4th February 2009, 08:56 PM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by drpeterwardle
If the guide is intended to help people set up then I think the most important thing would be a list of advantages and dis-advantages of self employment.
I also think a guide to what qualifications, accreditations and experience is neccessary before you can offer certain types of work. One of the things about self employment is that you have to be able to garantuee your work.
Peter
Indeed. It can seem like freelance is a land of milk and honey, colleagues returning from the near east with tales of ?20K for 6 months work... you need to be rather good, and have the right connections, and luck, and not be bothered about going away for potentially months at a time . Not the life for everyone. And being stuck in a Turkish compound miles from anywhere wears thin after a while apparently...
And nearer to home, aside from specialists, how many units actually use freelance diggers? I'd be interested to know. Its not a lot in the South East, although apparently more up north, and possibly west. I've worked for a unit as freelance on site for a while, only to be told that they won't be able to continue using me (despite wanting to) as their HR were getting iffy, presumably over both self-employed rules, plus the effect on the employed workforce. And anyway, is freelance diggers a good thing? I personally think the wholesale freelancing of archaeological 'labour' would be a retrograde step.
BUT, a technical guide making it easier for people to make an informed choice would be very useful. Although I do think it will need running past a lawyer!