What is employment status?
The employment status for your employees is the type of working arrangement that you have set with them from the outset. This will identify both parties’ legal rights, responsibilities, obligations and the overall expectation. This should be agreed from the outset of the arrangement to avoid any uncertainty. You do not have to have your workforce on the same arrangement. You can have different types of arrangements to suit your different needs, however remember to ensure equal and fair treatment.
A list of the most popular arrangements are:
• Worker
• Employee
• Self-employed/contractor
• Director
• Intern
• Volunteer
• Apprentice
• Agency worker
If you are not sure what arrangement you have with your workforce then there are a few questions you can ask to help establish this. For example:
• Which party decides on the work and how it is done?
• Can the individual turn down the work or are they obliged to carry it out?
• What is the individual’s involvement in the business in terms of responsibility, requirement to attend meetings, make decisions, setting terms and conditions for others and receiving contractual benefits?
• Does the individual have to invoice the business, provide their own equipment, bear any financial risk or have responsibility for any losses to the company?
Why does employment status matter?
We recommend ensuring you are aware of the arrangements you have in place as each one does bear different rights, for example in terms of pay, holiday, right to request flexible working and right to not be discriminated against. If these are not outlined then there will be uncertainty of the obligations and expectations of both the employer and worker. These can be outlined in the relevant documentation which depending on the arrangement could be a contract, written statement of particulars or a written agreement. If these are not adhered to then the company could be at risk to a claim, a worker could be missing out no their statutory rights or overall not be treated fair and equally.
How can we help you with employment status?
If you are unsure on the answers to these questions or how they link to the different types of employment status then we can advise you further on this to ensure you have the right arrangement for your business needs, project or overall workforce style. We can advise what your current working arrangements are, the obligations of both parties, produce the appropriate documentation for the relevant arrangement and advise on your responsibilities as employer. If you already have agreements or contracts in place identifying this, then will be happy to review these for you to ensure they are compliant with legislation since any updates.