Ask HN: Looking to hire designer for a few days. What do I need to know? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Looking to hire designer for a few days. What do I need to know?

3 pointsleejw00t3545 comments

I'm probably going to hire a freelance web designer for a few day to complete a project. The designer will probably be freelance so I will be paying a fixed amount on completion. Are there any legal issue such as tax details I need to be aware of. Also should we be signing any documents, for example a requirements list to state the conditions for completion of the job. Thanks

Edit: I live in the UK.

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Yes you absolutely need to agree to a written contract to the work, laying out what's going to be done, what you're going to pay, when copyright gets transferred, etc. Having a contract protects both parties in the event of a dispute over the scope of the work, the payment you agreed to, and the rights to the final product.

Assuming you're in the US, you're doing business with an individual and not a business, and you pay this person more than $600, you probably need to collect their tax ID number with a Form W9 so that at the end of the year, you can send them and the IRS a Form 1099-MISC to report the non-employee compensation you paid.

Thanks for your help. It's probably going to be around £250 ($400) I live in the UK though so I assume that last bit doesn't apply.

You can get a designer to work for a few days for £250 in the UK?

If they're a student yeah. I'm at university at the moment and I've done a few jobs for minimum wage. I think they seem to think they're doing you a favor, trusting in a students abilities and giving you some experience at the same time. It's not something I would be happy to do anymore.

I should add, I just passed a web development job over to a student at my university because they wanted a website for £300. It's not something I'm willing to do but the student I offered it to was extremely happy to do the work.

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