becoming freelance

[Katy Lou]

I am 17 and wanting a chance, now having tried and being turned away for insurance issues, I began to wonder if I could insure myself. I know it sounds stupid but there must be a way for those under 18 as many people do get the chance, its not just paid work but valunteer work that I have been turned away from without being given a chance.

If anyone knows anything about this please help.

thanks, Katy lou

[berry120]

First off, I know literally nothing about insurance and all those details, so if others disagree take this with a pinch of salt.

 

But - I really wouldn't worry too much about it. It sounds like it could be quite a bit of hassle, it'd cost you, doesn't guarantee to help, and you're less than a year away from being 18!

 

As an aside, how many places have you tried? I was employed from 16 without insurance questions being asked, so although some companies might be fussy about it, I can't see it being the case for all of them. My advice would be to keep trying and not worry about with the hassle of what you're suggesting. I don't know exactly how close you are to being 18 obviously, but something under a year really isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, however far away it might seem at the moment. :)

[tonym]

Are you a member of BECTU? Their free or cheap PLI is worth the price of union membership, apart from the ethics of being part of the union. I'm not sure whether there is an age limit but it is worth checking out.

 

Tony

[djw1981]

Also, depending on how good uyour skill set is, it may be worth trying you local am-dram venue, and seeing if you can do some stuff on the voluntary crew (apologies if you have tried this route already) to get more experience and a local referee who the companies you apply to (hire companies etc) may know. Some places will not want to train their casual / freelance crew and will want people with the skills already, but otehrs may see it as an investment, in that they get the benefit of your labour.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Guest lightnix]

Hi Katy Lou, welcome to the Blue Room :)

 

From my own experience, I'd suggest that it's generally unwise to consider freelancing at such an early stage in your career; you need to build up some experience first, ideally with a full time job or two.

 

I was fortunate eventually, in that the first "proper" job I was offered involved running a small lighting department for a larger company. That got me familiar with warehouse work and prep routines, as well as taking me out on a number of small-middle scale, non-theatrical productions, in a wide variety of venues. I also got the chance to work with several freelancers and learn more about "The Life". When the company went to the wall a few years later, I was fairly well-equipped to start looking for freelance work myself.

 

Just about everyone who uses "freelancers" at the moment, expects them to be registered as self-employed - or even as a Ltd. Co. - with an accountant, before they will consider giving them any work.

 

You can expect to pay around £350 - £400 a year for "proper" Public Liability Insurance. It's unlikely you'd need Employers Insurance, but if you started to get into doing design and production work, then Professional Indemnity Insurance might be worth looking at, for a similar sum. You should also consider travel insurance, to cover any jobs abroad, although it will probably also cover you on holiday and probably cost less than £100.

 

All in all, I'd say the "fixed costs" associated with being a (self-employed) freelancer can easily run at around £2-3k per year; all tax-deductible of course, but you still need to have that money to start with.

 

Hope that helps a little.