The freelance
compliance health-check
23 questions to put to whoever runs your freelance and contractor operation in the US, UK and Europe. None of them need a lawyer to answer, but every “not sure” is somewhere a tax authority, a labor inspector or an auditor would start digging.
That email doesn’t look right. Have another go.
Thanks, you’re in.
Download the health-check (PDF)
Where freelance operations catch fire
Most companies don’t have a freelance compliance problem they know about. They have one that’s growing quietly. The health-check walks you through the seven areas where it hides.
01Classification
Who decides employee vs freelancer in each country, and could you evidence it? IR35, Scheinselbständigkeit, falso autónomo and friends.
02The paper chain
Does the contract match the entity that pays and the way the work actually runs, or would reality contradict the paperwork?
03Identity & the business behind the invoice
Right-to-work checks before day one, real registered companies, current insurance certificates.
04Hours, overtime & local rules
Actual hours worked without reconstructing from messages, overtime against an agreed model, country rules applied consistently.
05The US question: W-2 or 1099
Tested against the IRS control factors and state rules rather than habit, with an employer route ready when someone has to be W-2.
06Paying across borders
Withholding and VAT, invoice lag, and what your freelance operation actually costs to run.
07Drift, and who owns it
Freelancers who look like employees, scope changes nobody re-checks, and the “one name, not a committee” test.
Score yourself
Tick yes, no, or we don’t know for each question, then add the crosses and question marks together. That total is your exposure score, because an auditor treats “we don’t know” exactly the same as “we don’t”. Whatever your number, the fix is process, not panic.
If some answers made you wince
That’s usually the moment to talk. Hive 25 runs classification-first freelance onboarding, booking and payments across the US, UK and Europe, with insurance-backed determinations, so the liability question has an answer.
Book a callHive 25 · hive25.com · The health-check is informational only, not legal advice.
