What are the pros and cons of self employment?

It is true that, at least in the beginning, as the owner of a one-man business, you can earn more than a full-time job. However, a lot depends on your negotiating skills, position in the company and, unfortunately, future changes in the law that the rulers will certainly bring to us. First things first.

PROS - you will be the boss yourself and you can provide services to other companies at your own discretion, and you evaluate the value of your work - theoretically, you can take advantage of the start-up allowance and the so-called Small ZUS (i.e. preferences for people who have not been operating for at least 60 months) but note: this does not apply to people who work for a former employer, so I would not advise you to risk it - you have several different options when it comes to choosing taxation and in the case of an employment contract, the tax scale is imposed in advance - you can use a subsidy for setting up or developing a business - some costs incurred can be deducted from income, which reduces the tax burden

CONS - you are fully responsible for your actions, including those resulting from ignorance of the ever-changing regulations - you have to remember about all formalities, deadlines and transfers, e.g. ZUS contributions, and even one day late may mean trouble - you will become your accountant or someone will need to pay for it - you will be affected by the lack of vacation leave and other privileges under the Labor Code - from now on, days off will mean no remuneration and no one will claim your interests in more difficult moments in life - contractors can thank you for cooperation practically overnight day, unless you conclude a different contract in advance - there is a risk that you will do your work, issue an invoice, and the money will not be credited to your account and you will have to fight for it in court - if you apply for a loan, banks will treat you more "strictly" than on a full-time worker's

I would sum it up like this: if you are an independent and enterprising person (this adjective is related to running a business for a reason), starting your own business may be a good idea and improve your financial situation in the long run. But you cannot forget about the dangers and count that "it will happen somehow". Unfortunately, the vast majority of companies fail in the first five years, and the self-employed too often operate on the verge of profitability. You would benefit more by working for completely different entities than your current boss, because in the first years you would have the opportunity to save on ZUS, but this stick has two ends and means lower benefits and pension in the future.

Make an appointment with a tax advisor or a good accountant and calculate how much you would have to earn for such a change to pay off.

Can you specify what industry or profession you are referring to? The self-employment prospects for a programmer look different than for a paramedic or a courier.

One thing is certain - for the employer it will almost always be more profitable to sign a B2B contract, i.e. company to company, than to hire someone full-time. The exception is when such contractors are in demand on the market and therefore offer very high rates for their services. Then finding and training an employee may be more profitable, provided of course you can find such a person.

More often, however, the point is that the business owner is trying to save on salary and therefore encourages people to set up businesses. The term fictitious self-employment has even been coined, meaning a change of employment relationship solely in order to save on ZUS costs and taxes. Such an employee actually works for only one entity, does not employ anyone and performs duties characteristic of an employment contract. You'd better think hard about why the boss is so insistent.