Self Employed Diggers Again

[BAJR Host]

I hope you would agree that diggers who are told where to dig, when and are not giving a rate for the job. but are paid a weekly rate, are not self employed.. and at 60GBP per day, this is exploitation - and not a fair remuneration.

th reference to:
"there may well be gaps between contracts (this is when the self employed take holidays)." this is true... difference is, as a self employed person, you are not being paid for these holidays... no work... no pay


"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[BAJR Host]

please consider the following
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/esmmanual/ESM0500.htm

It is not impossible -not at all, to be a freelance excavator, it is you who is in control however, and you decide how to do it, when and for how much, providing the required equipment to do the job...

To take one of the examples and translating it to archaeology....


Control over what is done:

Example 1
Field Archaeologist A is taken on by a company which has a contract to evaluate a development site. The worker has been taken on as a Field Archaeologist and the contract with the company is to act as a digger as directed. During the first month the worker excavates at the first site. The company switches Field Archaeologist A to another site during the second month where it has another contract. During that month Field Archaeologist A is told to return to the original development site where they need more staff. In this case the engager has control over what the worker does at any particular time. This is a pointer towards employment.

Example 2

Field Archaeologist B is taken on by the same company with the contract to evaluate a development site. Field Archaeologist B contracts with the company to excavate and record . The work is to be completed within 3 weeks. It is up to Field Archaeologist B to decide what work they are going to do in order to fulfil this contract and the company cannot tell them to do anything else. In this case there is no control over what is to be done which points to self-employment.

Example 3

Field Archaeologist C is the third worker to be taken on to evaluate the development site. Field Archaeologist C contracts with the company to evaluate a development site. The work is to be completed within 3 weeks. 2 weeks into the job the company asks if they can work on another site , Field Archaeologist C agrees to do but for extra money.

Because the original contract was specifically evaluate the development site, the company did not have the right to instruct Field Archaeologist C to carry out this additional work. Instead, Field Archaeologist C has voluntarily agreed to undertake the additional work for an additional fee under a new and separate contract.
The original contract is still effective and must be completed that work within the agreed time scale. Again, the company has no control over what is to be done and the contractual arrangements point towards self-employment.

When the work is done
Example 1

Field Archaeologist A is engaged as an excavtor. The contract requires attendance at the development site for 37 hours per week. Those hours have to be worked between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. There is one tea break in the morning of 30 minutes and one in the afternoon, both of 30 minutes, and lunch breaks last no more than one hour. If Field Archaeologist A wants to leave the site they must obtain permission from the Project Officer and leave requests must be made 2 weeks in advance of holidays being taken. This extensive control over when the work will be carried out is a pointer towards employment.

Example 2

Field Archaeologist B is engaged as an excavator, working as part of a team on a development evaluation. Worker B has a contract that stipulates the work can only be carried out between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, as the development site is only available for entry during these hours. Although there is limited control over when Worker B can carry out the work, within this broad framework they are free to work as they please. On its own, this tells us little about whether Worker B is employed or self- employed and you would need to consider other factors before being able to make a judgement about status.

How work is done
Example 1
Field Archaeologist A is engaged as an excavator. Detailed instructions are provided on how to carry out the duties. These include instructions on how the recording will be conducted, what sampling strategy, what to excavate and how to plan and photography features. Field Archaeologist A is given little flexibility over how to carry out the job. This is a strong pointer towards employment.

Example 2

Field Archaeologist B is engaged as an excavator. The contract stipulates that B is to excavate to provide specific information as an end product. Payment will only be made if work is carried out to a satisfactory standard. The contractor makes a quality control check but has no right of control over how B completes the contract. This lack of control is a mild pointer towards self-employment.

It is very complicated, but in general, unless you (as the self employed archaeologist) have little control of where you work, when you work, and how you work? you are more than likely EMPLOYED? this does not even go into the requirements for being self employed.


"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[tmsarch]

quote:Originally posted by BAJR Host

please consider the following
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/esmmanual/ESM0500.htm

How work is done
Example 1
Field Archaeologist A is engaged as an excavator. Detailed instructions are provided on how to carry out the duties. These include instructions on how the recording will be conducted, what sampling strategy, what to excavate and how to plan and photography features. Field Archaeologist A is given little flexibility over how to carry out the job. This is a strong pointer towards employment.

Example 2

Field Archaeologist B is engaged as an excavator. The contract stipulates that B is to excavate to provide specific information as an end product. Payment will only be made if work is carried out to a satisfactory standard. The contractor makes a quality control check but has no right of control over how B completes the contract. This lack of control is a mild pointer towards self-employment.

It is very complicated, but in general, unless you (as the self employed archaeologist) have little control of where you work, when you work, and how you work#65533; you are more than likely EMPLOYED#65533; this does not even go into the requirements for being self employed.


"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

It is indeed very complicated. To complicate the above example even further, there may well be a detailed specification for the works agreed by the contracting organisation with the County Archaeologist. This might stipulate in detail how the work is to be undertaken... such as how the recording will be conducted, what sampling strategy, what to excavate and how to plan and photography features. In this instance the self employed archaeologist might be employed to complete the excavation according to the agreed specification but they would have very little 'freedom' as to how this is undertaken... Are they still self employed?

