working through my annual leave

A question about : working through my annual leave

Hi everyone
I have a lot of holidays to take from my employer (due to overtime), about seven weeks. Does anyone know of work I could do a week at a time to earn some extra cash? I'm bilingual and work in an office, but have no other special skills - one of my friends is an HGV driver and can easily get a week's work like this, but are there any other jobs that are that flexible? Also, is it worth it in terms of tax? I know that if I get the holidays paid out from my main job, the taxman will take quite a big cut from it....
thanks very much for any help you can give

Best answers:

• You could try local temp agencies, but they can't always guarantee reliable work ie you might take a week off from your main job and find that your temp placement only lasts a day.
  Would you be prepared to set your sights a bit lower and take on unskilled work ie cleaning? That could widen your options.
  If you can wait till the summer holidays you might have more luck getting seasonal work especially if you live somewhere touristy.
  I did a second job for a few months and the taxman taxes your whole wage, because you've already had your allowances. Expect to lose at least 25% in deductions.
  Final off the wall idea - does your employer use temps elsewhere in the organisation? I know my last employer regularly had about 20 temps dotted around the building. Perhaps your employer could use you as a temp to cover someone else's absence or maternity leave.
• You could try your local Betterware co-ordinator to see if they would like someone to cover an area for 7 weeks. There is no cash outlay and you receive commission on your sales. I have been doing this as a stay at home mum for a few months now and it is very flexible. Good exercise with all the walking - and the weather is getting nicer now!
  You get the commission in cash and you should declare it to the Inland Revenue as you are self employed. So no tax will be deducted at source - you will have to pay it over in the January after the end of the tax year.
• I noticed that you said you were bilingual - phone your local council and register to be an interpreter and/or translator. Most employ on sessional basis so you can pick and choose your hours. Rates of pay vary from council to council, the most I've earnt per hour is Ј35 and the least is Ј10. If you're doing the interpreting work, any time spent travelling to and from appointements is paid at the same hourly rate.