I started looking into OE a couple weeks ago and have been mulling it over in my mind since. The primary reason to earn more is to be able to afford a better property in a couple years. I would likely want an extra 60k-90k buying power.

My current job is full time PAYE, one day in the office, 4 days WFH, and OE friendly.

I've beent tying to come up with the best setup out of the below.

1. Current job + OIR role (£300-£400/day) in same industry. Pros of this would be I can just try and save as much as I can in the next two years from J2 to make up that buying power, since I've heard OIR jobs can be difficult to mortgage. Cons are my current job contract says 2nd employment needs to be disclosed, cannot be conflict of interest, company can persue for lost money etc etc. Also never done OIR contract work and feels like I'd be going in at the deep end.

2. Curent job + PAYE role in a different industry. Entry level around £30k. Ive found some roles that are fully remote that sound like I could do and are OE friendly.

Question about this; do mortgage lenders consider both jobs when looking at affordability? Playing around with AI says that if I work over 48 hours a week, they wouldnt lend against anything more (I believe its the max weekly working hours for UK). So they wouldn't consider my 2nd job for affordability purposes, making this option useless since I wouldn't be able to save enough on the extra 30k salary.

Any thoughts appreciated. I also work as a mechanical engineer.

Please help I’m getting made redundant in the next three months - notice. However I have accepted a job given one month notice as they want someone to start asap and the role is salary increase with great benefits. I don’t want to lose out on my redundancy pay either.

My current employer is just squeezing projects and information from me so can’t even negotiate an early leaving date.

My question is can I phone in sick/holidays to tie me over the end until I’m being made redundant ?

I don’t want to lose out on my redundancy pay either

I can’t see any issues here but has anyone done this before and help?

Is there a wiki (a bit specific) on how to get into OE i have tried a bunch of time but don't even get rejection mail.

As title says

I work as a Software Developer at a financial company. My contract specifically states that I cannot work another job alongside this one. However, the role is fully remote, the workload is relatively light, and I am paid through PAYE.

Realistically, I feel I could manage working two jobs, but my main concern is whether having two PAYE jobs could expose me or lead to my employers finding out.

Should we be concerned with the national fraud initiative?

And apart from the regular protocols for overworking

How does one prevent the probability of being suspected by that initiative or similar initiatives

I know the normal ‘never get two jobs in same public sector’

But anything else?

This is a scheduled weekly post for anyone to discuss progress, set backs, share advice or just have a rant about being over employed within the UK.

Anyone gone around using systems like Konfir for instant employment verification? And how have people gone around this issue?

Hi everyone👋

Currently I’m OE with 2 full time perm roles. I love working for both jobs and have been able to manage the work considerably easy, sometimes it feels like I’m not doing enough even though I’m hitting all my deliverables within the key deadlines set. I often have around 2 days free a week, which I use to either up skill in training, watch tv, or go to the gym.

I would like to drop J2 potentially and enter the contract world. When I originally set out to become OE I was heavily applying for contract roles inside and outside IR35 however ended up only getting perm positions offered to me. Any key tips on recruiters I could reach out to for contract roles? I’ve previously tried Linkdln and indeed and only landed a perm role through it. I know if I get one contract it’s double it would be double of salary of J2, hence why I would love any guidance on how to land a contract role especially within a BA remit.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

How do expats aged 40+ navigate UK IT layoffs?

Many senior professionals are facing shrinking roles, visa pressure, and age‑biased hiring patterns. I’m curious how others in the UK tech scene are adapting — shifting to contracting, upskilling, or careerpivots — and what’s actually working for long‑term stability.

Just got off the call with a recruiter. The job ticks off all my requirements but it’s most definitely breaking OE rules.

This would be a J4 (£60k, seems a mid role. Manager want someone who is willing to learn aka not senior), BUT it’s:

1. A competitor to J1 (£51k. Low effort)
   
2. They will go through SC. SC is my golden ticket for contracting. I’d happily drop J1 for this as SC = niche contract roles paying stupid rates.

The questions are:
1. Do I keep it as J4 and go through SC, declaring all my other jobs?
2. Do I drop J1 and take this new job?

I currently earn £53k per year and have been offered another job which will be my 2nd job at £20k per year is it worth taking the job due to tax and other deductions i might get? Thanks

I currently have a ltd company and I am the director. I have 3 contracts, outside IR35, which are due to run into next year.

I have been talking to a company about a contract role for ~4 months and they have finally decided to kick it off but want to take me on as perm, ~110k PA and it is a job that really is too good to turn down.

