This checklist was developed while I was contracting out my time to companies (one at a time), and remained in a notebook until being brought out while wondering if I could make an income from woodturning (no; I wasn't – and amn't good enough).

So how can you put a price on your time?
A quick and dirty method follows, for you to refine.
Firstly, you need to know how long you can reasonably work:

• There are 52 weeks in a year.
• Less, say, 4 for holiday, leaving 48
• Less 1 for public holidays = 47
• Less 2 for sickness = 45
• Less 2 for training courses = 43
• Less 1 for Grandma's funerals = 42
• Less 2 for contingencies = 40

Therefore you need to earn a year's income in 40 working weeks.

Now, how many working hours in a week? 5 days at 8 hours? We'll take 40.

So, if the annual income you want is say 30,000 groats, you:

• Divide by 40 (weeks) = 750 groats a week, and then
• Divide by 40 (hours) = 18.75 per hour, therefore
• 30,000 groats per year works out to to 18.75 groats per hour.

That may not be the end of the story of course. There may be tax advantages being self-employed and there will also be disadvantages – for instance, as an employee rather than a contractor, you may be able to take more than 2 weeks sick leave.

The above then, is a rough guide to be pondered over and the implications thereof to be researched.

Well has it been said that when working for yourself, you do not get sick between Sunday night and Friday afternoon?

Articles by Rod

25.10.10 Front Page

Back Issue Page