Self-employed person

Look for an independent business

A self-employed person provides work or services through a business of their own. They serve clients or customers rather than working as an employee or worker for the organisation buying the service.

Signs can include quoting for a result, choosing how the work is done, carrying financial risk, supplying important equipment and working for different clients. A genuine ability to arrange for someone else to deliver the service can point the same way.

No single sign decides the status. The question is whether the arrangement as a whole looks like an independent business taking responsibility for its own success or failure.

An invoice is evidence, not an answer

Terms such as consultant, freelancer and independent contractor describe many different arrangements. A contractor can be self-employed, a worker or employed through an agency. The title cannot override how the work operates.

Someone may not be genuinely self-employed when the client controls their hours and methods, requires personal attendance, supplies the tools and treats them as part of its workforce. The Acas guidance on self-employment explains why the reality of the relationship matters.

Keep tax and employment rights separate

Tax status and employment-rights status use different tests. HMRC assesses tax status separately; that does not decide whether someone has worker rights for a particular engagement.

Before buying a service, record the result expected, who controls the method, whether substitution is genuine and who carries the cost of correcting poor work. Revisit that record if the facts change. A clear service description is more useful than adding another contractor label to the paperwork.