Working for two companies

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this but I'll give it a go anyway.

My situation is this. I am currently working for a US company in Ireland. I am the only employee in Ireland and so work from home. However we are going through a seriously quiet period and as a result there is ZERO work for me in Ireland for the forseeable future. Recently I have been travelling to France to help out with other sites however this has now ceased as well as the work has finished there.

I have spoken to my boss (who resides in France) and he has told me that it is very quiet at the moment and I'm not scheduled to be working again for at least a month. I'm a permanent employee so I'm still getting paid though. He hasn't said it to me directly but has mentioned that he expects an announcement in November which I have taken to mean redundancies will be announced but he did say that they would do all they can to not reduce headcount so I can't be sure.

But, there's always a but!! I have gotten a new job with another company in Ireland, which also necisitates working from home. I'm starting in two weeks. Well and good you might say.

I haven't handed in my notice to my current company yet though. As I will not be working for at least a month with them I decided to go ahead and start with the new company, thus drawing two wages. I had intended to do this until November when I was hoping to be made redundant and then carry on as nothing had happened with the new job. I'm 100% certain that I will have no work with my current company until the announcement is made so this will not be a problem. I will be devoting myself fully to the new company as I won't even get a phonecall from my current boss till the announcement.

Now. I need to know what the story is with drawing two wages. I know I won't get my p45 until I finish with my current job but is there anything else I should be aware of?? I know a lot of ye will be horified by this and I accept that but I'm not looking for any moral advice, just constructive advice re tax etc.

Thanks

Won't your new company wonder why your finish date on your p45 is different from your start date with them?

Not sure of the tax problems but you will be paying emergency tax with the new company till they get your p45.

If all your tax credits and standard rate cut off point is with the french job then get them transfer to this new job by ringing your local revenue tax office.

I had two jobs as well, one full time one part time, so i made a spilt based on gross earnings, worked out 70/30 is you catch my drift, so i divided tax credits that way as well.

Working for another company, is very likely to be contrary to your contract of emplyment. If your employer finds out, while you do not have any work to do, they could easily use this as a good legal reason not to pay you any redundancy.

Unlike trades people who can do cash-in-hand nixers, I know quite a few people working for two tax-compliant employers to make ends meet due to recent cost of living and mortgage increases, especially younger people e.g. nurses working agency shifts, IT people working in call centres at weekends. They seem to use most of their tax credits in the better paying job, usually their principle employment, and balance things out, if necessary, at the end of the tax year in their Form12 submission.

The issue I see here for you is one of trust. I think in principle what you are suggesting sounds great - you double up your earnings for a month or two, get a nice redundancy package and have no redundancy. Sounds great if there are no legal/tax issues that preclude this from happening, and I wish you well.
As an employer however, there may be misgivings on the part of the new employer if they probe deeper and note that you are still technically employed with the other company. When working from home, the employer does invest quite a bit of trust in the employee and if this is compromised early on, you may be in trouble. As per another post, your new employer may well have a stipulation that you are not permitted to 'moonlight' with another company.
One option is to play things straight with your new employer. Commence work as planned but explain the situation and defer payment of the the first two months salary until after the expected "announcement". Once you are officially ceased with your original company, you could produce your P45, and agree a "signing-on bonus" to the equivalent of the two months that you have put in.....
OBviously above sounds a bit complicated, and there are likely to be much better ways around the issue, but my main point is that I'd be worried in your situation if I was trying to go ahead with your plan as described - you seriously run the risk of being in no-man's land if your new employer discovers the facts independently