Employment status defines the rights and employment protections that individuals are entitled to at work, and therefore the responsibilities that you as the employer owe to these individuals.
Whenever you offer or publicise a new position, you need to be sure you understand the terms of this position and the best fit for your business.
There are three types of employee status:
- Worker – This is the most casual of the three work types. A worker will have an arrangement to perform work or services, cannot subcontract work to others and is not undertaking work as a limited company. These workers are entitled to national minimum wage, holiday pay and protection against unlawful discrimination
- Employee – This is someone who is working under a contract of employment. In addition to worker rights, they also benefit from statutory sick pay and maternity/paternity pay, redundancy procedures, minimum notice periods and the right to request flexible working
- Self-employed – A person is self-employed if they run their own business and are solely responsible for its success. They are not protected by the employment rights enjoyed by employees and workers, simply because they are not ‘employed’ in the same way
There are significant grey areas between the respective employment statuses. Due to the significant differences in each workplace, employment tribunals take a holistic approach to determining what the correct status actually is, there is no “one size fits all test”. As such, legal advice should be sought to determine the most appropriate status.
This is an area of the law that has seen a number of recent high profile decisions from the courts and employment tribunal, most notably the Supreme Court decision regarding Uber (handed down on 19 February 2021 – https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2019-0029-judgment.pdf).
If you need help determining employment status’ for your business, then please call 01752 203500 to speak to our experienced employment team. Alternatively fill in our online form or email enquiries@GAsolicitors.com and someone will be in touch as soon as possible.
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