What is your Employment Status?

There may be a situation that arises which makes it important for you to be clear about your legal employment status. Establishing which status you hold is not always straightforward and sometimes requires a detailed examination of all your circumstances.

Should you be unsure as to your status or believe you have been wrongly labelled, it is always worth seeking advice. You may have more employment rights than you realise!

There are several categories which each have different employment rights. Your legal employment status can also affect where you can bring your claim.

Employees

If all or most of the following statements are true about your work situation, it is likely you are classed as an employee. This means you have the widest range of employment rights:

• You have regular working hours, a contract of employment (or another document which describes you as an employee and sets out things like disciplinary procedures)

• You are required to work a minimum number of hours each day, week, or month.

• You are paid for the hours you work

• Your employer provides the things you need to do your job, including things like tools and a space to work.

• You receive Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity/Paternity pay and holiday pay (as appropriate),

• Your employer deducts tax and national insurance (and any other deductions such as Student Loan payments) from your pay.

Workers

Workers have fewer rights than employees - the key attributes of a worker are:

• You are not working as part of your own business.

• You have to do the work personally.

Workers are entitled to receive National Minimum Wage, and a minimum period of annual leave. Depending on the amount you earn as a worker, you may also be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay and Maternity/Paternity pay.

If you are classed as a Worker, you have protection from:

• less favourable treatment on the grounds of working part-time status
• unlawful deductions from your pay
• unfair treatment at work

Do you need advice about your Employment Status?

If you think you might have a claim against your employer, whether or not you can make that claim could depend on your employment status. Contact our employment lawyers for advice. Call freephone 0800 422 0241 or complete our contact form and we will get back to you.

There are situations where a person has been labelled with a particular status that is incorrect, for example a person may believe themselves to be self employed or a fixed term worker when in fact looking at the true nature of the circumstances that person is actually an employee and has substantially more rights that he/she originally thought.