Freelance?

[hopingfrbetter]

Hello,
I've been working for a company for about six years. It is stated that I am a freelancer/consultant. However, after following the recent Uber case, I am certain that I am a 'worker'.

There are more than 300 people working this way for the company. We are very well qualified and experienced in our field of work, but the company has strict directions over how we work. We cannot select someone else to do our work; we are graded and moderated and if our performance is not good, there are penalties; we have to undergo training to do the job to the company's specification; we are paid per piece of work and the rate is set by the company; we have no holiday pay, sick pay and so on. The way we work is becoming increasingly more demanding due to company expectations, but our pay remains the same for each piece

The work makes up a considerable amount of my income, but I could manage without it. Could anyone advise me about how and to whom I could raise concerns about this company's possible unorthodox practices.

Thank you

www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker

Contact ACAS for advice. You can raise a complaint with HMRC

Check with the CEST tool online but chances are you are actually employed

I have just done the CEST and it states 'employed for tax purposes.

Now you need to decide what if anything you are going to do about it
You will probably lose your “job” but what this company is going is very wrong

Yes, it is a big company and the money I earn from the work there is substantial. However, if I worked out the hourly rate, I would be working for much less than the minimum hourly wage. This is because each piece of work can take up to two hours to complete (especially if the very rigorous and detailed attention that the company asks for/demands is carried out). Thus, if a piece of work earns £10, 'freelancers' like me could have worked for £5 per hour.

Another aspect that jars me is that our work our performance is heavily assessed. We are subject to (B)RAG rating, samples of our work are moderated, often by other freelancers, if we send work back (because we cannot complete it within the deadline (set by the company)) this affects our performance rating, and although we have the option of requesting a certain amount of pieces per week (e.g. 20 per week), we often find more pieces are added without our consultation.

When I first took this job, I was glad to have some work that I could do whilst undertaking caring responsibilities that meant I could not 'go out' to work. However, over the year, the demands of the company and the way it treats its 'freelance/consultants' has become something that I have found increasingly unbearable. I have worked hard to gain other employment and earning strands, and and I am now not financially dependent on the role. I am aware, though, that many 'freelancers' may be in the position I was in and could depend on this company for their livelihoods.

Would you suggest that the first step could be to contact ACAS? Would they give me more advice? I do not want to charge into something without considering the consequences thoroughly and without having a good chance that this company would be brought to account.

years not year

It's difficult to say. You need to talk to ACAS (and/or maybe a lawyer) for advice.

I had a somewhat similar situation a few years ago, where the company that had employed me for several years suddenly claimed that I was a freelancer, and let me go with an hour's notice. (Creative industries; this kind of nonsense is quite common unfortunately.)

I took legal action. It was found that I was indeed an employee, and I was awarded compensation.

The crux of my case rested on three main facts:

• that I worked full-time hours for this company, had my own desk, laptop, phone number etc
• that I was paid monthly and PAYE/NI was deducted by them
• that I was prevented from working for anyone else.

It was more complex than that but if you are paid by piece of work (rather than an annual salary), have other clients and can work for other people, you might find that this makes you a freelancer/contractor in legal terms. It might also depend on how you are paid; whether you bill them via invoice or are paid via PAYE and so on. Do they deduct NI etc.

But I can't say for definite and I think you definitely need expert advice on this. The Uber ruling has moved things on somewhat I believe.

That also doesn't detract from the fact that you are being treated shabbily by this company, even if that may be a separate matter.

This is really interesting BSJ. The company creates an invoice for me and I access it each month. However, I pay tax, NI etc as 'self employed'. We are asked to create an e-mail which is used exclusively for communication with the company and its/or clients, but we work remotely (from home).

Whilst we a 'freelancers/consultants', we have to complete mandatory training set by the company, engage in a set number of hours of CPD per year; we are managed by team leaders employed by the company and, although we are used for a 'expertise', we are told exactly how to do our jobs (whether we agree with the practices or not). We cannot substitute e.g. send someone else to do our work, nor can we negotiate pay or rates of pay. Our equipment is our own, but the company provides access to the software we need to do our work.

It is all a bit strange.

As there is a public interest in the correct payment of tax and national insurance, you might consider running it past the free and confidential ‘Protect’ helpline - the whistleblowing charity. Google Protect - or their old name - ‘public concern at work’.

Remember that you can legitimately be paying self employed tax and NI (as is the case for the Uber drivers themselves) while still being workers for the purpose of statutory worker rights like the national minimum wage, holidays and holiday pay - and protection from detriment if you blow the whistle.

You probably won’t get very detailed advice from the acas helpline. You don’t say your sector but if it has a regulator, they probably run a confidential helpline.

If you blow the whistle on them, you can claim interim relief in the employment tribunal, that is, you can ask for an order that your wages are continued in full until the hearing. You need legal advice really.