You must choose a legal status to exercise a professional activity independently and legally. Becoming independent requires you to choose between the status of freelance or that of wage portage . It is important to know the differences between these two concepts to find the most advantageous status for you according to your sector of activity .
Freelance wage portage: two statuses of self-employed workers
Ported employees and freelancers are independent workers . However, freelancing and wage portage are two very distinct concepts.
- Freelance for an independent business
A freelancer is an independent worker who chooses his clients and his mission himself. Most often, it is a professional who offers intellectual services to individuals or to a corporate client . You can therefore become a freelancer in IT , communication or coaching, for example. This status allows you to exercise your profession freely. Indeed, as a freelancer, you are not subject to any subordination and you have the possibility of choosing your working time and the missions that you carry out in complete autonomy .
In reality, doing freelance work is not a social status. Freelancers must therefore opt for a social status to legally offer services . The social and tax system to which you will be subject will depend on the status you choose. You can then choose between practicing as a liberal professional or working as a micro-entrepreneur . You can also set up as a sole proprietor with limited liability or set up a sole proprietorship with limited liability. As a freelancer, you also have the obligation to hold a SIRET number to be able to issue invoices. This number will allow you to be recognized by the tax and social services.
- Wage portage for an independent employee
Wage portage is a status that is offered to a self- employed worker and is halfway between the status of freelancer and that of employee. Thus, a carried employee makes it possible to combine the advantages of the self- employed status and those of an employee on a permanent contract ( CDI ) or a fixed- term contract ( CDD ). Indeed, if you work in wage portage , you keep the independence that the status of freelance gives you and at the same time, you benefit from the advantages of the status of an employee. Thus, you decide yourself on your missions and conduct negotiations with your clients in complete autonomy. The difference between a freelancer and a carried employee lies in the fact that the latter accomplishes his missions within the framework of an employment contract signed with a wage portage company.
You can become a focused employee , whether you are a recent graduate, a retiree, looking for a job or a former executive of a company.
Freelance wage portage: the specificities of each status
The differences between freelancing and wage portage have major consequences on the social protection, administrative management and finances of the self- employed worker .
The effects of your status on social protection
The status of freelancer and that of salaried worker has different effects on your social protection, particularly in terms of unemployment, retirement and health protection. As a carried employee , you benefit from the same rights to unemployment insurance as the employees of the carrying companies with which you collaborate. If you lose your position in this company, your salary rights allow you to claim unemployment benefits. The amount of these allowances will depend on your salary and the duration of the contribution. On the other hand, if you offer your services as a freelancer , your monthly allowance will be limited to €800 with a duration of six months. The receipt of this allowance is conditioned by your registration with Pôle Emploi and you must be looking for a new job. You must also have worked as a self- employed person in the same company for at least two years without interruption.
Retirement for employees and freelancers is also different. If you were a freelancer who worked in a SASU or an ERL, you only benefit from pension rights if you have paid yourself a salary. The salary payment therefore allows you to have the same rights as retired employees. Thus, you will benefit from a basic pension and a supplementary pension like private sector employees.
With regard to health protection, salaried employees and freelancers are subject to the same regime and benefit from healthcare reimbursement. However, if you are a freelancer in a SASU or EURL and you do not pay yourself a salary, you will be subject to PUMA insurance, which is less advantageous than the general health insurance scheme .
The differences between wage portage and freelancing in terms of administrative management
Although the status of entrepreneur gives you some flexibility in the exercise of your activity, it does not exempt you from administrative tasks . Nevertheless, wage portage is a status benefiting from a much lighter administrative management than that of freelance . Indeed, as an employee carried in an entity, you are not subject to the obligation to create or manage a company. You are also not obliged to do any accounting or make declarations. All of these obligations are the sole responsibility of your carrier . Nevertheless, wage portage requires a regular declaration of your turnover to the URSSAF since you have a sole proprietorship just like self-employed entrepreneurs and self- employed workers.
If you decide to become a freelancer , you should expect to perform a lot of relatively complex administrative tasks . Indeed, you must create an EIRL, an EURL or a SASU and submit to all the obligations relating to the creation of a company. The creation of a business requires you to keep detailed accounts, file your accounts with the registry once a year and attend an annual general meeting. You must also have a business bank account.
Financial differences
Self- employment has an impact on income depending on the status chosen. Indeed, wage portage requires the payment of portage costs and the payment of social contribution which is equivalent to 45% of your turnover. Freelancing, on the other hand, results in a wide variation in earnings depending on the chosen status. Self-employment is mainly subject to social charges . These charges range from 13 to 23% of turnover. The auto-entrepreneur status is therefore less onerous than the other statuses. Indeed, if you are a freelancer in EURL , SASU or EURL you must contribute on your salary and on the dividends that you pay yourself. By exercising in a sole proprietorship or in an EIRL, your contribution is equivalent to 45% of your remuneration. In addition to these contributions, you must pay fees relating to the services of a chartered accountant, bank charges and various legal fees.
Conclusion
Freelance wage portage allows you to be completely independent in the exercise of your profession. These statuses offer you the possibility of landing a mission on your own, choosing your clients, setting your rates and organizing yourself easily. However, these statutes differ in the sense that wage portage establishes a tripartite contractual relationship between the employee carried and the client companies . The freelancer , on the other hand, concludes a service contract with his client and maintains commercial relations with him.
