Is Sole Trader my best option?

Reaper

Hi, I am hoping you can point me in the right direction.

A charity has asked me to set up and run a comprehensive training course on a fixed term contract. They will be paying me around £20k to create it, spread over the year. I will work from home with most meetings being remote. I am not expecting any follow on work (though there is always the possibility) so most likely I will fold the business when it ends.

Is Sole Trader my best option? Is there anything I should beware of?

tacpot12

This thread is likely to be of interest: Self-employed but only working for one company? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

There is some risk here for the Charity and little to no risk for you if they ask you to set yourself up in this way. 

To ensure that your engagement is clearly not one of employment, but rather a contract for services, you need a written contract, and you need a way to get out that contract if things are not working out. 

You problably need a payment schedule and some acceptance criteria for the course. The acceptance criteria might in the form of a test or series of tests that check that the learning outcomes agreed for the course have been delivered.

I would write the tests very early on in the engagement and ask for a payment when the tests are complete; they could be used with to test existing knowledge (some people might be able to pass the tests without attending the course which would save the organisation some time), and to test the efficacy of learning delivered by other providers.

Bookworm105

as above, the risk is with the charity regarding breach of employment law

being sole trader is probably the most efficient option for you for a business of limited duration and a modest income (a Ltd company would entail all sort of fees to set up, operate and then costs to close down).

DullGreyGuy

Reaper said:

Hi, I am hoping you can point me in the right direction.

A charity has asked me to set up and run a comprehensive training course on a fixed term contract. They will be paying me around £20k to create it, spread over the year. I will work from home with most meetings being remote. I am not expecting any follow on work (though there is always the possibility) so most likely I will fold the business when it ends.

Is Sole Trader my best option? Is there anything I should beware of?

Either you are using different terms to them or you are speaking at cross purposes.

A FTC is a form of temporary employee and so not a sole trader or anything else

tacpot12

DullGreyGuy is right that the term "Fixed Term Contract" usually applies to contracts of employment. If the OP is going to be a sole trader, they need a contract for services, which can be for a fixed term (imagine a contract to clean your windows every month for 12 months), but it would probably be better to end the contract based on the statisfactory completion of the work. 

Reaper

Yes, I should not have used the term FTC as it is not that. Thanks for the useful link tacpot12. The idea is to deliver a training package and I should have no difficulty specifying in the contract that I control my hours, can employ others to help as I see fit, undertake to deliver the project within a timeframe with specified penalty clauses if I fail to deliver or attendees give negative feedback etc to make it clear I am not an employee.

Furthermore although I said the trading would stop at the end of the contract with a success (hopefully!) under my belt other opportunities may arise, so my Sole Tradering (that's not a word is it?) may live on. I would be happy if it does.
Thanks for all your help.