Debt diary gives wrong image for freelancers

A BBC online diary about the debt problems facing a young woman has ruffled the feathers of members of the freelancing community.

Sayara Beg has been writing a regular diary for the BBC online news website about the financial problems she faces after becoming pregnant and losing her regular income.

Ms Beg describes herself as 'a freelance IT consultant from East London', but refers to her ex-employer and employment rights on several occasions in her diary. According to one small business group, the story 'highlights misconceptions surrounding freelancing'.

In her diary entries:

• she explains the reason for her cash crisis was...the early termination of my freelance contract when I revealed to my employer that I was pregnant.


• she writes...I am still waiting for my last three weeks' pay for the job I finished on 19 May. I call my ex-employer and they promise to forward the money to me by 15 June.


• she wonders...whether I can sue my former employer on grounds of sex discrimination. I had my freelance contract terminated after revealing I was pregnant.

Confusion

Professional Contractors' Group's Chief Executive, John Thomas said: "If she genuinely operates as a freelancer, then her seeming confusion about employment rights and the language she uses gives us cause for concern, given the number of people who may read her comments on the BBC website.

"A freelance contractor is engaged by his or her client on business-to-business terms, via a contract for services, not an employment contract.

"Freelance consultants and contractors are different from temporary workers. They choose to be different from permanent employees. They do not get holiday pay, pensions, paid sick leave or maternity/paternity benefits from their clients. Every freelancer needs a buffer to cover these eventualities as well as the inevitable 'out-of-contract' phases.

"There is already plenty of confusion, thanks to the introduction of IR35 six years ago and the fact that employment status and tax status operate independently of each other.

"The recent Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Cable and Wireless v Muscat further highlights the need to end the confusion, so that freelance contractors can continue to operate as independent businesses, and their clients can continue to engage them without fear of employment rights issues."