Types of Employment in the United Kingdom
There are three main types of employment in the United Kingdom. They are self-employed, employee, and worker. Each type of employment comes with its own rights and responsibilities, which have been outlined below. For further information on types of employment, you can visit gov.uk/employment-status or acas.org.uk/checking-your-employment-rights.
Self-Employed
You might be self-employed if you:
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You run a business for yourself and are responsible for its success or failure.
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You are not paid through PAYE.
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You can decide what work to do and when to do it.
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You can hire someone else to do the work.
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You use your own money to buy assets for the business, cover running costs and provide your own business equipment.
Note: You can be both self-employed and an employee at the same time. For example, you might be an employee in the daytime and run your own business in the evenings and/or on the weekends.
Employee
You are an employee if you:
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Work under a contract of employment.
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You are required to work regularly unless you’re on leave.
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You are expected to work a minimum number of hours and expect to be paid for that work.
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Someone else is responsible for assigning your workload.
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Your contract of employment uses terms like “employer” and “employee”.
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As an employee, your employer will usually pay your tax for you.
Worker
You might be considered a worker if you:
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Have a contract or agreement to perform services or work for a reward (money or benefit in kind).
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You have a limited right to send someone else to do the work.
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You have to turn up for work whether you want to or not.
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You aren’t doing the work as part of your own company where your employer is considered a client or customer.
Your rights will vary depending on which of the above categories you fall under.