Being self-employed is not just about issuing invoices and paying your monthly contribution. As soon as your business grows, decisions with significant employment implications start to appear: taking someone on, meeting health and safety duties, responding to the Labour Inspectorate, or working out whether your own situation is really that of a self-employed worker. At BBM Abogados, based in Santander since 1990, we support self-employed workers and small businesses across Cantabria with everything that touches on employment law, so that you can make decisions with confidence and no nasty surprises.
In this article we explain, in plain terms, which employment services a self-employed worker needs, when the Inspectorate can penalise you, how to spot whether you are a bogus self-employed worker, and what your options are with arrangements such as the collaborating family member or the cessation-of-activity benefit.
Which employment services does a self-employed worker need?
While you work on your own, your employment obligations are limited. The picture changes completely the moment you take on your first colleague or employee, because you become an employer and take on the same responsibilities as any company. The main areas are these:
- Hiring and payroll. Choosing the right type of contract, drafting it correctly, arranging the registration with social security before the person starts work, and preparing the monthly payroll with its contributions and tax withholdings.
- Health and safety at work. If you have staff, you are required to comply with health and safety rules: risk assessment, health surveillance, and training and information for your workforce. This is no minor formality, as failing to comply is one of the breaches the Inspectorate penalises most often.
- Day-to-day management. Holidays, leave, changes to working hours, sick leave, and any issue that arises in the relationship with your employees.
- Cessation of activity. If the time comes to close down or change direction, it is worth planning your exit carefully to protect both your rights and those of your workers.
Having good employment advice from the outset avoids mistakes that are expensive to put right later. You can see everything this area covers on our employment advice page.
When can the Labour Inspectorate penalise a self-employed worker?
The Labour Inspectorate does not only act against large companies. A self-employed worker with staff is also subject to scrutiny, and there are three situations that tend to attract attention:
- Irregular hiring. Having someone working without registering them with social security, or doing so on hours or a job category that do not match reality.
- Health and safety breaches. Not having assessed the risks, not providing health and safety training, or not supplying the necessary protective equipment.
- Falsely self-employed people on your payroll. If you take on colleagues as self-employed when in reality they work for you with the hallmarks of an employment relationship, the Inspectorate can reclassify those registrations and penalise your business.
If you have received a summons or a formal request, the wisest course is not to respond on your own. The way you reply to the Inspectorate has a real bearing on the outcome. We explain how we can help with labour inspections.
“At BBM Abogados we defend the interests of individuals and businesses in Santander and Cantabria with a close, rigorous and fully transparent approach. If you have doubts about your case, we help you see it clearly.”
Are you a “bogus self-employed worker”? Warning signs and what you can claim
Bogus self-employment is one of the most common situations and one that causes the most problems. It arises when you are registered as self-employed but, in practice, you provide your services just as an employee would. The key lies in two legal concepts: subordination (dependencia) and the work belonging to another (ajenidad).
There are indicators that often point to a disguised employment relationship:
- You work to hours imposed by the company and under its instructions.
- You use the company’s resources and tools, not your own.
- You provide services exclusively for a single client.
- You are integrated into the company’s organisation as just another part of its structure.
Where these features are present, the relationship can be declared one of employment even if the signed contract says you are self-employed, because what counts is how the work is actually carried out, not the label put on it. So what can you do? You can claim recognition of the employment relationship before the employment tribunal (Juzgado de lo Social), with the consequences that follow (length of service, contributions and, where applicable, compensation). In addition, the Inspectorate can penalise the company for this practice. If you recognise yourself in these signs, it is best to act with proper advice and without delay.
Collaborating family member and cessation-of-activity benefit
Two arrangements that often raise questions and are worth understanding:
- Collaborating family member (autónomo colaborador). This is a relative of the registered self-employed worker (a spouse, children or other relatives who live with them and work regularly in the business) who registers under the special social security scheme for the self-employed. It has its own contribution and tax rules, different from those of the main worker, so it is worth carefully assessing whether it is the right option for your situation before registering.
- Cessation-of-activity benefit. This is the benefit known as the self-employed worker’s dole. It exists, but it is not automatic: to qualify you must have contributed for that specific cover and be in a legally recognised situation of cessation (for economic, technical, force majeure or other reasons set out in the rules). Planning the closure carefully is the best way not to lose this benefit.
In both cases, an upfront review of your situation helps you choose the right option and meet the requirements.
Talk to our employment adviser in Santander
Every business is different, which is why we do not give one-size-fits-all answers: we look at your specific situation and tell you what suits you best. We are a firm with more than thirty years’ standing in Santander, with our own team in employment law and a close, straightforward way of working.
Whether you are about to take on your first employee, suspect you are a bogus self-employed worker, or need to respond to the Inspectorate, we can help you decide with confidence.
Call us on 942 36 10 48 or write to us through our contact page. Tell us about your case and we will tell you how we would approach it, with no obligation.