#freelance-gigs

I agree, it's getting weird. I've seen a lot of full time contract roles named 'freelance', which made me scratch my head a bit.
But in the world of consulting (which I do--I'm aiming to do more on an hourly basis vs. one-off projects alone), as long as the gig isn't full-full time hours and isn't in-person, I am interested in more team / integrated roles personally with multiple duties--but still with some freedom and boundaries on work I will or won't do. I know a few people basically working full-time hours as a 'contractor/freelance consultant' who are quite happy with 1 'client'. f I think as long as the flexible nature of some work appeals to you/works for, it's a semi-good move as a whole for the industry....
I think in your case, maybe this is an opportunity to clear up even more what services you do or don't offer, how/when you'll communicate with clients. Or, if clients want more of your time for certain tasks, you get to charge hourly for that ($$$). Also, I'm pretty sure if you're on a freelance or contract basis, it's illegal to dictate the exact hours someone works (when/where, not how many) without them being a full-time employee...I'm CAD (not sure if you're US) but being able to point to that law could help 😂

Interesting! Yes, to your last point, I believe they can't dictate but they can offer and you can accept, that's how they get around it! I honestly don't see a point in working for 1 client full time without employee benefits. They are capitalizing all your time, you might as well be on their payroll and get benefits... How are you gaining anything in that scenario? no freedom on hours or able to work with other clients and you have to pay your own taxes.. no thanks.

I'm also a big proponent in selling my value, not quantifiable by hours. I don't tell my clients how much time it takes for me to do anything. I tell them they will get a content strategy at X dollar amount. I create packages that offer hybrid services for consulting and execution. That was going really well for me, until April when things took a strange turn for many of us.

I've been noticing this trend too. Jobs with a freelance designation saying you need to be located in a place and come to the office - I was like isn't that an employee with extra steps!

@Nneka Otika And a huge advantage to the company because they don't pay your benefits, PTO, taxes.. in the US self employment tax is 13% which we bear the burden of.. So if I were in that position I'd be negotiating a MUCH higher rate, but sadly I doubt many freelancers are, especially newbies.

@Lindsey Tague I noticed too. Isn't it a misclassification of an employee (W2) as a freelancer (1099)? I think the labor board needs to get involved before this becomes more widespread.
Newbies won't be in a position to walk away and companies will take advantage

Should we also talk about remote gigs with similar descriptions ...

In a way, yes, I agree with you, but more regulation may not necessarily work to our advantage

I think at the very least it should be made clear the delineation between w2 employee, contractor and freelance as far as legalities go.

Yeah, the delineation needs to be more strict.

I tend to think the delineation is fairly clear but that doesn’t seem to stop companies from flouting the rules. I know of a company that recently tried to replace full-time people with freelancers while making them work full time and using all of the company’s internal tools, for example, even though the IRS says only employees are "subject to the business’s instructions about when, where, and how to work" with examples like when and where to do the work, what tools or equipment to use, what order or sequence to follow when performing the work, etc. My guess is there's an enforcement and/or reporting gap? Not sure.

More than likely @Nick Moore Also I think because this one in particular has a "contract" the individual has the choice to sign it or not.. so they basically say here is what we are offering, accept or not..

@Nick Moore this is so egregious. What's the best authority to report this to?

Although that won't apply to how and when they work if they aren't a w2 employee.. that part is clearly defined from a legal standpoint

It’s absolutely getting blurred. I’ve thought about taking screenshots of all the insane marketing “freelancer” positions I’ve seen, but it would take too much time 😂

@Neil Mathew it's quite ridiculous how the term freelance is now put into a box by and for 'employers' to define in a way that only serves them in some cases.. if there is a job description at all, then it's considered contract if you ask me because they are dictating terms and likely providing the contract. With my freelance clients, I ask questions to determine what they need, draft a proposal based on their needs and what services I will provide + rates, payment terms, right to cure, methods of communication etc. which turns into a contract upon verbal agreement.. I'm not the only one right?

