Are they truly self-employed?
Genuinely self-employed people are in business on their own account, providing services freely to their own clients and customers, as opposed to being integrated into another organisation and providing services to their customers on their behalf.
The genuinely self-employed have few employment rights i.e.-
- National Minimum Wage;
- sick pay;
- holiday pay;
- pensions auto-enrollment; and
- they are responsible for their own tax and national insurance.
This lack of statutory rights explains why some bad employers are tempted to pretend their workforce is self-employed when this is not the case.
There are a number of easy checks to determine if someone is genuinely self-employed, they should-
- Provide their own equipment;
- Are not made to wear a branded uniform, or
- drive a branded vehicle;
- Have genuine control over pricing and invoicing;
- Are not paid ‘wages‘;
- sets their own hours and is not closely monitored by the organisation for which they work (for example through ‘vehicle tracking’ or other forms of software);
