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REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN

Republic of Cameroun Republic of Cameroun
Pax-travail-travail-patrie Pax-travail-travail-patrie
INSTUTUT DE SPECIALISAION DU PIDERC PIDERC INSTITUTE OF SPECIALIZATION

ENGLISH ORAL : CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

TOPIC : ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES OF SELF EMPLOYMENT

LECTURERS:
 KAMMOE ROLLY
 FATOU
 TAMEN YANNE

EXAMINER : Mr. PENDA ACHILLE

ANNEE SCOLAIRAIRE 2022-2023

SUMMARY

ENGLISH
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 The self-employed worker is an executive/entrepreneur who carries out an activity for his own
account, in complete autonomy. He himself decides on the organization he will adopt to meet
the demand of the company’s customers. A self-employed worker enjoys significant freedom,
but also a special social status. He is, in fact, considered as a non-employee, or assimilated to an
employee. In both cases, he is not an « employee » strictly speaking. Independent work has
advantages such as : Not wasting time on administrative tasks, accounting, tax etc. Protect your
personal assets. Benefit from salaried status (social security, welfare, retirement, and
unemployment insurance) Transform the handicap of age into an asset (experience is valued for
a consultant). Disadvantages as : basic social security scheme but no local fund. No mutual
insurance, work stoppage, no insurance against the risk of loss of activity, no paid vacation…
Working for yourself is not the same as working for someone else. The self-employed worker
can, in practice, earn much more money than an employee if he is motivated and fully invested
in his entrepreneurial adventure.

FRENCH

Le travailleur indépendant est un cadre/entrepreneur qui exerce une activité pour son propre
compte, en toute autonomie. Il décide lui-même de l’organisation qu’il adoptera pour répondre
à la demande des clients de l’entreprise. Un travailleur indépendant bénéficie d’une liberté
importante, mais aussi d’un statut social particulier. Il est, en effet, considéré comme un non-
salarié, ou assimilé à un salarié. Dans les deux cas, il n’est pas un « salarié » à proprement
parler. Le travail indépendant présente des avantages tels que : Ne pas perdre de temps en
tâches administratives, comptables, fiscales etc. Protéger son patrimoine personnel. Bénéficier
d’un statut salarié (sécurité sociale, prévoyance, retraite, assurance chômage) Transformer le
handicap de l’âge en atout (l’expérience est valorisée pour un consultant). Inconvénients :
régime de sécurité sociale de base mais pas de caisse locale. Pas de mutuelle, d’arrêt de travail,
pas d’assurance contre le risque de perte d’activité, pas de congés payés… Travailler pour soi
n’est pas la même chose que travailler pour quelqu’un d’autre. Le travailleur indépendant peut,
en pratique, gagner beaucoup plus d’argent qu’un salarié s’il est motivé et pleinement investi
dans son aventure entrepreneuriale.
 INTRODUCTION

A self-employed person is a person who exercises his economic activity (commercial,

agricultural or liberal) freely, in his name and for his own account. He chooses his administrative
organization, sets his fee schedule and works with the partners he wants. He is also called a
“freelancer”. Unlike the employee, he is not bound by an employment contract with the
company. There is no relationship this duty it will be a question for us to present to you the
advantages and disadvantages of self employment. In this duty it will be a question for us to
present to you the advantages and disadvantages of independent work
 I. BENEFITS OF SELF EMPLOYMENT
A self-employed person is a person who carries out an activity for his own account. This status
has many advantages, compared to traditional employment. An independent worker enjoying
unlimited autonomy, particularly in terms of organizing his working time. But not only. A
“freelancer” can earn much more money than an employee: the more he works, the more he
ensures significant income. Autonomy and freedom:

The self-employed worker enjoys a great deal of autonomy in the management of his work. He
organizes his schedule as he sees fit and freely chooses his working hours. No more waiting for
the time fixed by the employer in the employment contract to return home: a self-employed
worker can decide, the day before for the next day, not to work. He can, for example, afford the
luxury of dropping off and picking up his children at school.

The self-employed worker has no relationship of subordination with anyone (employer,

supervisor, etc.). He is his “own boss” and does not take orders or directives from anyone. Be
careful however, he remains, as a result, the main person responsible for the decisions he
makes. His behavior has many consequences on the company, and in particular on its
profitability and its sustainability.

A self-employed person freely chooses his place of work. He can set up his business at his
personal home, start the activity in an incubator or in a business center, use the services of a
domiciliation company or invest in commercial premises (purchase or rental). In the latter case,
it is still he who will choose the location as well as the characteristics: surface area, equipment,
configuration, rental price, condition of the premises, nearby competitors, etc.

A self-employed person can potentially earn a good living.

By definition, the salary of a freelancer is very variable. It directly depends on the level of
activity of the company. That said, the more missions he accepts or spends time working, the
more turnover he will generate and therefore ensure substantial income. A traditional
employee rarely finds himself in this situation. Indeed, those who do not count their hours
generally do not see their salary increase.

A freelancer is lucky to be able to select his clients :

The self-employed person has no hierarchical superior. In other words, he has no leader to
whom he must report periodically. Thus, he can afford to refuse certain clients, in particular
because of the complexity of the work to be done or the estimated risk (a priori too great). He
can also decide not to renew the missions he maintains with clients with a “toxic” profile. These
are customers that are difficult to manage, generally too demanding in the collaboration (price,
mission, etc.).

II. DISADVANTAGE OF SELF EMPLOYMENT

The framework enjoyed by the self-employed worker, which is more

flexible, is however a little less reassuring, compared to that of the
employee. For example, he is not entitled to unemployment benefits in
the event of job loss. An allowance has existed since 2019 (ATI) but, in
practice, it concerns only a few self-employed people because the
conditions to be met are numerous.

In terms of responsibilities, the self-employed worker is not left out.

He may, under certain conditions, be revoked by the partners and thus
lose his corporate office. If he commits management errors and/or
offences, he is likely to incur personal liability (civil, criminal, etc.).

Finally, his income is not always constant. They generally fluctuate

depending on the level of activity. Several factors can have an impact on
their standard of living (economic situation, seasonality, etc.). This
situation can generate stress and push him to spend a lot of time
securing his activity, to the detriment of his personal life.
 CONCLUSION
All things considered, it was a question for us of presenting to you the advantages and
disadvantages of self-employment. After presenting them, we were forced to realize that
working for yourself is not the same as working for someone else. The self-employed worker
can, in practice, earn much more money than an employee if he is motivated and invested in his
entrepreneurial adventure.