23rd September 2011, 12:56 PM
RedEarth Wrote:There's a world of difference between a company taken on to carry out work as a sub-contractor and an individual 'self-employed' archaeologist, which is what this seemed to be really about.
The company is of course going to agree to some things as part of their contract, in order to fit in with how the site is being run if nothing else - no point saying you'll all get there and start work at 7am if it's not accessible until 8 after all! Have you really seen archaeologists being told 'how to do what task they were doing'? That sounds a little unlikely as presumably the 'engineers and managers' wouldn't have a clue!
A self-employed individual can do whatever they like, by definition, especially they don't really have any real agreement with their employer. Obviously it is in their interests to do what is expected as they might find employment opportunities disappearing very quickly.
I suspect that only self-employed 'subbys' in archaeology have no special powers of freedom, although it does seem to be a trend in other professions to make people 'self-employed'.
Oo, sorry didn't mean to be misleading. I was talking about construction companies. But good point about the difference between companies and individuals.
But I still disagree with the statement 'A self-employed individual can do whatever they like, by definition, especially they don't really have any real agreement with their employer.'
If the job falls under the CDM regulations they are bound by them. They are also bound by the 'site regulations' as set out by the principal contractor. The site regulations can be anything from safety regulations, hours, to uniforms!'. Also the self-employed individual is bound by whatever contract for service (or is it to service, or is it 'agreement', can't remember) they have signed.
There are companies in other industries who also have 'self-employed staff' who have to follow the dictations of their supervisors. Try asking the digger drivers on a large construction project who they work for and if they are employed or self employed. Its a real eye-opener!