Surely more than once you have seen job offers in which the main requirement was to be self-employed. Maybe in the interview they asked you to become self-employed to start working in the company. But In these cases you would be dependent self-employed, is that legal? Is it allowed to be self-employed and work as if you were a worker in a company?
If you want to know the legality of this figure, its pros and cons and some other important details, pay attention to what we have compiled. Shall we start?
What is a dependent self-employed person?
According to Ministry of Labor and Immigration, Law 20/2007, on the Statute of Self-Employed Work, there is a figure called economically dependent self-employed worker. And it defines it as an autonomous person who carries out his activity in a company or for a client on whom 75% of their income depends.
In other words, for the self-employed, the client they work for is the most important because it is the one that provides them with 75% of their monthly income.
Based on this definition, we can find some clear characteristics about a dependent self-employed person:
- Has a main client that contributes 75% of its income. This does not mean that he does not have other clients.
- Your relationship with that client is under an employment contract where the remuneration, work breaks (because they do have breaks and days off), duration of the contract, compensation for non-compliance must be reflected...
- Is autonomous who decides how it is organized, not the client. That is, you do not have to work the same shift as a normal worker.
Dependent self-employed vs false self-employed
When talking about dependent self-employment, it is inevitable to think of the false self-employed. That is, those workers who are supposed to be hired by a company but they are the ones who assume all the expenses and also do not have any labor rights.
El false self-employed person has to work according to the client's schedule and according to remuneration, but without the self-employed being able to demand rest, vacations, extra pay, etc.
Is the figure of dependent self-employed legal?
With everything we have seen so far you can now get an idea of the answer to the question that started the article. A dependent self-employed person is legal. It is included in the law and is a figure that is accepted as long as the requirements to be considered as such are met.
Now, Many companies use this figure to avoid the expense of hiring a worker, and they prefer a freelancer who costs them nothing. The problem is that there is a fine line between dependent self-employment and false self-employment. And many times it crosses the point of having self-employed workers working as if they were employees, but without having to pay them or give them vacations, extra pay, temporary disability...
The form and content of the dependent self-employed contract
As we have told you before, the dependent self-employed person needs a signed contract with the company to be able to carry out the activity as such.
There are a series of essential sections in this contract, beyond the identification of the parties and the purpose for which that document is concluded. For example:
- Know when vacations, weekly breaks and holidays will be.
- Know the maximum duration of the day. Be careful, because it is not about establishing a schedule, but rather how much the freelancer is going to work for that client, but with the freelancer being organized.
- That the status of economically dependent is recorded. In addition, a declaration of compliance with all legal requirements must be added (according to Royal Decree 197/2009).
Rights of the dependent self-employed
There is a big difference between a self-employed person and a false self-employed person. But also the dependent self-employed. And these have a series of rights that the company must satisfy. Which is it? The following:
- Have a written contract registered with the State Public Employment Service.
- Have at least 18 working days of rest per year.
- To be compensated for damages if the contract is unjustifiably breached.
- Choose your representatives before the company.
- Access the jurisdiction of the social.
- Sign agreements of professional interest.
Pros and cons of being dependent self-employed
It is clear that the figure of the dependent self-employed person has some extra advantages that the self-employed do not have, such as the fact of having breaks (which are supposed to be paid) to be compensated if there are non-compliance by the company. But, Have you stopped to think if it is better to be self-employed or dependent self-employed?
Advantages of being dependent self-employed
Let's start with the advantages of being a dependent self-employed person. One of the main ones is the economic stability. The fact of having a client who already offers us 75% of the income as something fixed gives us security and peace of mind.
Another important factor is that you work less. By having this client, the search for new or more income is sometimes not as necessary as for other freelancers, which means that they do not have to spend as much time looking for new ones, negotiating, managing different projects, etc.
La relationship with this client is closer, and that can help develop a strong and lasting professional relationship, which translates into more peace of mind because you have stability (something that is not easy to achieve for self-employed people).
Disadvantages
The first disadvantage of a dependent self-employed person is, precisely, that dependency you have on a client. That 75% of your monthly income depends on just one client is a fairly high risk because, if this client falls, in the end you cannot survive with only 25% of the business, and until you find new clients you may have a bad time.
Another important risk to take into account is the less labor protection. Yes, it is true that they have some rights, but not the same as an employed worker. Even though many do the same job as these.
As self-employed people, they must take care of their billing, taxes, social insurance... like a normal self-employed person, which implies that they must have sufficient management or knowledge to manage these issues appropriately (or else they face fines).
Finally, and although we have emphasized that the dependent self-employed person is the one who organizes his/her day and way of working, the reality is that clients are the ones who usually establish the hours in which that person must be active and how he/she must work. In addition, he is at a disadvantage towards the client because, knowing that it is his main source of income, negotiations always lean towards his side.