[kevin wooldridge]

tmsarch asks whether a pre-defined job specification further complicates the status of an employed/self-employed archaeologist.

In my view, probably not. There are plenty of examples from other areas of the construction industry where genuinely self-employed persons work to a pre-defined detailed specification and it doesn't take a lot of imagination to see why that should be the case.

When I first came across the self-employed question(many years back), a trade union officer who had researched the question, explained it to me as a question of 'master and servant'. Taking everything into account, she said, if you feel at the end of the day like a servant, you are probably 'employed', if you feel that you have a 'master' role, you are more likely self-employed. I know that lots of factors (as David has tried to explain) complicate this, but I still reckon as a rule of thumb that her advice was good.....

I should add of course that there is also a 'human factor' involved here. We have probably all met the lowliest site assistant who has sometime got it into his or her head that they actually 'run' the unit they work for!! For such people defining themself as master or servant would probably be a meaningless exercise.

[BAJR Host]

AS you say Kevin, tmsarch's example is one where predefined specifications that are agreed as part of the contract do not remove self employed status... it is for example stating that the plasterer will use type 2 plaster or a tiler is told the specifications are for limestone tiles in the bathroom... otherwise they may try and use cheaper materials. However, the specifications are there to be agreed on... so if you feel you can't put in a tender based on the specs in the county archs brief, then you don't. as Kevin says, it is not constraint, it is pre-defined detailed specification.. and thus you are still self employed. You however have the choice to decide how much and how long it will take to do it... and adjust your costs accordingly...

"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[drpeterwardle]

Thanks for that David - deciding if you are self employed or not is complicated and is often not clear cut. The nature of excavation is that it will tend to be employment not self employment.

What is clear is that you have to get this right!

Peter

[trowelfodder]

This is a little more interesting as although this unit state that everyone is happy with the situation - i posted the origional message on the prior thread about this and this is the job offer i was sent... (have deleted all personal/traceable details)

We have a project in #### for which we require staff . Are you available 21 July?. The project is scheduled to run for 5 weeks.

The work would be on a self-employed basis at ?60 per day and there would be a probationary period of 2 weeks. Accommodation will be provided and some travel expenses will be reimbursed.

Please let me know if you are interested.

Regards ###

I replied with an email asking

[red]Hows does the self employment status work? Will I still be working under a project officer and will he/she be responsible for telling me what to do?

How do I register to pay tax, and will it affect me if I need to sign on after the two weeks if im registered as self employed?[red]

I never recieved a reply and it seems that it is best not to question these practices if you want a job! Shoddy and exploitative - but as ever its the diggers who suffer.

Hang in there 2pints I know its rubbish at the moment and im sure things will have to change sometime, but I do understand your predicament. Its same old if you want to stay in archaeology and do the job you love then you will constantly have to face situations like this and in my experience you will lose out 9 times out of 10.

[BAJR Host]

And thats the email I have seen myself from others

- I Highlight in red the bits that glaring say EMPLOYED with comment in green .. in which case said company is not only knowingly employing people on a false "self employed basis" BUT they are able to bid for jobs substantially lower than others who employ people.... undercutting?

We have a project in #### for which we require staff . Are you available 21 July?. The project is scheduled to run for 5 weeks.

The work would be on a self-employed basis at ?60 per day it is up to the self employed person to decide their rate and there would be a probationary period of 2 weeks and how does this work as the person is self employed... ?. Accommodation will be provided Need I say more.. the self employed person will provide this and then invoice the client afterwards,AND it most certainly WILL be taxableand [b]some travel expenses will be reimbursed[/b]some travel expenses? Again this is for the self employed person to put into their initial tender for the job... the one that states how much, and what all the costs will be.

This email in itself is enough to say.... :face-confused:


"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[Oxbeast]

I was thinking about liabilities with this one. Do you have to have your own professional indemnity insurance if you're self employed, or are you covered by the main contractor's insurance? In this case, what would happen if you were put in charge of the machining, and you went through a power cable or something. Without being covered by insurance, you'd be bankrupt pretty quickly.

[BAJR Host]

It is the contractor's legal responsibility to get your employment status right, both for tax purposes and for employment rights purposes. If you are an employee, you should be paid through the contractor's payroll and pay tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) like all other employees.

To help contractors, and employers in general, decide on whether subcontractors should be treated as employees or self-employed for tax purposes, HMRC provides an Employment Status Indicator tool.

This uses a series of interactive questions that explore a person's work arrangements. The tool may be used by contractors/employers and by individuals and is available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm . If your contractor is willing, it would be useful to work through the questions together.

If you are not an employee, the next issue is whether you are a "worker". If you are a skilled tradesman without a business structure and you work for one contractor for the duration of a construction project, you are likely to be a "worker". The Employment Appeal Tribunal, in a number of tribunal cases, has decided that skilled tradesmen, such as bricklayers and plumbers, who were registered as Construction Industry subcontractors, were "workers" and therefore entitled to holiday pay. ( so think on !)

"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers