Is this normal for self employed?

[TormundGiantsbabe]

I applied a for a small job, an admin role. Was contacted by the recruiter to say the role would be on a self employed basis and I would invoice them (a fixed fee - decided by them) for each job. I will have to provide my own laptop etc to do the job. I had to go and shadow someone do the job for two hours unpaid, then the next step is that I would need to do the job under supervision, again unpaid and have it checked by them before proceeding.

I've only ever been employed before but I'm wary of wasting time and energy on something that will be more trouble than it's worth. Does the above sound normal and right for a self employed role?

No that's not normal and they are trying to weasel out of employment rights like sick pay and pension. Don't accept it.

Definitely don't agree to any work unpaid.

HMRC won't accept your status as self-employed unless you have the choice of when and where to do the work and could sub-contract it to a 3rd party or your own employee if you wish. That's clearly not the case here. They sound like shady wheelerdealers and you are probably better off seeking alternate employment.

I run my own business and it not usual to ask a employee to essentially be a self employed contractor if you will. It saves on accounting costs and costs relating to tax and national insurance which as a contractor you would be responsible for sorting out yourself. So in essence they pay you a day rate or hourly rate and you invoice them accordingly.

What is unreasonable is them asking for you to essentially work unpaid during training or shadowing.

Thanks for the replies. It didn't sit right with me so I'll keep looking.