Searching for a permanent position usually takes time. If you are having difficulties for finding a permanent job or just need to earn your living, consider temping and freelancing as a proactive strategy to land the job of your dreams.
Temporary jobs and freelancing can at best lead you to a full-time job and add valuable experience to your CV. Even though these ways to work become much more common in our ever-changing economy, they hide some legal pitfalls you need to know about.
Freelancing: The Future of Employment?
Freelancing is rapidly becoming the way to work both in the States and the UK, as many are lured by the control they can gain over their lives, deciding when and where to work and more importantly perhaps, when to take time off. The statistics show that freelancing in the UK has increased by some 12% in the past four years.
If the trend towards freelancing seems unexplainable, then the fact that more and more people are choosing or being forced to work part time in temping and trainee posts, adds further weight to the argument that flexible working represents the future of employment.
Freelancers' Rights
Freelancers, temps and trainees are on the fringes of traditional employment law, and as such many who work in these ways are unclear on their employment law rights. This is a crucial knowledge gap as often your employment rights are all that stands between a worker and exploitation.
Freelancers work for themselves, and are therefore not entitled to most employment law rights. This means that freelancers cannot claim a minimum wage, cannot be paid for days off sick or for holiday, and will have no protection from dismissal if the client decides they no longer wish to work with them.
Freelancers are still entitled not to be discriminated against at work, but only if they are working under contract personally (they cannot send someone else to do the work). Freelancers are entitled to work in a safe and healthy environment, and may in some limited circumstances be entitled to claim statutory maternity pay.
Temporary Workers' Rights
Agency workers are also entitled to employment rights. These include the right to paid holiday, the right to rest breaks and days off and the right to earn the National Minimum Wage. In these respects temporary workers are like employees.
Temporary workers are also entitled not to be discriminated against at work, and may have a legal case against an employer if they can show discrimination on the basis of their age, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, race or pregnancy status.
Temporary workers have the right to work in a healthy and safe environment as well. Following recent legal changes, temporary workers must enjoy the same facilities as employees, including a shared canteen, crèche or car parking where these facilities are available.
Temporary workers may also be able to claim statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay, statutory sick pay, and after 12 weeks in the same job - the same employment conditions as full time workers recruited directly by their employer. Where temporary worker rights differ are that they cannot claim unfair dismissal (unless for discrimination) and they never acquire the right to claim redundancy pay.
Whether you're a freelancer, temp worker or trainee, you can get employment law information from FAQs by clicking the logo below:
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