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Change of Scope (Contract Law) - Do Freelancers have any rights?
Thread poster: Paulo Fernandes
Paulo Fernandes
Paulo Fernandes  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:37
English to German
+ ...
Mar 25

UK based CRO changed scope of work and projects dropped from full-time to zero - what are my rights?
Situation: scope of work (translation+revision) for nearly 3 years.
Problem: a few revision jobs failed to locate mistakes (in my opinion because little time was given). Most projects there is a translator, reviewer 1 and reviewer 2. The last one gets the blame if customers complain.
Resolution: scope of work was changed to translation projects "only".
My opinion: I thi... See more
UK based CRO changed scope of work and projects dropped from full-time to zero - what are my rights?
Situation: scope of work (translation+revision) for nearly 3 years.
Problem: a few revision jobs failed to locate mistakes (in my opinion because little time was given). Most projects there is a translator, reviewer 1 and reviewer 2. The last one gets the blame if customers complain.
Resolution: scope of work was changed to translation projects "only".
My opinion: I think that in 3 years I gained extraordinary revision skills and delivered over 3000 hours of accurate revision work and am now penalized because of 2 rush jobs that went wrong.
Question 1: Can a scope of work be changed without mutual agreement? My understanding this can be done with employees but how is it for contractors?



[Edited at 2024-03-25 16:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
 
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:37
Member (2017)
French to English
+ ...
UK's self-employment tax rules? Mar 25

Are you referring to the set of criteria used to determine employment status for tax purposes? That is, if you as a contractor provide services to a client (or intermediary) and the client (or intermediary) determines that you would be deemed an employee if engaged directly, then the client (or the intermediary) is responsible for deducting income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from the contractor's fees and paying these to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). If you are genuinely sel... See more
Are you referring to the set of criteria used to determine employment status for tax purposes? That is, if you as a contractor provide services to a client (or intermediary) and the client (or intermediary) determines that you would be deemed an employee if engaged directly, then the client (or the intermediary) is responsible for deducting income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from the contractor's fees and paying these to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). If you are genuinely self-employed and not deemed to be "inside IR35," you can continue to operate your business in the same way as before, paying taxes through your own company (if you have one) or as a sole trader.

It may be that the agency has changed the rules to avoid falling inside IR35.

I'm not sure you have any particular rights in this regard. Consult a lawyer, maybe? Chalk it up to great experience as a proofreader and as a businessman? ▲ Collapse


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Paulo Fernandes
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:37
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
You are not an employee Mar 25

Paulo Fernandes wrote:
Question: What are my rights? What is the 2-year rule for contractor that do services for a customer in UK? I am located outside EU-zone.

As the title of your thread states, you are a freelancer, not an employee.
If you want the rights associated with employment, you must first become an employee.

Independent contractors cannot demand that their clients give them a certain amount of work (unless the contract contains such clauses) any more than clients can demand that an independent contractor perform a certain amount of work for them. Both sides get to choose.

Were you, in effect, an employee? If you were in the UK, you might (I don't know, I am not a lawyer) be able to argue that you are an employee under IR35, but your status as a resident of a different country would appear to preclude that.

In general, this is why people emphasize the need for freelancers to have multiple clients. If you only in effect have one client you have all the instability of freelancing while enjoying none of the benefits of employment.

Regards,
Dan

Paulo Fernandes
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Miranda Drew
Joe France
Tradupro17
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:37
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Paulo Mar 25

If I understand you correctly, your client decided to give you “translation jobs only” because you failed to “locate mistakes on a few revision jobs”. Let’s say that apparently he/she believes you’re a better translator than reviewer, otherwise he/she would have cut off all ties…

P.S. This is why I never accept rush jobs…

Paulo Fernandes
 


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Change of Scope (Contract Law) - Do Freelancers have any rights?







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