What you’ll learn
- Know the difference between being paid PAYE and being self-employed, and what each means for your money.
- Know how to invoice, what to put on it, and what to do when you are not paid.
- Understand self assessment: registering, the dates, what to set aside and what you can claim.
- Have a routine for finding the next job that starts two weeks before this one ends.
Where this leads
By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.
How you are hired, and how the money reaches you
9 minTwo ways of being paid, one of which takes the tax off for you. Know which one you are on before your first day.
- readPAYE or self-employed: what each one means for you3 min
- readGetting paid: timesheets, invoices and chasing3 min
- checkCheck: being paid3 min
Tax, in plain words
9 minWhat you actually have to do, when, and what to put aside. This is the part people avoid until January.
- readSelf assessment: registering, the dates and what to set aside3 min
- readExpenses and records: what you can claim, and what you keep3 min
- checkCheck: tax and records3 min
The documents you keep
8 minOne folder, kept current, answers almost every question a production will ask you.
- readYour folder, and what goes in it3 min
- taskTask: set the whole thing up this week3 min
- checkCheck: your documents2 min
Finding the next job
9 minThe next job is found in the last fortnight of this one. Here is the routine.
- readThe last two weeks of a job3 min
- readThe routine between jobs3 min
- checkCheck: finding the next job3 min
Unlock this course with PRO
Go PRO to open every lesson and resource in this course, and in every other Foundations course.
Sources and references
Where this course comes from. Open any of them yourself.
Check it yourself
This course is written from our own experience of the industry. These are the authorities that set the rules, so you can check anything here for yourself.
- GOV.UK: working for yourself when you have to register as self-employed, and how
- GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax returns the dates, the registration deadline and what a return involves
- GOV.UK: expenses if you are self-employed what you can actually claim
- GOV.UK: National Insurance the classes, and which apply to you
- Acas your rights as a worker, and free confidential advice
- BECTU rate cards, contracts and what to do when a production does not pay
Every link checked 19 September 2026. The rules or figures in this course change on 6 April 2027. We check it again then.
