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Independent versus full time employee - ship24


Posted: Sep 14, 2010

What is the benefit of working as an independent? Is the pay different?

IV versus employee - 1mt

[ In Reply To ..]
There have been many discussions about this before. Base pay as far as $ per line is about the same. As an IC, you are responsible for 100% of your taxes, there is no employer contribution. You also do not receive any benefits whatsoever, no sick pay, no vacation pay, no holiday pay, no health insurance, no 401K, etc. However, you do get a better tax benefit in that any expenses you incur to perform your job can be a tax deduction, your monthly utilities, paper, pens, etc. As an IC you are supposed to be able to choose when you work and how much you work, but in many situations it does not work that way and the IC is treated more like an employee if you are dealing with an MTSO. As for me, I am an IC and have no set amount of hours or lines required to meet and do not have a set work schedule at all. I just have to make sure my work gets done within the day. That is the #1 reason I continue to be an IC versus employee, because I can come and go and do my work whenever I choose, as long as it gets done. I think that the pay per line for an IC should be higher, and maybe it was at one point in time, but it's not. Just another way for the MTSO's to get a little extra in their pocket since they're not paying out any insurance or taxes, but yet they're still paying the same amount to the IC as they would an employee.

haha - s/b IC versus employee - 1mt

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Biggest difference for me is... - scheduling.

[ In Reply To ..]
When I was an employee, I was required to be available to work from 3-11 pm regardless if there was work. If there wasn't work, I was required to make up the time. If I couldn't make up the time due to no work, I had to use my PTO time, so I never got vacations anyway since all my PTO time was used up the minute I accumulated it. I also couldn't afford the benefits they offered, which really wasn't much of anything anyway. Overall I decided there was no benefit for me to being an employee.

Now as an IC, I do have to set aside my own taxes, but I now also get tax deductions I wouldn't have gotten before. I also set my own schedule and work when I want. If I log in and find no work, I don't have to stress about making the time up or using PTO time. Life has been much less stressful for me since switching to IC. I know it is not for everyone, but I prefer it.

There are two types of IC and it makes - a difference

[ In Reply To ..]
This is the REALITY albeit not a widely held view.

There is IC which was nicely broken down for you above. Where you get clients, you make ALL the rules (well as long as the client agrees) and you call all the shots for yourself. If you are off, no one is doing your work so you either get coverage or you will work your butt off after a few days down time.

Then there's the IC that many MTs like to hire. This is most often a misclassification but short of an industry wide overall, it is what it is. In essence, the MTSO is your client. So YOU should be submitting a contract to THEM, or at the very least, making you sure AGREE with everything in THEIR contract, changing it if you do not. Most often, you will be asked to notify them of a schedule or they will be telling you what schedules they have available and you will pick one. They will then expect you to adhere to that. That does NOT disqualify you as an IC.

From what I've seen of late, there's very, very little difference between pay being offered to IC or employee if you go the second IC route - where MTSO is your client. Even considering that as an employee you would possibly get PTO, access to benefits (usually with some contribution by the MTSO), and your self-employment tax paid (SS), you are better off as an IC - given that the cents per line paid for both is relatively close.

For instance I make 10 cpl as an IC but have the option of becoming an employee for 9 cpl. In the end, financially, I make out better staying an IC and buying my own health benefits.


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