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Q: Please can you advise if I am allowed to work as a standard PAYE employee, but also undertake consultancy work as a sole trader?

Apr 28 2009

Answered by: Clive Lewis Ask a question

There is nothing in the tax rules to prevent a person being in employment and undertaking work as a consultant. You will need to complete the “Employment” and “Self Employment” sections of the tax returns. You will need to notify H M Revenue & Customs within three months of starting your self-employment.

You do need to check that your contract of employment doesn’t prevent you from undertaking consultancy work. This might be an issue if you would be serving customers who are potentially customers of your employer, which may lead to potential “conflicts of interest”.

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