Recently Zero Hours Contracts were in news, the BBC reported on 5th August 2013:

The Business Secretary Vince Cable fears zero-hours contracts are being abused after research suggested a million people could be working under them.

I think that employers may be tempted to switch from Zero Hours to Freelance Contractors.

PCG published this story on 3rd July 2013:

Demand from UK businesses for contract workers is continuing to rise in 2013, which could be good news for freelancers looking to get their foot in the door on a lucrative new project.

Why is it attractive to use Freelancers?

1. Skill is more important than location in many business sectors – we live in world where internet can allow you to work with anyone at anytime, you can now track down the best person to work with even if they live thousands of miles away
2. Lower fixed costs – Using Freelancers will lower your fixed costs (in similar way to Zero Hours Contracts), you employ them for a specific project and only pay for what you need so there isn’t any surplus capacity
3. Tax advantages – Freelancers run their own business and that means they pay less tax than employees. Employers save tax too, such as Employers NI.
4. Competitive Advantage – You can put together a team for a contract rather than finding contracts that fit your workforce, this means you can hire the best.
5. 110% Commitment – A Freelancers success and future work depends on them performing to the highest level on every contract, failure is not an option for a successful contractor.

So is it a mission impossible for salaried employees to make the transition to Freelancers

steve@bicknells.net