Jobs Available! But Need Company Agency!

[simon43]

Hi, very long time since I last posted to this forum!! Now here is a fun and interesting business opprtunity!

Over the past month or so I have launched a TV channel on the UK Sky satellite system. This channel - Mobile Crazy TV - allows people to send SMS text messages to the TV screen, and to engage in on-screen chat with other viewers and with the 'Text Jockey' who oversees all the messages.

Now, under UK law, all text messages muct be checked by a live person, prior to their broadcast. This is to weed out any rude messages etc. An important part of the job is also for the Text Jockey (TJ), to interact with the on-screen messages, and to encourage them to send in new messages.

The moderation and TJ functions are performed via a website, and the operator does not actually need to see the TV screen with the program itself.

Since launch 4 weeks ago, i have been TJing every night and day, and am totally exhausted!!

I have tried to recruit UK staff, but cannot find anyone who is reliable!! (They must start work on time etc etc).

Well, it occurs to me that this job could easily be performed by someone in Thailand with a pc and reliable ADSL connection! The work is 24/7, so a number of staff would be required who could work their allocated hours from home.

Now, whilst I could operate these jobs on the black, i much prefer to pay the relevant Thai taxes etc. My own Thai company is not yet set up. So my question (finally!) is:

In Thailand, are there 'agency' companies who will employ my staff and pay the relevant taxes etc? (Similar to how UK computer contractors work).

By the way, these jobs would certainly pay more than the minimum farang salary in Thailand!! The money is not the issue, it is to find reliable staff!!

Any help much appreciated! Do send me a PM if you want!!

[davidm]

What if money were to be paid offshore on a monthly basis? Surely that would circumvent local tax laws if the work is done online.

I meet all the requirements, but like most expats, find 250 baht/hour with taxes due on that sum not much of an incentive. Also, the tax issue brings up the fact that you would need work permits. If you're determined to pay taxes in Thailand you have to emply people and provide work permits etc.

Personally, I think your idea is very good and just needs a little fine tuning.

[ThaiAdventure]

Ditto on the above.

I too meet all the requirements. I wouldn't get out of bed for the minimum wage (which is due to go up to THB 60,000 per month in June) ! I have a business that you could subcontract the work to but the killer is that you really need farang (i.e first language english) which means that any company employing them has to have 4 thai per farang and THB 2M capitlisation per work permit.

The offshore option is better but have you also thought of automated screening in addition to you having sleepless nights? You could cut your workload down by 80% by filtering obvious keywords!

The other sticking point is "reliable" adsl connection.......no such animal in thailand. ADSL and leeased lines are extremely expensive in comparison to the UK. For a comapny to take you up on your offer you would need to factor in these costs too.

Like DavidM excellent idea...neds tweaking!

[simon43]

Thanks for your comments!

We use automated filtering to catch the worst words, but UK broadcast law requires that we use live moderators.

Understand your comments about the salary. To be honest, I think there are a number of farang who would jump at the opportunity to do this work for the money on offer, but the killer are the taxes to pay etc etc. Perhaps the offshore route is the answer.

Reliable ADSL? Hmm, from my own experience, the ADSL in Thailand seems much more reliable than that in the UK!!! Or maybe i have just been unlucky in the UK (or lucky in Thailand )

But happy to hear from anyone who is interested in the offshore route (I need to fins people asap! Right now I have bad flu and have been 'TJing' for 18 hours today!! Not a recommended route for good health!!!)

cheers

Simon

[aqua4]

I think you are re-inventing the wheel. If you put contract work on Elance as an example, irrespective of who does the work or where, they pay thier own tax, it is not your responsibility. You have sub-contracted the work to them be it a one man band with a nice website.

The same holds true for most employment in developing countries with tough labour laws. I hire you as an independant sub-contracter, therefore while in my employ, you do not fall under any labour laws so no annual leave, severance pay etc. A simple contract solves the issue. If you send the money with Western Union each month that solves the problem.

If you pay it into a local UK account then you would have to close some loop holes, such as you hire Jim Beam t/a Clickable to do the work so if he is a British Expat, you have hired Clickable to do the job and the Receiver of Revenue cannot compel you to act as a collecting agent as Jim Beam is acting as a company (Registered or Not) and you are paying a company.