THE PROS AND CONS
OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE
“Just don’t do it,” was one response to a recent question on social media
about taking the leap from the salaried day job to self-employed tech.
That and advice about putting cash aside for tax bills and quiet periods,
if you get ill or maybe start a family; all this – plus the sound advice that
sauce sachets from takeaways make instant noodles almost palatable –
left the original poster with some serious thinking to do.
That post and a recent workshop around skills, talent and diversity
getting a bit stuck on how to deliver vocational skills to a largely self-
employed workforce that can’t really afford to carr y trainees got us thinking
about the advantages and disadvantages to both workers and employers- something that has seen a gentle shift towards PAYE employment in some
areas, along with an enforced legislation-driven shift in others.
ADVANTAGE WORKER
For those who were of working age and touring the world before 1998, the
distant memor y of tax-free overseas income, as long as you spent less than
62 days on UK soil, were a major advantage to ever yone involved in global
touring. One tour, big bag of cash, pop down the exchange bureau, pay off
mortgage. Anyone done that recently?
Sure, there were disadvantages such as access to education for the
kids, access to healthcare and the benefits system, but it was a young
industr y with young people with not a great deal of responsibility and a
certain air of invincibility. Some 20 years later, income is taxable and dayrates haven’t risen by as much as inflation for many, leaving some people
with a lifestyle rather than a living.ADVANTAGE EMPLOYER
Nobody can deny that the seasonal, feast-and-famine nature of live
production means a flexible workforce is needed. The ability to grow and
shrink with the ebb and flow is by far the biggest advantage to our sector.
TPi’s ver y own business leaders’ sur vey cited the largely self-employed
as advantageous to their companies. The flexibility is one thing, but the
exclusion of the added benefits of PAYE employment such as holiday pay,
extra pension contributions, sick pay and shared maternity leave can soon
outweigh the difference in salar y and day rate.
Small wonder, then, that only 10% of respondents to the TPi sur vey
reported that they don’t use freelancers, and the PSA’s own research
showed 40% spending over £100k per year on self-employed labour. Only
23% of industr y leaders saw a move towards employed technicians as a
growing trend.
Of course, there is always the often-ignored Working Time Directive.
Apparently completely disapplied for self-employed people, it’s perhaps
more easily managed in an employed environment. In fact, a ruling by
the European Court of Justice back in May obliges employers to record
all working hours and breaks for all employees – a protection not afforded
to self-employed individuals.PSA’s Andy Lenthall weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of
self-employment or freelance work in line with government legislation.