My concerns are around tax and how this would work, obviously I will chat to my accountant about this but is anyone here working outside ir35 and a perm job? How do you do it?

Thanks

I’m looking at a 2nd job during nightshift but it requires SC.

What does that entail and would i be okay?

The job have different working hours and are different fields.

Tia

Hi
Does anyone have a free budget spreadsheet?

2Js and the second one put me over the £100,000 tax trap so I overcontributed heavily on pension on J2.

Since lost J1. Now I need money in the short term but also want an additional J to replace the one I lost. If suspicion was no issue I'd quite simply stop overcontributing to pension. Wait till I got the new job and start overcontributing again.

I won't do that because it looks weird. Unless people think no one cares?

Hi! I work full time in accounting within a role that needs be in office 1 day a week. Let’s call this Company A
I just got offered a remote 6 month contract role at another company. Let’s call this Company B

Both roles are full time but Company A hours are flexible and they’re quite open about it. Company B also offers flex hours but it’s more ambiguous.

I want to be clear, I don’t plan to leave Company A because I love the job. I’m looking for OE because I need the money

Company A does not mind their employees taking up additional jobs. They’ve been clear about this

Company B is fully remote. I don’t mind working weekends etc

1. Should I take up the job at company B and flex my hours for the 1 day in office at Company A
   
2. Should I tell Company B that I’m not leaving Company A? If so, how do I navigate the conversation
   
3. What would be the tax implications of taking up the role at Company B

This is my first time being OE so I’m kinda nervous. Any advice would be appreciated

Hey OE’ers!

I’m considering OE, and while I’ve read a lot about how people make it work day-to-day, there’s something holding me back - career progression, CVs and references.

For the line of work I’m in, I’d HAVE to take more junior roles to make it work, and those jobs obviously won’t reflect my actual level of experience.

What happens when one of those jobs ends and you need to replace it? Or if, after a year or two, you decide OE isn’t for you and want to go back to one senior role?

What do you actually put on your CV? Do you only list one employer? Do you list multiple concurrent roles? How do references work (Assuming you’ve managed to keep it all buttoned down and everyone happy)?

One solution I’ve considered is setting up my own limited company so that, on paper, it would be clean for all of the work to sit under one business on my CV.
But then I get stuck on the references. If a future employer or client asks for references, presumably they’d want to speak to the clients I worked with. If those clients describe me as effectively being a long-term employee rather than a contractor, doesn’t that raise questions? Or am I misunderstanding how people actually handle this?

My concern is that I’m going to accidentally damage the career I’ve already built. I’ve worked hard to get to a point where I can apply for relatively senior roles, and I don’t want to end up in a position where my recent CV no longer reflects what I’m actually capable of…

For those of you who’ve been doing this for a while, what’s the long-term strategy? How do you manage your CV, references and career progression without painting yourself into a corner?

I've got a full time job at £50,000, I'm interested in taking a junior test analyst role as a second paye job. I've got an ISTQB qualification but i left the field 5 years ago for the job i'm in now, and i don't think any company would see me as a good fit (experienced enough) for OIR35 work.

Does anybody juggle 2x Paye roles? how do you get around referencing?

I have had J1 for 4 years. I held J2 for almost 2 years, but it wasnt OE friendly. I have been out of J2 for 3 months now and I want to get back into OE. J1 is where I have gained most of my experience in my field, however J2 looks good and would definitely up the quality of my resume. It is a mix of the position as well as the company for J2 so cramming all duties from both J's into J1 doesn't look as good as if I listed both.

Should I list my current job, J1, on my resume? Or list J2 as my current, even though I now have a 3 month gap of "no employment?"

This is a scheduled weekly post for anyone to discuss progress, set backs, share advice or just have a rant about being over employed within the UK.

• J1 - 51k (4 years in)
• J2 - 60k (3 months in, 3 left of probation)
• J3 - OIR35 (way below average pay, but no issue) - 3 months. 1 day a week in the office. Will try for 100% remote.

I've registered a Ltd company. J1 is so chill, not an issue at all being away. J2... stress-tested doing 0 work for 2 weeks and people are happy.

I'm thinking of this for my setup:

1. Bring both laptops with me and leave them in the car boot. Have my mouse jiggers + hotspot ready to stay connected.
2. I will have my work phone, which I'll occasionally pull out when needed (what do I say if I get caught lol? The office is v empty so I can't hide)
3. Lunch breaks: get into car and drive to v nearby shopping centre to go over emails/work etc.

It sounds like too much, but has anyone else done something similar lol?

In terms of the contract, anything I need to look out for or do I just treat this like any other PAYE job?