While working as a freelance, when working from the comfort of
your own home health and safety will probably be the least of anybody’s
concern. However this is not actually true. There are a number of things to
take into account when doing any form of work, whether it is working for a big
company to working as a freelancer, with health and safety being one of them.
On top of that there are also laws that are put in place which are designed to
make sure that people are safe and healthy when working. These laws are put in
place to set the absolute minimum requirements and rights that every single
employee has to meet and this includes freelancers.
Personal health considerations
While working freelance, you are making your own money,
however on the chance that you end up becoming ill then there is nothing you
can do unless you make backup plans first. When working in a permanent job
position, when you are ill you get sickness pay. Most companies have a set number
of weeks however the national minimum of sickness pay that you can get is 28
weeks. That is where employers have to pay you for at least 28 weeks and
chances are when you’re off sick in a permanent job position your work may be
covered, depending on the job position however in a freelance position, if you can’t
do work, you don’t get any money at all. You can counteract this by having at
least 4 professionalised friends on standby so that the work can be completed
for the client.
Diet and exercise are also a key component in this. The right
amount of exercise, which is around about half an hour a day in order to keep
the body fit. Eating the right foods will also help with this as you can fight diseases
so that you don’t have to worry about people covering for you.
Every year approximately 2000 office workers are absent form
work for more than three days due to workplace related accidents which are just
as likely to happen in an office block full of people they are to happen to
people in their own home. That particular statistic doesn’t even take into
account the amount of people that cannot come into work because of work related
illnesses.
The HSE lays down a few basic requirements for office
environments:
·
Llighting should be of an acceptable level to
avoid causing eye-strain or other visual impairments.
·
Temperature should be at least 16oC and although
there is no law for an acceptable maximum temperature, there is research which
suggests that work based accidents become more likely to happen above a
temperature of 24oC
·
There should be clean water available on tap
·
Hot and cold water to be provided with soap and towels
·
Sufficient number of toilets to be provided
which are clean and fully functioning
·
To provide at least 11 cubic meters of space per
person who is permanently occupying a workplace
(Mel Dixon. (5th july 2010).
Work/life
balance
The amount
of hours that you should work a week entirely depends on how big the project is
and how you organise your time. It is recommended that you should keep with
what you comfortable with. Leaving work to the last minute can only mean you
will end up staying up every night trying to get it done and that will end up
taking a toll on your health
The amount
of paid holiday that you are entitled to depends on how many hours that you are
working for. A typical contract worker who works 5 days a week is entitled to
28 weeks of annual leave where as someone who is working part time must have at
least 5.6weeks of paid holiday. People who are self-employed such as
freelancers however so not get paid
holiday.
gov.uk. (2012).
The main rights of a worker are:
Workers and Employees have the following rights
·
National Minimum Wage - and see the Agency
Workers regulations above
·
the
right to be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme and receive Employers
Contributions in certain circumstances and in stages from October 2012 – see
our Scheme here.
·
Rest Breaks and Paid Holiday under the Working Time Directive-
and see the Agency Workers regulations above
·
Maternity
and Adoption Pay (not Leave) and Paternity Pay (not Leave) – details as above.
See our Agency Workers regulations information above for details of agency
workers who will be entitled to paid time-off for antenatal care from 1st
October 2011.
·
Protection again less
favourable treatment if you ‘whistle-blow’ (i.e. make a disclosure in the public
interest)
·
Not to be discriminated against unlawfully on grounds or race, sex,
marriage/civil partnerships, maternity/pregnancy, disability, gender reassignment,
sexual orientation, age, religion or belief and to receive equal pay (with
members of the opposite sex if you can show they are doing similar work of
equal value)
·
Protection
under Health and Safety law. For details of the Health & Safety legislation
in the UK please look at the official website www.hse.gov.uk. With
regards to appropriate Temperatures for the Workplace – there is no legal
minimum temperature set, the law says that during working hours the temperature
inside workplace buildings should be reasonable. However, the HSE’s
guidance recommends a minimum temperature of 16 degrees for workplaces where
activity is mainly sedentary (offices) and 13 degrees for workplaces where work
involves physical effort.
·
Protection
against discrimination for membership or non-membership of a Trade Union.
And from 6th April 2010 the blacklisting of workers from employment as a result
of their union membership or activities is prevented. If a worker is
blacklisted and suffers a detriment at work because of this (e.g. been refused
employment, been subject to detriment or unfairly dismissed because of being on
a blacklist) they can complain to a tribunal for damages and/or a restraining
or prevention order against the blacklist.
·
to be
accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance procedure hearing (include
Home-Workers below).
While the main right a freelancer have are:
·
You should not be discriminated
against in
the work place in most cases, and if you are could make an claim to an Employment
Tribunal. This protection only applies to Freelancers who fall under Part
5 of the Equality Act 2010 – that is those who are described as ‘contract
workers’ and are contracted personally to do the work, i.e you cannot claim
discrimination against your Employer if you are contracted for the
provision of services and hire someone else, or sub-contract someone else, to
do the work – you must do the work yourself personally.
·
You are entitled to a Safe and Healthy working environment (as
above) – see www.hse.gov.uk
·
You should be paid for the work that you have done. If you
are having problems with late payments see this comprehensive. And if your Client is going into
receivership or administration read this advice.
You may also be entitled
to Statutory Maternity Allowance if you are pregnant and have recently
left an engagement.
·
Also, on the occasion that you are classed as a ‘Worker’ (for
employment Rights) but Self-Employed (for tax purposes), you may be entitled to
the ‘Workers’ Rights as above if you perform the work personally. E.g. It is
quite common in the Film and TV Industry for freelancers to be classed as
‘Workers’ and receive paid Holiday under the Working Time Directive legislation.
·
Most self-employed individuals will pay class 2 National
Insurance Contributions (NIC’s) which give you entitlement to the basic State
Pension and Statutory Maternity Allowance. Class 2 NIC’s do not give you
entitlement to Job Seekers Allowance, Statutory Sick Pay or the additional
State Pension.
·
If you are registered as a Limited Company and provide your
services on a freelance basis to a client organisation (as a Provider) then you
will not receive ‘workers’ rights from this organisation – it is up to you to
provide yourself with ‘workers’ rights as you are employed by your own Limited
Company.
·
If you are freelance, have you considered
becoming a Limited Company? There
are many advantages in doing this, both financially and for marketing purposes,
but also there are disadvantages with a higher administrative burden. There are
organisations that can help you take care of the tax and administration burden.
Lesly Furber. (Sep 24, 2008).
Mel Dixon. (5th july 2010). Health and safety for freelancers . Available:
http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/lifestyle-and-timeout/health-and-safety-for-freelancers/.
Last accessed 4th december 2012.
Lesly Furber. (Sep 24, 2008). What are my main Employment rights as an Employee, Worker or
Freelancer?. Available:
http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/getting-a-job/what-are-my-main-employment-rights-as-an-employee-worker-or-freelancer/.
Last accessed 4th december 2012.
gov.uk. (2012). Holiday entitlement. Available:
https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement. Last accessed 4th
december 2012.
