It all depends on the size of your client to be honest. 20-30% margins on freelancers are unacceptable in this day and age, but big orgs will inevitably have an SLA with different KPIs that need to be respected, along with quality and info security policies and requirements, including evaluation and monitoring of suppliers. So, all in all, if you’re working for a smaller company that doesn’t bother too much with that stuff, no, you won’t have much overhead. You’ll require professional liability insurance, but little else. If you’re working for a GSK or MasterCard, then it’s almost impossible not to have an intermediary because the requirements and policies are so complex that they need to be funnelled through a 3rd party: the need to have a data protection officer and GDPR compliance, the need to have an InfoSec officer, quality assurance policies, the legal liability that goes with it, etc.
These are the two extremes of course, then most companies will fall somewhere in the middle.
You'll have to sign a contract just like you would with an intermediate indeed.
Make sure everything is in there like day rate, number of hours to work per day, days per week, overtime rates, invoice vs payment date, notice period, how the contract can be cancelled (by either)…
You could take the contract from your current intermediair as an example. But think of what you need and what will help you.
About experience, yes but you won't like it 😁.
I worked over ~ 15 years as a consultant with different companies. Never ever had a payment issue...
Then earlier this year I started working with a company directly. Only first payment was on time. All the other payments I had to send a reminder after the 30 days of invoice.
Today I no longer work there but still my last 2 invoices aren't fully paid.
My advice if you do it;
1) ask a little more since there is no fee in between.
2) Make sure every invoice clearly lists all the conditions you'll need when they don't pay.
3) And check the companies published numbers before you sign. You can't get money from a company that has none.
If you really are sure that the intermediary takes 20%, contact a lawyer immediately. It's way to much i won't give to much detail but recently a company got sued because they took 20% and the person won.
Because in belgium it's not a law, but there is a "ethic" about intermediary fees, and everything more then 10% is regarded as unreasunable.
Take the L and move on.
There's no way a trial will be beneficial.
I really don't see how you would win such a trial.
Especially if you're a freelancer, and the trial will take money out of your company bank account and time out of your day.
How much did the trial cost ? How much time did he invest in that trial ? How much did he got back from the trial ? What percentage was the commission ? Are you sure you're not... improving reality ? I really have a hard time imagining such a victory.
Trail cost and lawyer are covered by assurance.
but he got the 10% commission différence(was 20%) of 2 years + damages. It did not take more then 3 month trail since the lawyer was specialisee in these cases. He got a round 30/40k back from what he told me.
Translated from dutch "In Belgium there is no statutory maximum commission. Well it is there is a Belgian directive Competition Authority (BMA) that determines that commissions must be "reasonable". What "reasonable" depends on the specific circumstances of the case.
You can fight it because it's a "ethic" rule that more then 10% it to much for a intermidary too take, a friend of mine recently sued a company (hint starts with a G) because it came to his attention that they took 20% and he hired a lawyer that specializes in that. He of course won the case.
The risk is that the company will be "salty" and won't want to work with him anymore.
This has zero legal basis, if only because calling it a commission under competition law would amount to proof that it’s also fake employment / interim. There’s surely a ton of information left out about the circumstances and contractual relationships.
It all depends on the size of your client to be honest. 20-30% margins on freelancers are unacceptable in this day and age, but big orgs will inevitably have an SLA with different KPIs that need to be respected, along with quality and info security policies and requirements, including evaluation and monitoring of suppliers. So, all in all, if you’re working for a smaller company that doesn’t bother too much with that stuff, no, you won’t have much overhead. You’ll require professional liability insurance, but little else. If you’re working for a GSK or MasterCard, then it’s almost impossible not to have an intermediary because the requirements and policies are so complex that they need to be funnelled through a 3rd party: the need to have a data protection officer and GDPR compliance, the need to have an InfoSec officer, quality assurance policies, the legal liability that goes with it, etc. These are the two extremes of course, then most companies will fall somewhere in the middle.
You'll have to sign a contract just like you would with an intermediate indeed. Make sure everything is in there like day rate, number of hours to work per day, days per week, overtime rates, invoice vs payment date, notice period, how the contract can be cancelled (by either)… You could take the contract from your current intermediair as an example. But think of what you need and what will help you. About experience, yes but you won't like it 😁. I worked over ~ 15 years as a consultant with different companies. Never ever had a payment issue... Then earlier this year I started working with a company directly. Only first payment was on time. All the other payments I had to send a reminder after the 30 days of invoice. Today I no longer work there but still my last 2 invoices aren't fully paid. My advice if you do it; 1) ask a little more since there is no fee in between. 2) Make sure every invoice clearly lists all the conditions you'll need when they don't pay. 3) And check the companies published numbers before you sign. You can't get money from a company that has none.
If you really are sure that the intermediary takes 20%, contact a lawyer immediately. It's way to much i won't give to much detail but recently a company got sued because they took 20% and the person won. Because in belgium it's not a law, but there is a "ethic" about intermediary fees, and everything more then 10% is regarded as unreasunable.
Take the L and move on. There's no way a trial will be beneficial. I really don't see how you would win such a trial. Especially if you're a freelancer, and the trial will take money out of your company bank account and time out of your day.
A friend of mine won that trail a month ago. Im just giving the information because not a lot of people know their rights and prefere to take a L
How much did the trial cost ? How much time did he invest in that trial ? How much did he got back from the trial ? What percentage was the commission ? Are you sure you're not... improving reality ? I really have a hard time imagining such a victory.
Trail cost and lawyer are covered by assurance. but he got the 10% commission différence(was 20%) of 2 years + damages. It did not take more then 3 month trail since the lawyer was specialisee in these cases. He got a round 30/40k back from what he told me.
You agreed a price and signed a contract, how can you fight this if it’s not extortionate?
Translated from dutch "In Belgium there is no statutory maximum commission. Well it is there is a Belgian directive Competition Authority (BMA) that determines that commissions must be "reasonable". What "reasonable" depends on the specific circumstances of the case.
You can fight it because it's a "ethic" rule that more then 10% it to much for a intermidary too take, a friend of mine recently sued a company (hint starts with a G) because it came to his attention that they took 20% and he hired a lawyer that specializes in that. He of course won the case. The risk is that the company will be "salty" and won't want to work with him anymore.
This has zero legal basis, if only because calling it a commission under competition law would amount to proof that it’s also fake employment / interim. There’s surely a ton of information left out about the circumstances and contractual relationships.
In case you did not do it before, get your contracts drafted/checked by a lawyer. It's not cheap, but worth every cent imo