I will share the job posting here in case anyone wants to take a gander lol.. they call it freelance in the heading, then in description say its full time contract, hybrid office requirement, they offer an hourly rate range then down at the bottom say they offer benefits/perksin addition to a "base salary" including equity in the company... yet it's a contract role that may or may not renew every month.. 😆

Agree with @Nneka Otika and @Nick Moore - companies that post contract or freelance roles (anything where you're not a W-2 employee) are playing fast and loose with IRS laws on what constitutes an independent contractor. It's not just "I'm going to slap a label on it" because they're intentionally avoiding employment laws and associated taxes if the work is essentially the same as an employee - including dictating where and how the work gets done. On a broad scale, Nike is looking at hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for employee misclassification and the mishandling of independent contractors.

@Nneka Otika I haven't reported anyone before but Deel has a couple of good links here
> In the UK, individuals can contact Acas or Citizens Advice for information and support. The government website encourages individuals to first speak with the hiring company to resolve the dispute. If both parties disagree, the worker can make a claim to the Employment Tribunal.
>
> In the US, individuals can use IRS form 3949-A to report a business for misclassification. The form collects information about the individual and company you suspect has violated tax laws by misclassifying the worker.

Long, long ago, before digital natives roamed the earth, freelancers and independent contracts worked locally. Those that worked far away depended on phones and physical mailings to communicate and deliver.

I haven't really seen listings that ask for freelancers to come into the office, so I can't speak too much to that. But for listings that want a remote "freelancer" who is in reality a full-time employee, it's possible the company wants to expand the pool of potential candidates beyond the US (or wherever they're based). So they recruit people from all over the world, but the trick is that if they hire someone who works in a country that the business doesn't operate in, they can basically only offer them a contractor position. So they ask for 40 hours a week but legally the person is an independent contractor in the country where they live, and still has to take care of paying their own local taxes and social security. There are payrolling companies that can help with this, but not every company can afford to use one. I don't know if this is helpful or answers the original question exactly, but just thought I'd add a global perspective on this since most of the previous replies seem to be US-centric

@Courtney Withrow brings up a really good point that also facilitates another potentially US-centric reason for misclassification: avoiding HR. I think some growth and marketing teams (all I can speak to, but I'm sure other freelance-heavy teams do it too) want to bypass some of the rigamarole of hiring and work with a freelancer because they may be able to bypass background checks, references, drug tests, all that stuff.

Not saying that's a good reason. It absolutely isn't. AND I think it's more common than people believe. It gets into murky territory when people start working together because corporate people act like corporate people whether you're a freelancer/contractor/whatever. I have one client at a large organization who is very corporate and wants weekly check-in calls for relatively little projects; I also am a vendor in their system, so other teams can leverage teams, but they email me as if I'm part of their corporate team. It's weird, but it's fine because I can charge for it. I think that's just one example of how for the workers involved, they may not really know how to work with a freelancer if that isn't dictated to them.

Still... a lot of gigs people are calling "freelance" now just... aren't. On one hand, more companies than ever seem to be comfortable working with freelancers. But on the other, I think they're searching for the honey in a beehive and finding a lot of bees instead. Unfortunately, newbie or desperate freelancers who fear the feast and famine cycles will continue to fall victim to this nonsense.

@Courtney Withrow - you bring up a good point with international folks. The problem with companies that call these people "independent contractors" instead of going through a payroll company - but essentially they're performing the same functions as an employee - is that they may run afoul of that country's employment laws for time off, benefits, etc.

That's what caught my attention about the Nike case. The misclassified employees weren't limited to the U.S. - they also had employees in Europe that they had labeled "independent contractors". So now they face potential monetary penalties in those countries.

I’m sure the IRS would like to hear about those “requirements.” It’s important to remember that as freelancers we are business owners and to act accordingly. Other businesses don’t get to dictate how we work.

I'm seeing a lot of freelance where it's FT hours. This would get UK residents in trouble with IR35 and Employment Status legislation.