Trowelfodder You will find that hostys self-employed guide is not a guide to how to be a self-employed digger, more like a list of every reason why digging cant possibly be a self employed position.
It does seem to me that you have been offered a job and that you have turned it down. That?s a good place to be and that you have in many ways undertaken some crucial adrenaline rush aspects of being self employed. I presume that you have assessed that the price was not right. I hope that the people offering the job were not attempting to take advantage. Only you can gauge. Oxbeast seems to have reiterated the hosty-esk warnings of bogus self-employment status but then suggested the apparently more reasonable rate of 150 quids that would overcome that small matter, a matter presumably having been used as a bargaining tool in arriving at a price. Trowelfodder and Oxbeast, there is hope for you yet, you might even be naturals.
In as much as you had the opportunity to negotiate I think that you will find it very hard to work out a price as there is unfortunately virtually no help or models emanating from the cuddly love in world of archaeology where everything is based on jobs with pensions and RAOs. You could look at hostys pay scales and try and work out where the work involved equates to and from that a rate to allow for all the downsides, which hosty I am sure will be quick to point out, as I understand it he has found self-employment himself and may have some ideas about the costs of the downsides.
Being self-employed is not only an archaeology problem. It politically is a mess in this country mainly (but there is a history) because I think that self-employment is seen as an entry level business position and that the self-employed are imagined to be about to immediately employ someone else and become an employer, oh circles within circles. As pointed out in hostys guide one apparent test of the self-employed is the ability to pay someone else to do the work that you are contracted to do. What you are being drawn into is whether you are a service or are you producing a product and the nature of that product. That?s why I harp on about copyright and context sheets. A good example of the self-employed mess is
http://www.fsb.org.uk/
who are one of the few examples that make the ifa look good
An alternative route might have been to take the job and then on the same day ring up the Inland Revenue and ask them to assess your position. You will find that they are not against you, unlike the impression that the oldgirl gives, but they would be very interested in the so-called employer as the legalities are against the employer. The Inland Revenue are not in a position to let it rest and the out comes could be that the benefits of employment are added to your situation, but until your employed no crime has been committed; go on, who is it.
Having self-employment sprung upon someone is not the best way to go about it. A better way is to realise that self-employment is an option and prepare for it.
