Self-employment is meant to be the dream.
On the surface, it’s easy to see why self-employment appeals to so many people. It’s tough to argue with facts like:
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You’re not responsible to a boss
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All the money you earn goes directly to you, rather than you earning money on behalf of a company
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You can set your own hours and schedule
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You will have the opportunity to work from a home office if you choose to
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You don’t have to deal with colleagues and the complications of office politics
The reality is that for all its upsides, self-employment has plenty of downsides as well. If you’re considering making the leap to working for yourself, there a few realities you need to be aware of…
Self-Employment Means… No Sick Pay
When you work for an employer, sure, you have to take the rough with the smooth; you have to work to a schedule, have a boss overseeing you, and do whatever work is put in front of you. However, if you wake up with the ‘flu, then you can curl up in bed and call in sick for as long as it takes you to recover.
The same cannot be said when you’re self-employed. There’s no one to call in sick to, and there’s no sick pay for the time you spend unable to work. You can find policies that will insure you for such an eventuality, but they’re expensive, and often out of reach if you’re just starting out.
Self-Employment Means… A Harder Time Getting A Mortgage
As explained by Willow at www.selfcertremortgages.co.uk, prior to the financial crash of 2008, self-employed workers could self-certify their income so as to obtain a mortgage. This is no longer the case, and obtaining a mortgage when you’re self-employed can be extremely difficult.
Of course, ‘extremely difficult’ is not the same as ‘impossible’, but you have to be ready to jump through more hoops and deal with higher levels of bureaucracy. When it comes to thinking about how you want your life to develop for the next few years, it’s worth ensuring you have left time to go through a more arduous application process.
Self-Employment Means… No Holiday Pay
If you want to jet off on holiday while being self-employed, then it’s going to cost you– the cost of the holiday, and the cost of not working for the time you’re away. This is one of the reason many self-employed workers don’t go away as much as their employed peers. You might have to make adjustments to your lifestyle and expectations to cover for this.
Of course, there are ways to mitigate all of these potential downfalls; more robust personal savings, and managing your money correctly as per advice on www.theguardian.com . However, it’s important you keep these things in mind before you say bye-bye to your boss forever.
*collaborative post
