someone who is self-employed (as with a company to which you sub-contract), you need only pay the invoice.

When you engage an employee, you become subject to all the legislation relating to such matters as minimum wages, unfair dismissal, employment discrimination, maternity leave and employerâs liability insurance. When you engage the services of someone who is self-employed, or sub-contract to a company, these matters are ö in law at least ö either irrelevant to the contract or the other personâs (or companyâs) responsibility. For more information about employerâs liability and other types of "people" insurance, click on that icon at the end of this page.

Donât forget, though, that one important area of legislation, that relating to Health and Safety at Work, affects you and everyone who works for you, regardless of the nature of the various contracts between you. For a health and safety guide for freelances in film and television, just as relevant to the companies who engage those freelances, click on the relevant icon at the end of this page.

Under the industry agreements that you are offered under icons at the end of this page, some of the benefits that the law guarantees to employees are, by industry custom, extended to people engaged on a self-employed basis. Examples are protection against unfair discrimination on grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, etc; and