1.1 Describe the main types of employment status within the Creative Media Sector
EMPLOYED
People who are employed:
> Have to do work themselves
> Someone tells them at any time what to do, where to carry out the work or when and how to do it
> Work a set amount of hours
> Someone can move them from task to task
> Paid by the hour, week or month
> Can get overtime pay or bonus payment
People who are "Employed" can be broken down into three categories: Full-Time, Fixed-Term and Part-Time.
FULL-TIME
Full-time employment is employment in which the employee works the full number of hours defined by their employer. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary or flexible workers, such as annual leave (paid time off work, about 20-30 days per year), sick leave (paid time off work for periods of temporary illness) and health insurance.
FIXED-TERM
To be a fixed-term employee, two conditions must apply:
> You must have an employment contract with the business you work for
> your employment contract must be "fixed-term", meaning it must end on a particular date, after a certain event or on completion of a task
Examples of fixed-term employees are:
> "seasonal" or "casual" staff taken on for six months during a peak period (e.g. agricultural workers or seasonal shop workers)
> a specialist employee taken on for the duration of a project
> someone employed to cover during another employee's maternity leave
You are not a fixed-term employee if you:
> have a contract of employment or other contractual relationship with an agency rather than the company you are working for (e.g. temporary or agency workers)
> are a member of the armed forces
> are an apprentice, student or other trainee on a work-experience placement or temporary work scheme
PART-TIME
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part-time if they commonly work fewer than 30-35 hours per week. In the UK, part-time workers are protected by legislation that states they should be treated no less favourably than full time equivalents.
SELF-EMPLOYED
Someone who is self-employed:
> Can hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense
> Risk their own money
> Provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tasks that many employees provide for themselves
> Agree to do a job for a fixed price, regardless of how long the job may take
> They decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services
> They regularly do work fr a number of different people or clients
> They regularly have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense
FREELANCER
A freelancer is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labour and that of others to its clients with or without project management and labour contributed by its regular employees; but others act independently.
Full-time employees have benefits that are not typically available to those working part-time or fixed-term (temporary) workers. Full-time employees are generally given:
> Annual Leave - this is paid time off work, usually for the employee to do within that which they please. This varies from country to country as to the amount of time the employee is allowed off per annum, but the most common is about 20 days per year, excluding national and bank holidays.
> Sick Leave - this is paid time off work due to the employee suffering from a temporary illness longer than four consecutive days, but less than 28 weeks. The first three days of sickness are called "waiting days". Statutory Sick Pay does not apply to those over the age of 65; those who are paid less than the national insurance lower earnings limit; new employees who have not done any work under contract of employment; pregnant employees in receipt of maternity pay; employees recently in receipt of social security benefits; prisoners; employees on strike.
> Health Insurance - insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses amongst individuals. In the UK, the NHS covers health insurance.
Part-time employees can juggle multiple jobs at once, working with one employer weekday mornings, another in the evenings, and another at the weekend, and even work from home for some employers.
Freelancers can make more money than employees if they are successful, since if they are a regular user of Design Crowd, they can earn a few hundred pounds each week, though with smaller, more frequent jobs than this means that they do not have a steady income, and really need to be top of their game in order to generate an income.
1.2 Describe the key legal and taxation differences between the main types of employment status
CONTROL
> Do you have the final say in how the business is run?
> Can you choose whether to do the work yourself or can you send someone else to do it?
> Can you choose when and how you work (or does your employer tell you what to do)?
INTEGRATION
> Are you responsible for hiring other people and setting their terms of employment if you need help?
> Are you excluded from your employer's internal organisational matters, corporate training, staff meetings?
Are you exempt from having action taken against you using the company's disciplinary procedures and have no access to their grievance procedures?
> Are you excluded from company benefits and perks?
> If, for example, you lead a team of employees of your clients, you are integrated.
MUTUALITY OF OBLIGATION
> Does the employer offer work to you only if and when it is available?
> Can you decide when you will work and can you turn the work down that is offered (or are both parties of a view that a contract of employment exists)?
ECONOMIC REALITY
> Are you responsible for meeting the losses f your employment as well as taking the profits?
> Are you responsible for correcting unsatisfactory work at your own expense?
> Do you have to submit an invoice to the company for them to pay you?
> Do you get a fixed payment for the job (including labour and tools/materials)?
> Do you provide the main items of equipment needed to do the job?
> Do you work for a range of different employers?
Answering "Yes" yo all or most of the above questions, you are SELF-EMPLOYED.
Answering "Yes" to some (specifically that you can decide when you will work and whether or not you can accept/turn down work) but you are not in business on your own account, you are an EMPLOYEE.
Answering "No" to all or most of the above questions, you are EMPLOYED.
Questions are summary for guidance only and courts take a view of all the tests - none will decide a case on its own.
1.3 Explain the main implications of each employment status, in relation to job security, flexibility and working patterns
For employees:
> Employer decides how and when they do the work
> Will usually have a written contract (permanent [open-ended] or a fixed-term contract), but a verbal contract will count
> Have to work a set number of hours
> Can only be dismissed for disciplinary reasons (after number of formal warnings and subject to independent appeal)
> Private- and public-sector employees who feel they have been unfairly dismissed have the right to take the company to an Employment Tribunal in order to be re-instated or to obtain extra compensation
For employers:
> Employment legislation generally doesn't cover self-employed because you are, in effect, your own boss
> Choose whether to do work yourself, or get someone else to do it
> Choose when and how you work
> Exempt from action taken against you, using company's disciplinary procedures
2) Understand the Creative Media employment market place
2.1 Describe a range of prospective employers and the profiles and products of these employers.
Taken from http://www.viewcreatives.com
2.2 Explain how to choose an employer in terms of own personal interests, knowledge, skills and job requirements
> INTERVIEW THE EMPLOYER - While a prospective employer is interviewing you for a position, you should also be interviewing him/her. This is your chance to ask pointed questions that you may not feel comfortable asking once you've established the employer/employee relationship within the organisation.
> USE PAST EXPERIENCE AS A GUIDE - Assuming you've worked somewhere before or are currently working, call on your experience to know what questions to ask about a prospective employer. If you know you're unhappy with the evaluation method at your current job, be sure to ask a prospective employer how evaluations are performed. Ask about how interpersonal conflicts are handled, what the overtime policy is, and anything else that may have caused you stress in a previous job.
> LOOK THEM OVER ON A RAINY DAY - When shopping for real estate, if you love a house when the weather is bad, you're going to like it all the time. Rainy days are the worst possible condition for a house. Apply the same logic to choosing a good employer. Ask about worst-case scenarios. Imagine yourself in the new position under the worst possible circumstances and find out how the employer will react.
> ASK THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW - No-one knows your prospective employer like the people they already employ. Find an opportunity to speak with a couple of their current employees to find out what it's really like to work there. Employees tend to be loyal to the boss, but if things are really bad, theyll tell you. Also you should be able to judge from their responses if they're comfortable working for this employer.
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