Freelancing, sole trader and professional indemnity insurance advice needed pls!

MsMoneyMaker

Hi everyone,

I've just received a Finance Admin job offer via email from a small start up company, offering a long-term freelance paid per hour contract (self-employed, sole trader), 25 hours per week, working from my own home and starting at the end of the month.

They also asked me to provide details of my professional indemnity insurance (PII) and a rather long list of ID documents (qualification certificates, passport, proof of address, bank information, a signed passport photo etc).
Note that I have not seen the contract yet-they want the above documents first...

The company checks out fine with Companies House, however I am not keen on the fact that I haven't received a job offer in letter format (not even a PDF with the above email) -is this all acceptable / normal practice in freelance recruitment?

I've never been self-employed / will need to register, and obviously I do not yet have PII so I'm now feeling slightly apprehensive about the whole situation.

General tips & advice from anyone who is or has been self-employed in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

Neillaw

I would send them an engagement letter and ask them to sign it, this would then be your contract/offer from them. You can find a standard engagement letter on the AAT website.
I use Trafalgar for my PII as it's one of AAT partners and you should be able to find the link when you've logged onto your portal.

MsMoneyMaker

@Neillaw - I did log in and have a quick look before posting here, but my search didn't bring up the info you've mentioned...I'll head over there again. Thanks for the tips!

@Mickdundee - yes I've met them in person ( to be shortlisted I had 2 telephone interviews and 1 face to face) then came a verbal offer via telephone last Fri and this email offer today. However I totally agree with you regarding the request for my documents! Far too much and too soon... that boxing analogy is perfect LOL

MsMoneyMaker

Hey @Mickdundee it's going well! Thanks for following up

I took your advice and held on to my docs! However they came through quite quickly with a consultancy contract and services /role outline.

They are inexperienced with some of the basic HR processes and struggling with their administration workload, but it seems all above board. The plan is to introduce a PAYE system by the end of 2018 (it's already in the pipeline), so this time next year I should be on a permanent contract!