Dear Birte
AS a consultant myself, if I know I will need to pay an HER fee for a
project, I count this as an additional expense, just as I would for travel
(mileage, train fares), in addition to whatever daily rate I charge a
client. I believe that some (maybe most) commercial archaeological
organisations do something similar when costing up projects.
Best wishes
Rachel
-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Birte Brugmann
Sent: 09 March 2006 10:56
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How commercial are consultants?
Hi Nick,
Thanks. It seems the way you describe it works well enough in practice
in regard to SMR enquiries, though I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with
the theory as such.
As an employee, I charge my employer in the shape of a flat rate (a
salary) which does not include the costs of my workplace and
expenses that may arise from the work I do (such as your fee); as a
consultant I charge a rate which does include the costs for my
workplace (a dayrate, for example). As an employee, I would dump
your invoice on my employer, as a consultant I would have to factor it
into my turnover. I don't really see a difference in terms of
"commercial" or "non-commercial" here.
Large organisations can afford to employ specialists but may not have
the need for them full-time; small ones, and those with irregular
funding, might love to employ one, but have to buy the cake by the
slice. Again, I don't think "commercial" or "non-commercial" comes into
it as such.
I would expect the definition of "commercial" or "non-commercial" to be
reduced to a single aspect: whom or what the work is for. Charities are
non-commercial by definition, building companies definitely are
commercial.
I realise that my original question was adacemic in an SMR
environment - though maybe not entirely, as occasionally there seem
to be tensions between SMR officers and consultants.
Best wishes,
Birte
> So working for a Uni you are not charging the uni for your services.
> But when you do a search for a client who pays you, that is
> commercial.
>
> Another rule of thumb is that commercial inquiries usually relate to
> Development projects (either within or without the planning process).
>
> So to answer your questions directly
>
> As a part-time university employee, I do archaeology non-
commercially,
> and as a part-time archaeological consultant, I do the same
> commercially? - Yes
>
> As a consultant, do I only get charged if I do work for a commercial
> contractor? No, you would get charged if you are doing work for a
> client who pays you, regardless of who it is, could be a developer,
> land agent, other archaeological contractor, builder, architect etc
>
> Or also if I do work for a trust or a charity? - I would say yes,
> though this is sort of area where we might consider waiving the fee,
> depending on the type of work, etc. However, if they can afford to
pay
> a consultant, they can almost certainly afford a search fee.
>
> best wishes
>
> Nick Boldrini
> Historic Environment Record Officer
> Heritage Section
> Countryside Service
> North Yorkshire County Council
> County Hall
> Northallerton
> DL7 8AH
> Direct Dial (01609) 532331
>
> Conserving North Yorkshire's heritage - encouraging sustainable
access
> www.northyorks.gov.uk/archaeology
>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Birte Brugmann F.S.A.
68159 Mannheim C2,2
Germany
Tel./Fax. 0049 (0) 621 1569185
mobil. 0049 (0)170 7741299
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