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Brixton news, rumour and general chat - November 2016

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I stopped freelancing in march this year. Never going back to it. I hated not knowing how much would be coming in each week and chopping and changing clients all the time. I'm loving my 9-5.

Freelance is just a wanky word for a zero hour contract effectively.
 
Reiabuzz said:
I stopped freelancing in march this year. Never going back to it. I hated not knowing how much would be coming in each week and chopping and changing clients all the time. I'm loving my 9-5.

Freelance is just a wanky word for a zero hour contract effectively.
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The difference comes with the worker's ability to decline work - which varies hugely with the kind of work and how well it's paid.

For someone with specialist skills which are in high demand, it's hardly a comparable situation with what we generally think of as zero hour contracts.
 
Reiabuzz said:
I stopped freelancing in march this year. Never going back to it. I hated not knowing how much would be coming in each week and chopping and changing clients all the time. I'm loving my 9-5.

Freelance is just a wanky word for a zero hour contract effectively.
Click to expand...
I think you'll find the word freelance has been around a lot longer than the phrase 'zero hour contract'.

They are very different things. It depends on whether you are forced into self employment or make a choice. I know a lot of people that have chosen to be freelancers. Some love it, some find it challenging but love it because the challenges weigh up with the freedom it gives them, and some hate it and have tried to go back to salaried employment (with varying degrees of success).
 
Also...to me freelance and self employed imply slightly different things. A freelancer might take on short term contracts doing something for a company - working for the company not the company's clients or customers. To those customers, the freelancer doesn't necessarily look any different from a salaried employee. Self employed, you are more likely to be working directly for your own customers/clients.
 
I know a couple of freelancers who consider themselves permalance i.e. paid a higher p/h rate and with the long term stability afforded by a permanent job, but unpaid holidays. They love it and their fellow permanent colleagues envy them.
 
Reiabuzz said:
If you decline work a couple of times from the freelance agencies they won't be calling you much more
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Yep. I know a few people who found it hard to get work from some agencies once they'd said no to a couple of jobs. Freelancing in the design world has changed completely compared to, say, ten years ago.
 
SpamMisery said:
I know a couple of freelancers who consider themselves permalance i.e. paid a higher p/h rate and with the long term stability afforded by a permanent job, but unpaid holidays. They love it and their fellow permanent colleagues envy them.
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That's me... Although I end up on long contracts, having the knowledge that you can walk away is refreshing..
 
editor said:
You're one of the lucky ones. The vast majority of freelancers I know are on short term/day by day contracts.
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The majority of freelancers I know are on long term contracts. Maybe its because we tend to work direct to client rather than through agencies and are all very experienced.. The freelance world is very busy, we often struggle to find good people as they get booked up so long in advance and for such long periods.
 
editor said:
Interesting: Objection raised as Lee Jasper rejoins Labour party
Click to expand...

Here are the results of his last attempt to achieve elected office:

Lee Jasper graciously loses Croydon North by-election (click for more)

leejasper-27apr2011.jpg


The future?​
 
shakespearegirl said:
The majority of freelancers I know are on long term contracts. Maybe its because we tend to work direct to client rather than through agencies and are all very experienced.. The freelance world is very busy, we often struggle to find good people as they get booked up so long in advance and for such long periods.
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I guess it very much depends on what trade and skills you've got. Some areas have been hit particularly hard.
 
discobastard said:
No. It's a pedantic point, but there is a difference between being a freelancer and being forced into self employment.

You have to be able to differentiate between those who choose to be self employed, taking all the lifestyle benefits it brings and those who have no choice.

It's also worth noting that of all the Uber drivers I've spoken to, some are happier with existing arrangements; becoming an 'employee', getting holiday and sick pay etc is a concern as it may mean Uber have more say on when and how many hours they work. Of course there are others that have a different view.

So it's not as simple as you make out. And as long as the right safeguards are in place (which admittedly they don't seem to be at the moment) it works for some people.
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Uber drivers would not slag off Uber to clients. Its something one learns not to do with a lot of jobs like this. I hear different. Its hard to make a decent living from it.

As you say the right safeguards are not in place.

Black Cab drivers are self employed but they have , for historical reasons, a good deal. Uber is threatening that. I talk to cabbies and can understand why they feel threatened by Uber.

I am not saying it is simple. Work is changing. And for many its changing for the worse.

I know people, even in middle class jobs, like journalism who find freelancing in long term has a lot of downsides. Get ill and find you do not have sick pay. As my friend found when she had cancer ( caught at an early stage so she is ok. And she had support from family). Work for one magazine a lot and on a regular basis she is told they may have to get rid of her. They at one point got a graduate straight from college to take over her work at a cheaper rate. When that ended up as a fuck up got her back.She is not getting any younger and needs at least some security. What these companies rely on is the State to provide a safety net which they will not as it costs them.

No its not simple. Its the world of the precariat. And it affects middle and working class.
 
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discobastard said:
No. It's a pedantic point, but there is a difference between being a freelancer and being forced into self employment.

You have to be able to differentiate between those who choose to be self employed, taking all the lifestyle benefits it brings and those who have no choice.

It's also worth noting that of all the Uber drivers I've spoken to, some are happier with existing arrangements; becoming an 'employee', getting holiday and sick pay etc is a concern as it may mean Uber have more say on when and how many hours they work. Of course there are others that have a different view.

So it's not as simple as you make out. And as long as the right safeguards are in place (which admittedly they don't seem to be at the moment) it works for some people.
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Saw this on Guardian website today:

Uber drivers stage go-slow protest through central London

I know someone who works for one of the other big passenger car firms. He has to work long hours to make a living.
 
Where are the Civil Enforcement Officers when you need them?

I suffered double urinary trauma this morning on a trip to Lidl.

First there was the guy with chronic alcoholic tardive dyskinesia who considerately urinated voluminously beside the door of Raphael House - a block of Metropolitan Housing social flats corner of Coldharbour Lane/Gresham Road.

His two mates - lady and gent - were offering him loud encouragement from the gutter of Gresham Road whilst he did the deed.

Then on the way back home, blow me if I didn't see another large gentleman of pensionable age letting it all hang out gushing over the wall next to the side door to 365 Brixton Road (which is close by the bus stop on Coldharbour Lane known as "Brixton Police Station").

Seems odd to me that over a month after the council's announcement of a revamped enforcement service I encountered two typical incidents of street pissing before 10.30 am. And not an enforcement person in sight anywhere.
 
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sparkybird said:
Brixton Windmill (the one with the sails) was on the ITV news last night@

London windmill seeks volunteers to make flour

The ads you have to watch are probably longer than the piece, but you can see the flour milling in action!

And if you want to buy some, the Friends website now lists places it can be bought locally

Buying Brixton Windmill Flour - brixton windmill

I can highly recommend it for bread, pizza biscuit and cake making!
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Where are they getting the wheat from then?

A while back I saw there was a test area within Ruskin Park, with a sign saying the wheat grown there would be used by the Windmill (I think?) but I can't imagine that would produce more than a few bags.
 
Yes, we did grown some in Brixton (at the Mill and also in Ruskin) but you're right, no where near enough!
we now get it from an organic farm in Hertfordshire (35 miles away)
 
CH1 said:
Where are the Civil Enforcement Officers when you need them?

.
.
Seems odd to me that over a month after the council's announcement of a revamped enforcement service I encountered two typical incidents of street pissing before 10.30 am. And not an enforcement person in sight anywhere.
Click to expand...
You seem to be mixing up what the council say and what they do. Two completely different things, almost totally unrelated, but an easy mistake to make, I've done it myself a few times after reading the waffle they put through the letterbox.
 
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