Employment Status

With the introduction of the new CIS Scheme in April 2007, there will be increasing importance on the Employer to accurately determine the employment status of their self-employed workers.
 
There are many factors which are commonly taken into consideration when determining whether a worker is truly self-employed with the most important factors generally held to be the right to bring a substitute and to hire assistance, no obligation on the Employer to offer work or for the self-employed worker to accept it, and a lack of day to day control exercised by the Employer.

Other factors include the submission of invoices by the worker, whether they concurrently work for more than one Employer, and whether they are subject to financial risk (i.e. the need to correct defective work, no period of notice).

This is not an exhaustive list and each case is assessed on its own merits.
 
The Support Line strongly recommended that self-employed workers not only have a 'Contract for Services' in place but that it is renewed on a regular basis (i.e. after every new project or every 6 months) and, more importantly, that it accurately reflects the working relationship.