Employment status

Start with the relationship, not the label

Employment status describes the legal relationship between a person and the organisation they work for. In Great Britain, the three main categories for employment rights are employee, worker and self-employed. The category helps determine the person's rights and the organisation's responsibilities.

The wording on a contract, payslip or invoice is evidence, but it does not decide the answer by itself. A tribunal or court can look past the label and decide that the relationship operates differently. The GOV.UK guidance on employment status also makes a separate point: a person can have one status for employment rights and another for tax.

Weigh the facts together

There is no universal one-question test. Look at the arrangement as a whole, including:

• who decides what work is done, when and how
• whether the person must do the work themselves
• whether any right to send a substitute is genuine in practice
• whether the organisation must offer work and the person must accept it
• who provides equipment and carries the risk of correcting poor work
• whether the person is part of the organisation or runs a business serving clients

The Acas status guidance explains how these facts work together. One indicator can be important without being conclusive.

Record why the status fits

For each type of engagement, keep a short assessment with the agreement. Record the facts relied on, the status chosen and the review date. This gives a manager something more useful than a label when they need to decide which terms, pay records or rights apply.

Review the assessment when the work changes. Occasional independent work can become regular and closely controlled, while a role described as casual can carry worker or employee status from the start. For a Northern Ireland engagement, use the separate nidirect guidance before applying a Great Britain rule or process.