Asking to be treated as contractor rather than employee?

username25

Hi!

I have been unemployed and part time working in the events industry for the past year, and have just been accepted onto the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme through the Department for Social Protection, which means that I am allowed to set up my freelance business and receive social welfare for a set amount of time. It's a start up support scheme.

I've just successfully sat a second round interview to work with a company, and am thinking about what would happen next if I was offered the job. It's a short term contract, so not worth ditching the BTWEA scheme for. I'm trying to figure out if I could ask them to hire me as a contractor rather than an employee. Would this look very strange and put them off hiring me? Is there any way that I could explain the rationale without revealing that I'm on an unemployment assistance scheme? Would it be beneficial to the company in any way for me to take responsibility for my own taxes etc.?

I know from my business MSc that employment law can be very sticky in the employee / contractor distinction, and it's inadvisable to treat a contractor as an employee.

Andrea B.

username25 wrote: »

Hi!

I have been unemployed and part time working in the events industry for the past year, and have just been accepted onto the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme through the Department for Social Protection, which means that I am allowed to set up my freelance business and receive social welfare for a set amount of time. It's a start up support scheme.

I've just successfully sat a second round interview to work with a company, and am thinking about what would happen next if I was offered the job. It's a short term contract, so not worth ditching the BTWEA scheme for. I'm trying to figure out if I could ask them to hire me as a contractor rather than an employee. Would this look very strange and put them off hiring me? Is there any way that I could explain the rationale without revealing that I'm on an unemployment assistance scheme? Would it be beneficial to the company in any way for me to take responsibility for my own taxes etc.?

I know from my business MSc that employment law can be very sticky in the employee / contractor distinction, and it's inadvisable to treat a contractor as an employee.

Unfortunately, even if it was a agreeable in principle to the company, Revenue look specifically at cases where they deem contractors as being "virtual employees".
It may, if you had no other clients, cause fiscal complications and penalties for the company.

petethedrummer

Andrea B. wrote: »

Unfortunately, even if it was a agreeable in principle to the company, Revenue look specifically at cases where they deem contractors as being "virtual employees".
It may, if you had no other clients, cause fiscal complications and penalties for the company.

I dunno, there are loads of single customer contractors in the country. I would say at least a 3rd of engineers in my field are long term contractors working with 1 customer. I've been doing it for 10 years with a Limited company. I know people who have had 1 customer for 15 years! My arrangements with the companies are anywhere between 3 months and 2 years.

There was a big sweep of audits done over the last year but this was for expenses fiddling. People got fined for making up expenses not for having 1 customer.

If the OP has a business and this is a short term contract what's the issue?

Andrea B.

petethedrummer wrote: »

I dunno, there are loads of single customer contractors in the country. I would say at least a 3rd of engineers in my field are long term contractors working with 1 customer. I've been doing it for 10 years with a Limited company. I know people who have had 1 customer for 15 years! My arrangements with the companies are anywhere between 3 months and 2 years.

There was a big sweep of audits done over the last year but this was for expenses fiddling. People got fined for making up expenses not for having 1 customer.

If the OP has a business and this is a short term contract what's the issue?

It is a Revenue area of interest and I have seen where they took action on same (mnfng industry).
Maybe, if OP's client had a concern wrt to this point, the OP could clarify with Revenue.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/rct/determining-the-correct-employment-status-of-a-worker.html

petethedrummer

Andrea B. wrote: »

It is a Revenue area of interest and I have seen where they took action on same (mnfng industry).
Maybe, if OP's client had a concern wrt to this point, the OP could clarify with Revenue.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/rct/determining-the-correct-employment-status-of-a-worker.html

I believe the problem is when a company hires workers as contractors (who would prefer to have full time jobs with benefits) and then keep them on rolling contracts, therefore avoiding all the expense and obligations involved.

I'm not sure that the scenario the OP is proposing falls into this category. He wants to be treated as a contractor, the hiring company may be okay with that. I don't think there is any harm in asking.

There may be complications depending on what size of firm we're talking about here. Large multi-nationals probably won't want to deal with random invoices from contractors and would direct him to go through a recruitment agency or approved supplier (doesn't necessarily have to be a recruitment firm). Then they'll have to take a cut. A smaller firm would probably have no problem dealing with a monthly invoice.

(I am very open to correction as I am not an expert. Just a long time contractor).

It might be worth a call to Revenue. They are very helpful when you call them. But I do hate their website. So much information, so much text. None of it very clear.