RESULT!!!

[Stan_Lite]

When I checked my bank account online at the end of December to check if my salary had been paid, there was a lot more than there should have been. Since I was away (still am), I didn't have access to my payslip so I asked my gorgeous flatmate to scan it and e-mail it to me. It showed that my NI contributions for the entire year (£2086.00) had been refunded. "Ayyup", I thought, "that's not right" so I e-mailed the co-ordinator in Aberdeen and asked him to investigate and find out what the wages people (Active Payroll) intended to do about it before I was tempted to spend it.

I got this e-mail from our finance department today:

You will have noticed that in your December pay that you had a large refund of your National Insurance contributions for 2007/2008.

This is as a result of you earning “substantially” most of your earnings overseas. After a 52 week period we cannot take legally take these contributions if substantially all your earnings are earned overseas.

You can elect to pay minimum Class 2 contributions in UK if you wish, this is I believe £2 per week roughly if you don’t make normal contributions, this will retain benefits such as job seekers etc.

BACK OF THE NET MY SON.

I knew there had to be some benefit from working overseas. Because of the way I am paid (flat rate salary plus day rate for days away from home), about two thirds of my wages are earned outside the Uk.

All I need to do now is figure out how I'm going to spend it. I have a few ideas - none of which involves donations to you lot