I have a young family and will also be looking to buy a house in the next year or two so I think the security of proper employment is the best bet for now. 

 

Well done for going on your own, sounds like the dream

[NAKC20]

44 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

This could well be a really dim question but I'll ask anyway.

 

I've been offered a job which can be taken as either self employed or employed by the company. The self employed is £2 p/h more but doesn't include holiday pay. I also have no experience of working self employed so would need to figure out the tax side of things. 

 

What would be the best option?

If you earn £2/hour more and work 40 hours a week thats an extra £80 obviously. How many weeks would you need to work for that extra £80 pay for you to have a day/week off? Also like you say you will get no sick pay self employed and you will probably need an accountant to check over your books if you are not 100% sure what you are doing so that will be a good few hundred quid a year. I went self employed and just work as a sole trader and it does have its perks, days off when you want etc.. but I earnt more being employed but I had had enough of the hassle with how the company I worked for operated so I just had to get out. Its your call at the end of the day but to me the benefits of being employed outweigh self employed especially if you are doing the same job at the same place of work for a small percentage extra.

Good luck whichever way you choose 

[Trav Le Bleu]

18 minutes ago, NAKC20 said:

If you earn £2/hour more and work 40 hours a week thats an extra £80 obviously. How many weeks would you need to work for that extra £80 pay for you to have a day/week off? Also like you say you will get no sick pay self employed and you will probably need an accountant to check over your books if you are not 100% sure what you are doing so that will be a good few hundred quid a year. I went self employed and just work as a sole trader and it does have its perks, days off when you want etc.. but I earnt more being employed but I had had enough of the hassle with how the company I worked for operated so I just had to get out. Its your call at the end of the day but to me the benefits of being employed outweigh self employed especially if you are doing the same job at the same place of work for a small percentage extra.

Good luck whichever way you choose 

I would also add, if you're self-employed, but not really, cos it's under the terms of the company (something I think shouldn't be allowed, you either are or aren't working for them), when you do have holiday, they might still expect the job to get done and you have to arrange someone else to cover for you.

 

Also all costs for tools, vehicles, fuel etc involved in the job will come out of that extra money.

 

I'm the same, would go employed, unless the difference in pay was massive and even then if the employed pay was good, I'd take that for the easier life. I'm very much in the work to live, not live to work camp.

[Grebfromgrebland]

For £2 an hour go employed to make self employed worth it they'd have to pay you maybe £20 ph more.

 

They're taking the piss.