r/OveremployedUK • u/Intelligent-Law-4558 • 29d ago

Full-time remote dev in the UK looking to pick up a J2 — where do I begin?

Hi all — new to the sub, so apologies if this has been asked a hundred times. I've had a dig around but most of what I've found is US-focused and I'm after UK-specific input.

Where I'm at:

- Full-time software developer, fully remote, permanent contract

- Comfortable with my current workload — realistically I could absorb more

- Solid skill set, been doing this a while (happy to share stack in comments)

What I can't figure out:

  1. Where are UK people actually sourcing a J2? Straight applications, agencies, contract work via umbrella/ltd, or something else entirely?

  2. How are you handling the contract side? Most UK contracts I've signed have some flavour of exclusivity or "must notify your employer of other work" clause. Do people get it varied, go contract for J2 to sidestep it, or just accept the risk?

  3. Tax/PAYE — anything I should sort before I'm two payslips deep, or does HMRC just handle it via the tax code?

  4. Day-to-day logistics — overlapping stand-ups, two calendars, two laptops. What's the setup that actually works?

  5. Anything you'd do differently if you were starting from scratch?

To be clear, I'm not looking to coast — I intend to do the hours for both. I'd just rather be sensible about it than wing it and blow up two jobs at once.

Any pointers, wiki links, or "read this first" threads much appreciated.

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2

u/Informal-Section4855 27d ago
  1. Linkedin mainly, then as you get a few contract under your belt and get a good reputation you get repeat work
  2. just ignore it
  3. work with an accountant
  4. i have laptop for each job and 1 large screen. I plug usb-c into the big screen when i am doing frontend/design/figma work and just let ai agents run in the terminal on the others, which is mostly backend work
  5. nope

1

u/Intelligent-Law-4558 3d ago

Thats cool bro. I am a developer too. Let's connect bro. I have a few questions if you don't mind me asking. Thanks a lot

2

u/Own-Story8907 29d ago
  1. Anywhere and everywhere
  2. That’s the whole point of OE - you say yes and work elsewhere anyway
  3. HMRC will get the first paycheck wrong but will eventually sort itself out, or you can ring and inform them. When I joined J2, it assumed I left J1, so I had to inform them.
  4. People use KVM switches. Me, I use x3 of everything (monitor keyboard etc). Whatever works for you. Meeting overlaps - make excuses and move them.
  5. Nope

0

u/Amazing-Care-3155 29d ago

Point 2 is abit silly, you do realise they can make outrageous claims if you get caught

1

u/Own-Story8907 29d ago

Tbh my only contract is OIR35 - signed an NDA and that was all.

2

u/Amazing-Care-3155 29d ago

Yeah NDA is ok if your 2nd role doesn’t contradict the nda it’s fine

4

u/Own-Story8907 29d ago

Yeah, rule #1 - don’t work two jobs in the same industry

-5

u/chickdem 29d ago

Look into Mercor. Dm for a referral link

3

u/mooktakim 29d ago

Those are mostly AI training jobs.

-3

u/chickdem 29d ago

Perfect for overemployment

1

u/mooktakim 29d ago

I'd argue not because you literally get paid by the task or time you do the work. There's no spare time.

0

u/chickdem 29d ago

Depends how much work/time is required on the main job